Art Therapy
Roaches Community
Therapeutic Framework
Description
Our
framework highlights the approach that we aim to provide a 24 hour therapeutic
placement, children are looked after and live in a placement where their
individual therapeutic needs are met through the staff team and the planned
environment on a daily basis. The Roaches Community has chosen to follow the
path of membership with Community of communities project; Royal college of Psychiatrists
to help us to continue to develop and evidence our practice as a therapeutic
community.
Young
peoples therapeutic needs (therapy plan) are identified and guided by qualified
Psychotherapists in partnership with care and education teams. The processes in
place for this include each staff member having individual staff support
sessions with a qualified Psychotherapist. Here individual young people and
relationships between staff and young people are discussed, staff are provided
with psycho-education/reflection on individual emotional needs of children
using person centred, psycho-dynamic, solution focused and behavioural
approaches. Strategies are developed around how best to meet young peoples
needs using daily interactions between staff and young people(‘Opportunity led’
work) and the environment. This is also a space where individual key working
sessions are discussed and therapeutic key work is planned including resources,
to ensure that the child's emotional/therapeutic needs are being addressed.
Qualified
Psychotherapists attend team meetings on a regular basis to provide additional
guidance and support to both management and staff, around community dynamics
and individual needs for each child. In addition a comprehensive training
programme is delivered by our psychotherapists and external specialists which
cover key areas for developing practice within our community such as brain
development and traumatic early experience, working with attachment
difficulties and re parenting with ‘P.A.C.E’ and working therapeutically with
groups.
The
staff team are provided with monthly reflective sessions, where
incidents/challenges are discussed and analysed to gain clear understanding.
These are also facilitated by qualified Psychotherapists to provide further
psychological understanding.
1:1
therapy and group therapy in the form of art psychotherapy, psychotherapeutic
counselling and person centred counselling delivered through play and creative
approaches are available to children; this is the product of an assessment
process which involve staff observations, as well as direct involvement from
the child. This is to gauge appropriateness and need for any direct
psychotherapeutic work. Due to the experiences and emotional or attachment
difficulties our young people often present, they can be extremely difficult to
engage in direct 1:1 therapy work. Direct therapy can only proceed if it is
seen to be beneficial and appropriate for the emotional development of that
child, and most of all, only if the child feels ready/able to engage in this
often intense and difficult process. Individuals will only engage in change
once they are able to address and understand the things they need to change.
However, addressing past experiences can often be difficult. We aim to create a
solution focused environment where we encourage and enable children to develop
appropriate emotional skills and relationships, including feeling safe, to then
be able to engage in the 1:1 therapy process.
To aid assessment and review of the children's needs, there is
an assessment process in place. Therapists complete an initial therapeutic
assessment of each child during the initial part of their placement soon after
they arrive. This includes assessments from the staff teams, the child, and
looking at past history. The child is asked to fill out a standardised
psychometric assessment. We often use KIDSCREEN -27 assessment; which is a well
being questionnaire, to gain their perspective of their life in 5 areas
(Physical Health, Psychological health, Carer relationship and autonomy, Social
support and peers, and School environment). Other standardised measures are
used such as Beck Youth inventories, CRIES and EESC where appropriate to gauge
baseline levels or measure change around specific issues. Young people are also
provided with an assessment session with a qualified Psychotherapist where they
are encouraged to discuss what they feel they need help with and also to gain
an understanding of the therapeutic process. This is also an opportunity to
meet the therapist and gain an understanding of the available therapeutic input
they can access. This initial assessment is compiled and the therapeutic plan
produced by way of initial therapeutic report for each child, this is shared
with education and care team. The plan will highlight therapeutic needs of the
young person, aspects of therapeutic that are indirect and/or direct work to
address this need. This report aims to provide an understanding to all teams
involved around our initial plan for meeting the child's emotional/therapeutic
needs. The therapeutic plan is updated every 6 months, aiming to review the
initial plan, often allowing a period for the child to create relationships and
settle in the home. In between reports our therapeutic framework provides
constant opportunities where children's progress can be discussed or reviewed
and any indirect work (such as enhanced key working sessions) planned. To aid
children's understanding of their own "plans" a child friendly
version of their initial therapeutic report is provided to them.