Blog

The First EVER ‘TK Live Stream’ – watch it here…
Regressive behaviour - self-care - fear of allegations - needs vs risks... Hi All, On Wednesday 6th May 2020 we launched the first ever Troubled Kids (TK) Live Stream - it was great fun. Below are the links for the resources we discussed. If you missed it, you can...

Being Child-Centred 6 – Empathy Before Action
Last (for now!) in our series of posts about being child-centred, is 'Empathy Before Action.' Now, I've written a lot about empathy in the last couple of years, particularly unpacking what exactly empathy is, using Dr Teresa Wiseman's break down. See those posts at...

RESOURCES: Helping Kids Cope With COVID-19
Here are some resources to help us to help kids cope with COVID-19Â COVID Convo video - from Iszzy Hayter-Rogers I've made some animations as part of my work in CAMHS to start the 'COVID Convo' with teenagers & children - hopefully they're useful to some! Please...

Why HSB assessments are better done in pairs…
Given the choice, would you rather assess alone or work in a pair. For me, it would be a pair - every time and twice on Sundays! Here's why... Know your short-comings I reckon I've been around the block in social work and allied fields (YOT, residential,...

Being Child-Centred 5 – Services That Fit Children…
"OK, so s/he needs somewhere to live, away from the family. What have we got available?' "Mm, more problems with behaviour in school - let's get them a place in the one down the road.' 'S/he'll be 18 in a couple of months, let's start the countdown to independent...

Being Child-Centred 4 – Speaking Up: Advocacy…
I remember well the first few weeks of my social work training. It was a baptism of fire! Having never been to university before (I left school with 1 GCSE) I was struck by how vociferous people were about their views. What particularly impressed me was how...

Growing Pains – book review
Title: Growing Pains Subtitle: Making Sense of Childhood: A Psychiatrist's Story Author: Dr Mike Shooter This book - Growing Pains - was recommended to me by a psychology colleague. I was a little dubious, but was quickly proven wrong! If you work with children or...

Speech & Language Therapy – A Child’s Eye View…
Children sometimes fail to understand the things we say to them. And yet, often, we don't even realise this.Kids from troubled, traumatised or attachment disordered backgrounds are particularly susceptible to speech and language problems.So I asked my friend and...

Being Child-Centred 3 – Our real job is serving…
One of the great things about developed societies is the range of professionals involved in helping troubled children. I have the privilege of working in a multi-disciplinary mental health team. There are nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and social...

Being Child-Centred 2 – Language is Power…
How risky is s/he? I get asked this all the time. ALL the time! In some circles it's almost become the main talking point - as if all the other factors in a child's life are somehow secondary. In fact, if you think about it,...