Therapeutic Support
Aim
Family Care Associates
provides therapeutic support to children placed in their care that matches
the child's needs and is tailored to their specific placement objectives.
Two levels of service are available although not mutually exclusive.
- Our internal Therapeutic Services - see below.
- Family Care Associates has established with a major provider of children’s health services that can, if necessary, mirror and improve upon the CAMHS services that are in such short supply in many parts of the country. This partnership has been forged to build upon the excellent work pioneered by one of our units, Lyth Hill, in working with children and Young People who might in other circumstances have been considered to be at too great a risk living in a children’s home setting but who, as they move on, are proof that Every Child Matters can sometimes be evidenced. For details of this service please contact us direct - Ed Nixon, Group Operations Manager).
Defining the service (Family Care Associates Therapeutic Services)
Family Care Associates, therapeutic services uses the British Play Therapy definition as adopted by the British Association of Play Therapists, which is:
'Play Therapy is the dynamic process between child and play therapist in which the child explores at his or her own pace and with his or her own agenda. Those issues, past and current, conscious and unconscious, which are affecting the child's life in the present. The child's inner resources are enabled by the therapeutic alliance to bring about growth and change. Play therapy is child centred, in which play is the primary medium and speech is the secondary medium'.
Our central proposition therefore is that play communicates the child's unconscious experiences, thoughts, emotions and desires. Play is a child's primary medium for communication and a format for transmitting emotions, thoughts, values and perceptions. Play is a process that is primarily creative. Our intention is to place an emphasis upon the relationship between the Creative Therapist and the child, which is based upon trust, acceptance and genuineness. There is an emphasis on the child as being trustworthy. We are reluctant to use any prescriptive or diagnostic perspective.
Family Care Associates provide a therapeutic service, which is based on theories of child development, including attachment theory and on person-centred therapy based on Carl Rogers. Creative therapeutic intervention is offered as a means of helping the child or young person come to terms with issues that are troubling them. Play therapy facilitates the development of self-control, self-responsibility and appropriate self-esteem. We use a range of approaches in creative therapy, yet there are some essential qualities, which distinguish our work from other kinds of help. Play therapy works because it is the child's natural way of expressing, communicating and coping with feelings. The Creative Therapist provides a play setting within safe boundaries offering the child a 'containing' relationship in which the child's anxieties can be borne and thought about. Attentiveness and reflective listening are the workers most effective tools. We always use a systemic approach to creative therapy by considering the child within the context of their 'external world' which includes their residential care setting, school, their family and local authority.
The therapy occurs in a playroom, specially designed for children and furnished with toys and equipment appropriate to the task. Thought is given to the resources available to the child or adolescent, in order that they are appropriate to their developmental level and needs. Play materials match the child's culture and race. The equipment offers opportunities for creative and symbolic play. Materials such as sand, water and clay are provided as they cannot be damaged and therefore can provide a safe outlet for confused and angry feelings. As these materials can be restored, this can help a child learn that anger can be controlled and managed.
The child is offered a safe and consistent environment together with a safe and consistent relationship with the Creative Therapist. All feelings therefore are accepted and explored symbolically and/or explicitly, depending on how the child or young person is able to use the creative therapy sessions. Not all behaviour is acceptable and therefore the Creative Therapist will set firm and consistent limits.
Matching placement objectives to methods:
The aim of work may vary from assessment of a child's feelings about a particular situation, or communicating about specific events or plans, to longer term play therapy helping a child to make sense of their past and to cope with their future. Group work can be provided as well as, or instead of creative therapy. Group work themes may include 'keeping safe', 'anger management' or 'life skills'.
When a child or young person comes into creative therapy, a great deal of work will go into the preparation stage: the Creative Therapist needs to gather detailed referral information about the child.
If play therapy is judged to be suitable the Creative Therapist will speak to the child's social worker and the keyworker in the residential unit to explain their role in the intervention and to answer any questions about play therapy and discuss the practical details. It is important to establish close working relationships at this stage, so that the carers and Creative Therapist are cooperating in order to help the child.
During the session the child is free to talk, remain silent, play alone or involve the therapist, who is warm, accepting, open, genuine and responsive to the child's emotions. All feelings are accepted but not all behaviour. The Creative Therapist will set limits to keep the child and herself physically and emotionally safe. Because of prior knowledge of the child's probable issues, the therapist is alert to possible links between the child's play and emotional conflicts.
What you can expect from a Creative Therapist:
- Regular feedback on the child's progress
- Regular reports as a means of review and evaluation
- Regular liaising with the child's system of support (including contact with any professionals previously involved in the child's therapeutic treatment)
- Short term support as part of an assessment process or a longer term therapeutic programme
- Attendance at core group meetings, reviews etc
What the child can expect from a Creative Therapist:
- A regular space that is consistent and held within clearly defined boundaries
- An agreed plan of work that matches their needs
- Intervention and methods appropriate to their needs, for example, directive and non directive 'play' and/or skills training within group work
