1. Do you only work with children and adolescents? No, our expertise is in working with children and adolescents but the psychological approaches are equally applicable across the age range and we are more than happy to work with adults too. We believe that as grown ups we are still essentially children in bigger/older bodies!
2. What happens in the sessions? The first session is a ‘getting to know you’ session to find out more about the young person, to put them at ease and to find out what they would like help with. Parents can sometimes be included in part or all of this session. We also discuss the session process, confidentiality and safeguarding. Further sessions will allow the young person to have the breathing space needed to address, explore, and discover greater self-awareness. We will support the young person by engaging with age appropriate psychological models and clinically proven strategies to help them to understand their thoughts, feelings and emotions. This empowers them to make positive changes and to achieve their best sense of self.
3. How many sessions will a young person need? This is very dependent on the individual as each session is bespoke to their needs. As an example, the young people who show the fastest progress tend to be those who want to actively engage in their sessions and have some idea of what they want to work on; They are willing to share their thoughts and feelings and able to take onboard the techniques and strategies suggested, including challenges set for between sessions. For these young people, 6 sessions can be beneficial. Some young people would benefit from longer programmes of intervention depending on the complexity of the issues underpinning their emotional needs, which we can also accommodate.
4. Will the sessions work for every young person? Breathing space offer a bespoke service based on the young person’s individual needs. Our empathy, respect and emotional warmth are key to ensuring success in the vast majority of cases. By drawing on a range of therapeutic approaches we are able to tailor our sessions to each individual young person.
5. How long will the sessions be? An assessment visit is usually half an hour and sessions are a ‘therapy hour’ of approximately 45-50 minutes duration.
6. What therapy do you offer? We draw from a range of approaches including CBT, ACT, DBT, EMDR and Positive Psychology enabling us to create bespoke interventions.
7. Will we receive a report from the sessions? We are always happy to discuss the young person with a parent / carer and, as a general rule, feedback may be given verbally whilst respecting the confidentiality of the sessions. At the end of the course of therapy a written summary of the areas covered will be provided for reference.
8. Do you have a safeguarding policy? Yes. Sessions are largely confidential unless a safeguarding issue arises and this will need to be passed on by law. In some instances, this may involve liaising with school and / or their GP about the best way forward for the young person and how to support them.
9. What if I need to cancel a session? We have a 48hr cancellation policy, sessions cancelled with less than 48hrs notice may still be charged. On the rare occasion that we might need to cancel your session at short notice, you will not be charged and we will rearrange the next appointment at your earliest convenience.
10. Do you offer discount for block bookings? Yes. Sessions booked in a block of 6 weeks will qualify for an additional free session.
11. Can I book online? Not yet, but we are looking into this. Currently bookings need to be made by phone, text or email.
12. How do I pay for sessions? Online bank transfer is preferred, other methods are available on request. Sessions need to be paid for in advance.
13. What information do you need? We request a completed referral form which gives us the details we need to make sure we give the young person the best service we can. The information is kept secure and in line with GDPR requirements.
If you have any further questions please contact us.