Our Approach

The Way We Work

We are focused on finding ways of helping you and your children overcome obstacles and getting the results that you want, using our extensive experience and training.

Our approach is collaborative and creative and designed to empower our clients to successfully negotiate the future.

Whether you are a child, parent or young adult, we are respectful of how daunting it may be to open up to a stranger and we are committed to providing a warm, welcoming and non-judgmental space.

All sessions are confidential apart from in exceptional circumstances agreed with the client and we take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously.

We bring a variety of approaches and skills but have been most influenced by the following – gestalt; mindfulness; arts based therapies; attachment theory; positive psychology and CBT.

More detailed information on each of these influences can be found below.

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt is a highly positive and practical integrative therapeutic approach.

Broadly, gestalt practitioners help people to focus on their immediate thoughts, feelings and behaviour and to better understand the way they relate to others and the impact they are having. 

This increased awareness can help people to find a new perspective, see the bigger picture and have more choices about how they want to be moving forward.

To find out more about gestalt therapy, visit the Gestalt Centre website.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)

Cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on exploring relationships between a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

During CBT the therapist actively works with the client to uncover unhealthy patterns of thought and how they may be causing self-destructive behaviours and beliefs.

It teaches the client strategies to change these negative patterns to improve the way they feel. Rather than focusing on issues from the past like other therapies do, CBT deals with current problems and looks for practical ways to improve the state of the mind on a daily basis.

You can find out more about CBT and how it is used by visiting the NHS website.

Arts Based Therapies

The arts offer a way into processing feelings well, rather than simply managing them via neurotic or destructive means.

We use a variety of arts based approaches to support clients to express their feelings.

We have all been trained at IATE – the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education and believe the arts offer a creative working through of emotional pain, within a safe and supportive arena.

You can find out more about arts based therapies by visiting the Mind.org.uk website or by reading this comprehensive article published by Psychology Today.

Attachment Focused

We are strongly influenced by the work of Dan Hughes and Guy Diamond and Attachment Focused Family Therapy.

This approach emphasises the importance of working with the parent/s alongside the child or teenager to repair or strengthen the bond of trust between them.

Supported by the therapist, this allows them to work together in the most effective way towards independence and autonomy.

Positive Psychology

The field is based on the premise that people truly want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

When used in therapy, the goal of positive psychology is to help you change your negative styles of thinking in order to change how you feel.

Changing how you think about yourself, other people, and your future deeply impacts your emotional state.

The ability to pull attention away from the chronic, negative inner chatter of your thoughts makes a positive impact on your overall well-being.