Our Therapeutic Model

At Stepping Stones Care, we want to give our Young People the best chances possible to become successful, confident adults. With varied childhoods that have resulted in their arrival in care, it is upon us as a provider to offer them the support and nurturing environment they require. In order to do this, we work hand-in-hand with Dr Daniel Mulligan and his Team at Psychology Talks.

Therapeutic Approach

All of the children in our care are supported by our in-house therapeutic team, enabling us to deliver leading therapeutic care immediately. Our homes have direct access to this highly skilled team, ensuring that staff are supported with expert guidance at every stage. The brilliant teams throughout our homes are also have the benefit of time with our therapeutic team.

Key Activities

  • Completing initial psychological assessments

  • Contributing to Care / Behaviour / Risk Assessment Plans

  • Creating Therapeutic Plans with short, medium and long term goals

  • Psychological consultation with staff members and managers

  • Developing strategies and interventions to be used on a day-to-day basis

  • Direct therapeutic work with children and young people

  • Providing written records/evidence of support intervention and recommendations for quality management purposes

  • Attending LAC reviews, PEP meetings and progression meetings

  • Workshop and training sessions

  • Support with Life Story Work

Consultation

  • Consultation is the primary model of ongoing support to teams. Consultation is a formal process, theoretically underpinned and supported by a clear evidence base. It is fully compliant with NICE Guidelines and contemporary legislation for children home.

  • Staff consultation is a way of working as part of a network which directly surrounds the young person explicitly for the benefit of the young person and the team.

  • It means that the psychologist will be directly involved in helping members of the staff team step back and reflect upon the myriad issues that they are dealing with. This would usually include specific behavioural problems.

Screening and Assessment

  • The psychologist is able to administer recognised psychological assessments according to the individual needs of the home and young person.

  • In addition, the psychologist is able to carry out a range of more in depth psychological assessments (e.g. mental health, emotional and behavioural difficulties, attachment, risk to self and others, intellectual functioning, readiness for independent living).

  • Information from the screening is used as a means to assess appropriate interventions that are catered to the individual needs of the young person and identify themes across various cohorts to inform training and strategy development.

  • The psychologist is experienced in providing reports for care proceedings, criminal and civil proceedings, contributing to pre-sentencing reports, funding panels, commissioning and tender processes, care planning and LAC reviews.

Therapy

  • The psychologist can also provide a range of individual psychological therapies, including: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psycho-analytic Therapy, Person centred, Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Narrative Therapy.

  • Areas in need of support may include trauma, abuse, anger, anxiety, depression, family difficulties, self-harm, low self-esteem, communication and social skills, substance misuse difficulties, although this list is not exhaustive.