CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS
I have extensive experience of working with children, young people in a range of clinical settings; NHS, Adult Mental Health and Primary care, Local Authority Looked after Children, Youth Services, Voluntary /Charitable Sector and Private Practice.
I have a special interest in working with Children suffering with Anxiety Disorders, Phobias and Adults requiring treatment following a Brain Injury.
I use Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy and the Arts as a medium to promote growth, healing, transformation and change with children who have a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties.
USE OF THE ARTS, PLAY AND STORY WORK
Play therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses play to help children deal with emotional and mental health issues. By using play as the medium, children are able to explore their feelings and learn how to share them with other people.
Life Story Work offers children the opportunity to explore, question and understand past events/experiences of their life, and make sense of it in relation to their current thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
I offer 1-1 psychotherapy for Young children, Juniors and Teens in a warm, friendly and confidential setting where they can safely explore their worries and concerns.
Sessions are tailored to meet the child or young person’s needs which may involve simply talking about their worries with someone who understands and/or incorporating a more creative approach involving play, creative arts such as painting, drawing, puppets, music and sand tray which can also help with expression of feelings particularly with children / or young people that find a more literal and cognitive approach more difficult.
Working in this way allows the child/young person to have more choices and can enable them to process, embody and resolve their problems at a pace that feels right for them. The arts in particular can provide a richness to the work that can offer a creative and imaginative outlet for the child to explore their feelings. This can also provide emotional safety and containment when navigating sensitive and difficult topics on a deeper level leading to deeper transformation and change.
I have a special interest in working with children / young people who suffer with anxiety disorders or depression, health anxiety, separation and loss, low self-esteem and confidence issues.
PARENT CONSULTATION SESSIONS
Would you like to have a positive relationship with your child?
Do you always feels you are at logger heads and having battles over the little things?...
Individual Parent sessions provide an opportunity for parents to meet with me without the child
so they can discuss any worries or behavioural concerns the child may have which maybe be preventing them from forming a positive, joyful and fulfilling relationship with their son or daughter. This supportive space provides the parent with an opportunity to reflect on their relationship, identify any blocks which may be hindering them from establishing a secure attachment bond, and emotionally connecting to their child in order to better understand their child’s needs.
By working in this way, the parent can gain insight into their own attachment style and parenting approach
so they can form a secure and stronger relational bond based on mutual trust and respect using
a relational model and brain-based parenting approach.
In some cases, it can be helpful to carry out some sessions with the parent and the child with the support of the therapist.
PARENT & CHILD SESSIONS
Do you want to build a stronger bond with your child ?
Younger children who may have experienced complex trauma, separation and loss; may benefit from having sessions with their parent/carer with the support of a therapist who can help facilitate the process of working through issues arising in the relationship and build a strong therapeutic bond between parent/child through a play-based approach.