Our Approach

Supporting Children Impacted by Severe Adversity

We aim to address the immediate and long terms consequences of children's exposure to maltreatment and other multifaceted traumatic experiences. Exposure that results in a loss of core capacities for self-regulation and interpersonal relatedness.

Children in our services have typically suffered more than the seven of the following 'Adverse Childhood Experiences'

  • Physical abuse

  • Sexual abuse

  • Emotional abuse

  • Physical neglect

  • Emotional neglect

  • Intimate partner violence

  • Mother treated violently

  • Substance misuse within household

  •  Household mental illness

  • Parental separation or divorce

  • Incarcarated household member

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The Impact of Complex Trauma:

  • Disrupts the integration of Mind - Body - Emotions - A child's social skills
  • Projects their trauma onto everything - everything is a threat
  • Defence mechanisms are taken over by their trauma
  • Disrupts their attachment style, play and exploration, sociability, sexuality

How We Do It

Our group of Therapeutic Children's homes work with children who have suffered complex trauma. Our specific aim to is to work with children from ages 4-12 to stop the cycle of placement breakdowns, to ensure that they have a clear road to recovery with the aim that they can live happy and successful lives back within a family environment. Our service is made up of three teams:

Our Operations Team

The operation team is made up of over 150 staff, who are all trained in therapeutic approach and complex trauma.

Our Clinical Team

Our clinical team is supported by a dedicated support team, comprising of Clinical Psychologists, Psychotherapist, Art & Drama Psychotherapist, Life Story Practitioners and Assistant Psychologists.

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Our Education Partners

We also offer with our education partners access to a SEMH school within each locality.

Training Our Team

Training our team is at the very centre of our therapeutic practice and all staff receive training in Therapeutic Parenting, Attachment, House Model of Parenting, and PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy).

Each home is also supported by an assistant psychologist that works within the home to offer support at every level of the child's journey. Our clinical team also work closely with the school to ensure that the school is run in a therapeutic and psychologically informed way.

Outcomes & Assessments

Our work is informed by the outcomes of the assessments, where the operational and clinical team will gather a history from the young person and then prepare a formulation based on that information, from which we will determine the possible aim(s) of any therapeutic intervention in a collaborative way.

The outcome of this will determine if to support the child's progress and recovery with Individual Direct Therapy, Life Story Work, Indirect Therapy or Holistic Intervention.