"In his mind, he views himself as ugly and deformed," says Laurie Carefoot, development worker at the Sound Minds project in Stockport. "He thinks he's overweight and that everyone's looking at him."
Brian is one of eight young people currently attending Sound Minds, a youth group for 13- to 16-year-olds living in Stockport who are experiencing mental health difficulties.
Equal treatment
Set up last year, the project is run by Stockport Youth Service and is funded through contributions from the community child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) programme. The scheme provides young people with the chance to take part in a range of regular youth activities such as outings to theme parks, outdoor education trips, as well as arts and environmental work, music, drama and photography sessions. "They get to do the kind of things other young people do," says Carefoot.
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