Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy
Our Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist understands how challenging daily life can be for children and young people. For some, this can feel completely overwhelming and can mean that it is really hard to get on with everyday things. Our specialist is here to help with a range of therapeutic approaches and options.
What is Psychotherapy?
The child and adolescent psychotherapy helps children and young people better understand their thoughts and feelings. It is a non-directive way of working which means that the psychotherapist goes into each session without any fixed ideas but prepared to follow the material that the child brings, either verbally, or through play. The approach is tailored to each individual child or young person.
Emotions and behaviour can be complicated. With children and adolescents, they can be particularly vulnerable when they are in the midst of their development and have experiences which are too much for them to manage. Having a trained professional to talk to can help prevent feelings and relationships from worsening and help plan the right kind of support for future progress.
Working alongside you as parents is key. In psychotherapy, this involves meeting with you and your child together in the first instance. This is usually followed with termly family reviews and may involve separate parent sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to check in with any ongoing difficulties or progress at home and to provide a containing space to think about your child whilst they are engaged in therapy. Details from your child's therapy sessions will not be shared as the therapy is a confidential space; however, with the child's consent, we may discuss themes that arise in the treatment.
During individual sessions, our specialist will be getting to know your child and observing whether psychotherapy might be a helpful way forward. Meeting with parents separately can be invaluable in hearing about your child in the context of their family to develop an understanding of family functioning and the history of your child's difficulties.
A State of Mind Assessment is the same as above, but is a stand-alone assessment of a child's internal world. This can be useful when it has been hard to unpick whether there is a mental health need or when a report of a child's emotional needs is required.
What is Mentalisation-based Treatment?
Mentalisation-based treatment (MBT) is an integrative model which brings together aspects of psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural and systemic approaches.
A type of psychotherapy that focuses on improving the capacity to think about thinking (mentalising), to understand one's own and others' mental states, including thoughts, feelings, and intentions. The capacity to mentalise leads to improved emotional regulation, interpersonal relationships, and overall wellbeing.
MBT can help children to understand how their mental states influence their behaviours.
What is Theraplay?
Theraplay is an adult-structured, play and attachment-based intervention that works with the parent and child together to guide and support the development or strengthening of the attachment relationship. Theraplay is a recommended intervention through the Adoption Support Fund and can be especially useful for children who have been adopted or have spent time in the care system. It can also be helpful when there have been early relational difficulties due to trauma, neurodivergence, post-natal depression that has impacted on the relationship in an ongoing way, or attachment affected by loss or bereavement during pregnancy.
We will always put your child or young person first
Every member of the Now, Next & Then team prides themselves on using extensive experience to offer care, expertise, knowledge and help at the time your child or young person needs it most. We have set ourselves high standards so you can feel confident that you are gaining what you would expect from an independent service. Above all things, we are motivated by your child or young person and for the time that we are with him or her, or talking to you or other members of your child or young person’s team, then he or she is our sole concern. We are constant advocates for the children and young people we work with and this approach is shared by every member of the Now, Next & Then team.
What can we expect?
You can expect a genuinely caring approach to your child or young person, and you. Our Specialist believes in creating a space for young people to find a narrative from where they can be supported to feel empowered to believe in themselves. She feels passionately about helping young people to understand themselves better and in supporting them to work out their own solutions to challenges, and by doing so, lasting changes are brought about in the present and for their futures too.
Let us reframe your child’s future, today
Now, Next & Then provides the very best collaborative working, with the highest standard of professional integrity, to ensure quality support for everyone.
There are no hidden costs.
Our travel time and expenses are not charged.
Now, Next & Then is exempt from VAT.