Therapy and support for families
I can work with individuals or whole families in several different ways
Parenting and juggling the stress of everyday life can be difficult, this gets even more stressful if your children are struggling with their mental health or other challenges.
The shape of families have changed considerably; and our homes can easily become ‘pressure cookers’. We know that a parents mental health difficulties can impact our children; not only that, but struggling to prioritise our children’s needs when we are struggling can lead to feelings of failure and shame, and maybe fears that we are not ‘enough’.
We work with parents from a place of compassion; helping them to understand how to support their child, how to improve their own mental health, and how to improve their families wellbeing and get back on track.
We can help with our free resources, group support, one-off assessments or ongoing therapy.
Take a glance at the support we offer
We have different ways of working with families, from group support to ongoing therapy.
FREE
Downloads
PDF templates, worksheets and information guides. We’ll be adding more of these as we go along.
FREE
Group support
Online and in-person groups to spend time with other parents in similar situations as you, get advice and support.
Ongoing LOW-COST
Membership
If you need more we will soon be offering a jam-packed membership offer for parents who want quick access to good quality workshops, webinars and podcasts on all the most common struggles brought to us by parents and carers.
Ongoing £110 PER SESSION
Ongoing therapy
If you need ongoing or regular therapy or input. This one’s for you; sessions are charged at £110 per hour. We may accept your insurance funded clients, and we accept other funding such as local authority or adoption support fund.
One-off £250
Drop & Go Sessions
This option is for parents who want ad hoc consultation and set objectives to work on before checking in a few weeks down the line to reflect and ponder next steps. This includes a 90 minute consultation, written objectives, and a 60 minute check in between 2-4 weeks later.
One-off VARIABLE
Specialist Assessment
If you know you want a specific specialist assessment; such as an assessment for autism, ADHD, learning, or speech and language difficulties.
We offer therapy in three different ways
One of these approaches might be just enough, or you might need a pick and mix.
Indirect Therapy
Parent(s) only
When your child is struggling it is understandable that you want to get them to speak to a mental health professional; you love them and you want them to get the best support that is right for them. But what happens when they refuse to even entertain the idea? Or maybe the timing just isn’t right for them. This can be so frustrating BUT…there is good news…there is actually loads you can do! Sometimes children and young people benefit more from their parent accessing support on their behalf; imagine it like a therapist working ‘through you’ to help support your child’s emotional wellbeing. A parent is often more able to quickly make changes in the child’s environment and put support mechanisms in place.
For some children, this can be the most effective intervention and some of the most dramatic successes can come from this route of therapy.
Family Therapy
Parent(s) & Child
Working together or family/group therapy is another method. We work ‘dyadically’ with the parent and child together in the room. This can be really helpful in supporting children to implement strategies and new ways of thinking into ‘real life’ outside of the therapy room.
This can be particularly helpful when challenges have impacted the relationship, or when a child has experienced trauma or some disruption to the attachment system. This disruption could be caused by a separation, loss, or other trauma such as illnesses, parental mental health struggles, domestic violence, and difficult care proceedings or coparenting difficulties.
This way of working can increase communication and impact on that felt ‘closeness’ that we can easily lose track of. This can also be the case for adopted or children in care.
Direct Therapy
Child only
Last but not least; We provide direct therapeutic input to children, adolescents and young adults. We also provide direct therapy for parents. This work tends to integrate methods and strategies from varying therapeutic approaches.
We integrate methods from therapy approaches like; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Attachment informed therapies and Theraplay. All our therapy is informed by an in depth understanding of child and adolescent development.
Direct therapy does require a level of commitment, or even just a willingness to give it a go and a sense that it might in some way be helpful. People don’t have all the answers when they come to therapy. All therapy starts with crucial stages of engagement and relationship building to put clients at ease.
Funding – we accept a variety of funding methods. We accept families who wish to self-fund, who are funded by insurance companies, or who are funded by local authorities or the adoption support fund (ASF).
As Clinical Psychologists, we are trained to work with a variety of difficulties and needs.
As every child and family is different, we don’t have any set packages. Our priority is understanding exactly what is needed for your child. After an initial assessment, you’ll get a custom breakdown on what we recommend.
Some of the reasons people come to see us include:
- Mental health difficulties; such as depression, anxiety, OCD
- Risk issues; such as self-harm and suicidal ideation
- Difficulties coping with emotions; feeling overwhelmed or having ‘meltdowns’
- Behavioural difficulties; aggression, school refusal, defiance
- Trauma; single incident trauma or complex developmental trauma
- Becoming a parent or parenting challenges
- Attachment difficulties
- Adoption support
- Wanting or needing support or assessment for ADHD or Autism
“Kerry showed my daughter she understood her from day one, …”
“My daughter had always resisted therapy and dismissed anyone who tried to engage with her about it. The first time she met Kerry, they just clicked. I knew we’d “found the one” and felt a deep sense of relief. Kerry showed my daughter she understood her from day one, that she could empathise but also nudge her along when she needs it. Our path is a long one and there have been and will be bumps along the way, but we have “caring Kerry” to help us through, working with my daughter, our family and school in partnership.”
I make kids feel relaxed by including play in the form of …
Drawing & Colouring
Sometimes it’s hard to find the words, and using drawing is definitely one of my ‘go to’ ways of explaining psychological concepts to children. Children learn best when words are paired with visuals. Also, it’s a great way to regulate those overwhelming feelings.
Playdough & Building
Manipulating mediums like play dough, foam, putty and orbeez can be a really helpful way of offering just enough distraction, regulation and fun while also talking about some pretty serious stuff. It helps to keep them in their ‘window of tolerance’ and also means they don’t leave our sessions feeling like it’s not been fun.
Games & Puzzles
Even older kids find it easier to connect and open up with the right amount of distraction. I have a range of games and puzzles for a range of ages. Uno and Jenga are great for reducing tension and allow the session to flow naturally. Conversation cubes can be great for those teens that just struggle to know what to say.
What’s the process?
So now you know what it is we do, and all the different ways we could help. What’s next? If you’d like to explore the options more, here’s the process…
1. Get in touch
Drop us an email or book in for a free 15 minute chat with one of the team to see if we’re a good fit for you.
2. Initial Assessment
If things are a little more complex, we suggest a 90-minute one-off session for a more thorough assessment of needs and to tailor an approach which best meets your needs.
3. Start support
We’ll send you a suggested plan for support, you can choose what you’d like to go for, sign a contract, pay the first invoice and we get started.
