Referral to Closure Process

First point of contact

Once you get in touch, Dena will reply by email or phone. In this initial contact you may have some questions and want to share a bit about the situation and issues to see how Dena may be able to help. The most important thing is that you get the most helpful help for the child or young person and/or family. If unable to help, Dena will do her best to give some suggestions of other organisations, professionals, or useful resources. If both agree to take the next step, you will be sent a referral form to complete.

First meeting

The next step is to meet up face to face or in an online video meeting. At this point Dena may also meet the child / young person to show them the space, if appropriate, and talk with them about therapy and how it works. This will depend on individual needs, what type of therapy is being considered, and often includes a short ‘taster session’ where the child / young person can explore the environment with their parent/carer present. At this stage we will decide what type of therapy will work best and which assessment/s will be most appropriate.

Beginning

This is the part where we roll up our sleeves and get started. The beginning of therapy can bring up lots of different emotions with a range of responses from children, young people and families. It can feel very different to other types of support and this can feel unsettling for some people. It is also very common to have periods of looking forward to therapy, along with periods of wanting to avoid it or not enjoying it. Even though play and creative arts therapies are offered at Safe Haven, this doesn’t mean it is always fun. If it is to be helpful help, then it will invariably bring up some painful or difficult emotions in the process. Even when providing a child/young person with individual therapy, it is important to work together as a team, with parents/carers and if appropriate, a wider team of professionals, to help ensure the child/young person makes the most progress possible.

Ending

Many therapists agree that the ending is the most important part of therapy. This is because so much learning and reworking of previous experiences can happen through a positive, therapeutic ending. It is a chance to rework possible past feelings of rejection, abandonment, low self-esteem, or unexplained traumatic changes. This is why we need to prepare for a psychologically safe ending for therapy. A structured way of ending therapy is provided depending on the type of therapy, to give everyone involved a chance to process the end of the therapeutic relationship and work. Often a follow-up session is scheduled for a time after the ending to ensure progress has been maintained and so the child/ young person sees they have not been forgotten.

Reviews and Reports

In many cases Dena is invited to attend multi-disciplinary meetings during which therapy is reviewed. As therapy is confidential, my contributions to reviews highlight progress made and possible themes within the work whilst keeping the content of sessions confidential. The review schedule for therapy will be decided by those involved prior to beginning sessions. Dena provides reports as requested for various purposes such as to inform referrers or funding bodies about progress, for EHCP reviews, or to contribute to disability applications.