Graphic Lives is a series of highly engaging graphic novels for young people who may need counselling and psychotherapy. Each book introduces the difficulties faced by a teenage character and follows them as they travel on their therapeutic journey with a skilled and creative therapist.

The key aims of these books are:

• to demystify counselling and psychotherapy so that it is more appealing and accessible to young people
• to destigmatise emotional and mental health problems so that young people are better able to accept help
• to encourage young people to embark upon their own healing journeys, equipped with the sense that there is a way forward.

The Essential Support Guide, designed to be used alongside the Graphic Lives novels, provides therapists and counsellors with a range of support resources, linked to the stories and the issues covered. For each graphic novel, this guide offers:

• clear and concise coverage of risk factors and warning signs relating to the issue covered in the story
• detailed exploration of each therapeutic session in the story so that you can devise you own sessions that link to the therapy in the story
• an up-to-date summary of research around the issue covered in the book
• professional guidance on working with that issue to help you achieve the best possible outcomes for the young people you work with.

Carol Holliday, Jo Browning Wroe