What We Offer

• DDP (Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy)
• Art Psychotherapy
• Integrative Psychotherapy
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) - This includes Trauma Focused CBT
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• Psychological Assessment

Please see more information on the therapies we offer below;

DDP (Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy)

DDP is a treatment developed by Dan Hughes who has worked with adopters and their children for many years. Central within DDP is PACE (Playful, Accepting, Curious, and Empathetic), a way of thinking which deepens the emotional connections in our relationships with others.

DDP is a psychotherapeutic treatment method for families that have children with symptoms of emotional disorders, including complex trauma and attachment disorders.  It involves creating an environment in which the worker attunes to the child’s subjective experiences. The worker then reflects this back to the child by means of eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and movements, voice tone, timing and touch, co-regulating emotional affect and co-constructing an alternative autobiographical narrative with the child.  DDP also makes use of cognitive-behavioural strategies, the “dyad” referred to must eventually be the parent-child dyad and the active presence of the primary caregiver is preferred but not essential.

The sessions are part psychoeducational, part reflexive and additionally offer therapeutic parenting approaches specific to children who have experienced Type 2 psychological trauma (such as loss or developmental trauma categories of neglect). The sessions also offer parents a safe space to reflect upon the impacts of their experiences as adoptive parents. Sessions include introductions to DDP, Parenting with PACE (model), Affective Reflective Dialogue Approach sessions. Sessions also include reflecting on parents own attachment relationships and look at the result of trauma, shame and guilt upon adopted children internal working models. The recommended scope of the DDP sessions is 15 sessions, this is to be made up of parent work initially and then hopefully to engage the child or young person into the therapeutic process in the hope of developing contained and trusting relationships which may enable the family to begin to discuss questions relating to adoption in a safe therapeutic environment and build positive attachments.

Art Psycotherapy

Art therapy can help children from complex and traumatic backgrounds in a range of ways. It can help to increase concentration and attention skills, improve family and social relationships and increase a child's confidence. For many children it is the first step towards finding ways of dealing with their feelings of loss, frustration and emotional trauma so that they can start to learn to trust, love and lead happier lives. Art Psychotherapy is a non-directive and creative form of therapy. It involves using arts materials to express thoughts, feelings and experiences, in a safe environment. It is particularly appropriate for working with children and young people, as being creative and playing is a normal part of growing up. Our Art Psychotherapist at The Link, can help children and young people to use art for a variety of reasons. These include; being creative, providing a different way to communicate, expression of feelings and thoughts through non-verbal methods, thinking about loss and helping with emotional trauma. Art Psychotherapy also supports emotional regulation, aids relaxation and focus, enhances safety and containment, helps children gain clarity and reduces confusion, and increases confidence.

Integrative psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a non directive verbal therapy, where a child or young person and therapist meet in order to explore and gain insight and understanding of issues that are important to them. Issues may vary from distressing feelings, thoughts and behaviours, both past and present, through talking about relationships that impact on them. It also allows workers to gain a greater understanding about what motivates a child. Psychotherapy involves exploring in-depth, a child's issues in a safe, structured and confidential relationship and environment. Depending on the nature of the issues, the length of therapy may vary as individuals who seek psychotherapy generally take longer to explore and work through what has brought them to therapy and deals with deeper, often sub-conscious processes.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a talking therapy that can help manage problems by changing the way a child or young person thinks and behaves. It is most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems. CBT cannot remove problems, but it can help to deal with them in a more positive way. It is based on the concept that thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap a person in a vicious cycle. CBT aims to help crack this cycle by breaking down overwhelming problems into smaller parts and showing how to change these negative patterns to improve emotional well-being. Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with current problems, rather than focusing on historical issues. It looks for practical ways to improve state of mind on a daily basis. CBT has been shown to be an effective way of treating a number of different mental health conditions.

In addition to depression or anxiety disorders, CBT can also help people with: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): panic disorder: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): phobias: eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia: sleep problems, such as insomnia: and problems related to alcohol misuse. CBT is not time constrained and is individually led, The Link offer treatment as recommended by NICE guidelines and inline with evidence based practice for anxiety and depression. Sessions are delivered in six week blocks with regular reviews involving parents/guardians and all other involved agencies.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a psychological treatment method which stimulates the brain to reduce the intensity of distressing memories. A wealth of research has been conducted demonstrating its benefits in treating psychological trauma arising from experiences such as childhood sexual and physical abuse, neglect and assault. EMDR is an integrative psychotherapeutic approach and has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. The amount of time the complete treatment will take depends upon the history. Complete treatment of the targets involves a three pronged protocol (1-past memories, 2-present disturbance, 3-future actions), and are needed to alleviate the symptoms and address the complete clinical picture. The goal of EMDR therapy is to process completely the experiences that are causing problems, and to include new ones that are needed for full health.