Schools
Nurture your mind with great thoughts
Children & Young People
Alternative Approaches offers children and young people therapy within their school environment.
This is often a referral made to Alternative Approaches via the school or social care team but access to this support can also come from the parent or carer and also directly from the young person themselves (dependent upon age).
Natural world therapies such as Clay therapy, Sandplay therapy and other Natural, Creative therapies are used because it allows children and young people to process their world, to deal with the scary emotions they may be experiencing in a safe way, and to support them to learn how to communicate and express their feelings in an effective and appropriate manner.
Children and young people feel safe with these methods and find this a way to communicate and express without the need for words. Difficult emotions such as anger, frustration and sadness can be explored and worked through allowing them to safely externally convey their inner feelings and emotions.
When working with children and young people in school Alternative Approaches aims to support holistically and involves the parent/carer and staff where possible in order to provide a more sustained and all-encompassing approach to therapy.
Teaching Staff & Professionals
Alternative Approaches also provides emotional support to staff in schools and professionals, this can come in the form of supervision or light touch therapy.
Supervision:
Why is this beneficial?
- Ensures ethical and safe working practice
- Allows reflective practice
- Supports staff to explore challenges facing with students
- Allows offload
- Develops skills and improved confidence
Well-being/ light touch therapy sessions:
Why are these beneficial?
- Gives staff the opportunity to offload and provides light touch therapy to help manage the increasing challenges their work load entails
- Supports reduction in stress levels
- Lessen chances of long term sickness due to stress and stress related illness-thus lessening the financial burden on the school
- With increasing pressures of the demanding work within the school setting, it supports staff to manage a more healthy work, home life balance
- Provides staff better understanding and awareness of the benefits of personal self-care
- Improves personal skill development, leading to improved confidence and self-worth
- Empowers staff the confidence to reflect on and share this knowledge and practice with others they work with and with students in their care
- Improves professional relationships
Other services available include our self-care workshops which encourage and support those in this profession to reflect on their own needs and develop strategies to lessen stress levels and improve their own mental well-being.
Team building and away days activities are also available on request.
