Therapy Offered — Kids Inspire

Therapies

We offer different types of therapy tailored to the unique emotional, behavioural or mental health needs of each young person we work with.

Creative Arts Therapies: including Drama, Integrative Arts, Music, Dance & Movement, and Play

Trauma Resolution Therapies: including Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Children’s Accelerated Trauma Treatment (CATT), Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Theraplay, Somatic Experiencing (SE) and NeuroAffective Touch
Family Therapy: delivered in dyads or groups, including dyadic and systemic approaches.
Other Talk Therapies: Including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Transactional Analysis and Psychodynamic Counselling
Groups: CREW, Balance Me, Sing My Own Song/Make My Own Music, NVR.

Family inclusive

Involving the wider family in planned support strengthens relationships and the environment that surrounds the child. It helps to maintain progress long-term and this family inclusive approach is core to our work because it:

is trauma-informed
is engaging
is age-appropriate
addresses the root cause of issues
strengthens family resilience to benefit the child
provides young people and families with practical tools to self-manage long-term.

“We look and listen to how a child’s past affects their present, noting any negative childhood experience to make our practice trauma informed.”

— Clinician, Kids Inspire

Therapeutic approach

Our qualified, experienced therapists have been trained in a broad range of methods and work creatively to encourage body and mind reconnection.

The team focus on the strengths of the child and the family to nurture resilience. We particularly favour Creative Therapies (Art, Play, Drama, Music, Dance/Movement) to engage children of all ages and abilities to explore experiences and feelings that are too difficult to put into words.

Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic approaches may look into how our past experiences, our early life and how we were parented, can impact our life at present -in conscious or unconscious ways. Our relationship patterns may be identified and more informed choices may be made.

Systemic

Systemic approaches may look into the individual and the surrounding systems –internal or external. Our ways of relating to and communicating with our support networks (family, friends, peers, and colleagues) may be explored and changes of roles and interactions may be achieved.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT approaches may look into how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are linked and how we can change them by breaking learned patterns. Third wave CBT approaches may include Mindfulness, Acceptance, Compassion and Positive Psychology elements.

Trauma

Trauma approaches may look into how our mind/body connection and our being as a whole have been impacted by shock or developmental trauma. They may support us to recover from excess of activation locked in our nervous system, stopping the survival loop of Fight/Flight/Freeze and restoring our ability to regulate.

EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a technique which helps people who suffer from trauma, anxiety, panic, disturbing memories, post-traumatic stress and many other emotional problems.
Somatic Experiencing - The Somatic Experiencing (SE) approach aims to safely release traumatic shock 'frozen' in the body from when it's been overwhelmed, allowing for a natural transformation of both post traumatic shock disorder (PTSD) and the wounds of emotional and early childhood trauma.

Expressive Arts Therapies or Creative Arts Therapies

help with non-verbal creative processes, the use of metaphor and projective techniques, exploration and experimentation with different art media alongside sensory motor elements that can integrate a mind/body therapeutic experience. These include:

Art Therapy This uses art media as its primary mode of expression and communication. Art is not used as diagnostic tool but as a medium to address emotional issues which may be confusing and distressing.
Music Therapy The music practitioner will use music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of the individual or group. Using activities, such as listening to melodies, playing an instrument, drumming, writing songs, and creating sound stories. Music therapists tune into the non-verbal alliance and focus on expression, reaction, and movement and are skilled at adapting the music they are playing to affect the potential of positive change. Music, like Play, can become the language and can break through where words are too difficult to use.
Play Therapy Play Therapy is child-centered with play as the primary medium and speech is the secondary medium. The child explores their own agenda at their pace so we can understand the issues (past and current, conscious and unconscious), that are affecting the child’s life. This therapy taps into the child’s inner resources, enabling growth and change.
Dramatherapy This gives equal balance to body and mind and drama therapists are both artists and clinicians drawing on their training in drama and therapy. They might use an indirect approach of stories, myths, play texts, puppetry, masks and improvisation to help a client explore difficult and painful life experiences.
Dance/Movement therapy This therapy is for children of all ages and uses body movement and dance to assist the integration of our emotional, cognitive, physical, social and spiritual aspects

How is therapy delivered?

One-to-one therapy is 60% of our current provision.

Dyadic therapy - one to two, 1:2 - might include the following combinations per session:

Therapist and Child/Parent
Therapist and Carer/Grandparents
Therapist and Parent/Parent
Therapist and Child/Sibling

Family/systemic therapy is for as many family members necessary for the most sustainable outcome for the child.

“My husband and I had our own parenting strategy sessions with an adult therapist. These sessions have helped us to see from Olivia’s perspective and to understand how it is important to be there for Olivia, but equally to encourage her to find her own solutions to build her own emotional resilience.”

— Olivia's mum

Therapeutic delivery

Support is based on a child’s specific mental health needs. For example:

Level 1 - Response (Support to stabilise) 10 sessions
Level 2 – Recovery (Recovery support) av. 20 sessions
Level 3 – Complex recovery (Long-term and complex recovery support) av. 30 sessions

Accreditation

All therapists working at Kids Inspire are registered and/or accredited with the professional body organisation that is relevant to their clinical training, and thus they adhere to professional practice ethical guidelines.