Therapeutic Support for Children and Young People(4-17 years)

The Retreat is proud to announce the new Therapeutic Support Services for Children and Young People aged between 4

and 17 years. We believe that every child and young person has the capacity to recover from the impact of challenging

or negative life experience: to grow, develop and achieve their full potential.

This is a self-referral service for children and young people. Parents/carers and professionals can refer a child or young

person to this service. Information and prices are available on The Retreat’s website.

WHO IS THE SERVICE FOR?

We provide bespoke therapeutic support for children and young people who may have experienced a range of difficulties, such as:

• Anxiety• Depression or low mood• Traumatic experiences• Relationship difficulties

• Issues with anger• Bereavement• Eating difficulties• Issues with confidence and self-esteem

• Stress• Panic attacks• Sleeping difficulties

WHAT DO THE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE LOOK LIKE?

Our approach is child-centred. This means we offer different approaches depending on the age, individual needs and choices made by each individual child and young person and their family.

We support every child/ young person to feel safe and comfortable in their sessions and we help them explore the best way for them to communicate on their therapeutic journey. Some young people may want to simply talk, others may want to use creative arts interventions. Young children usually love to use a range of therapeutic play resources.

We begin with an initial assessment session to consider the therapeutic needs of the child/ young person and then decide which approach or combination of approaches is the best way to help.

Approaches that we currently use for children and young people include:

Play based approaches for young childrenFor many young children the natural way for them to communicate about their feelings and experiences is through play rather than words. Play enables children to express themselves symbolically and safely. This helps the child feel under-stood by their practitioner and ultimately their parent/ carer. They are able to explore and process their experiences and create new beginnings in their lives.

Talking and Creative Therapeutic Activities for Young People We provide a private space for young people to talk through difficulties that they may be experiencing, within appropri-ate limits to ensure the safety of themselves and others. We want young people to feel comfortable and safe with their practitioner so they can choose what they want to talk about and feel empowered to say specifically want help they want. Many young people find it find it helpful to process their experiences using the creative arts, including artwork, drama, music and stories. We have a range of visual emotion and relationship cards and activity sheets to help them communicate their experiences.

Therapeutic Support for Children and Young People The Retreat, York

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) TechniquesCBT provides a useful way for children and young people to manage symptoms of anxiety, panic attacks and low mood. It includes learning breathing and relaxation techniques to manage difficult emotions. This approach helps children and young people who may have developed unhelpful thinking patterns and it enables them to form constructive and realistic ways of thinking. It tends to be goal orientated and there are usually worksheets and tasks to be completed in between sessions.

Support and Advice for Parents/ Carers and Joint Sessions with Parents/ Carers and children.We provide parenting advice to parent/carers and help them think about how they can meet their child’s specific needs. Some children and young people experience problems that are related to earlier experiences in their lives and this can impact their relationship with their parent/carer. These children/ young people may have difficulties managing their emotions and behaviour. We provide individual sessions with the parent/ carer and with the child to assess their individual needs and consider what therapeutic interventions may be helpful. We then provide joint therapeutic sessions for the child and parent/ carer together to help them communicate effectively with each other and nurture their relationship.

OTHERS SERVICES AT THE RETREAT

The Therapeutic Support Services for Children and Young People is part of a suite of services provided by The Retreat. Other services include:

• Adult Therapy services• Autism and ADHD service, • Trauma and Stress service, • Primary Care Health Support service • Online Therapy.

HOW TO REFER A CHILD/YOUNG PERSON

We accept self-referrals from parents/ carers and professionals. Information about pricing is on The Retreat’s website www.theretreatyork.org.uk

All therapeutic support is accessed via our Initial Therapies Assessment.

If you are a parent or carer and you would like to make a referral, please phone us and we will be happy to speak with you. We can explain more about our service, help you decide if it is the right service for your child. Then if you would like to make a referral, we can take this referral from you on the phone and arrange therapy for your child/ young person.

If you are a professional and you want to make a referral, please phone us and we can explain how we may be able to help. We can then send you a referral form.

Our telephone number is 01904 412551, Option 3 for the Children and Young People’s Therapy team.

Therapeutic Support for Children and Young People The Retreat, York