Therapeutic Approach
My Story’s approach is designed to make every interaction our children have across their day
a therapeutic one. From their home, their classroom, to the dining room, whether playing sport
or simply relaxing in a quiet area, any time they meet an adult, that person will remain
composed, calm and regulated. Our staff therefore will be trained in how to engage with our
children therapeutically.
We believe a successful home demonstrates three key aspects, which are all interconnected:
A therapeutic culture
A therapeutically informed physical environment
A context that helps each young person reach their full potential
bMindful Psychology our clinical partner, deliver clinical input supporting our care team through access to the Keyworker Intervention Toolkit for Therapeutic Care (KIT). The ‘KIT’ model is a three-phase
therapeutic programme, designed to be delivered by the care team working directly with the
child and who are best placed to support each child and to knit the therapeutic working into
every-day life. This gives the children the scope and opportunity to develop healthy coping
mechanism in a more holistic way rather than targeted therapy alone.
Our aim through this therapeutic approach is to support children in understanding their
situation, to find successful ways to manage their specific challenges as they develop. To this
end our staff are specifically trained in delivering therapeutic support for children who struggle
to articulate their feelings of anger, sadness, including trauma experienced and other adverse
impact on their emotional wellbeing and behaviours.
While our team are involved in the offer of therapeutic support to children, this work is
enhanced through individually tailored work delivered by the bMindful clinician when it is safe, the child/young person is calm and stable, and they can understand and work through their
trauma so as not to retraumatise them.
A key factor in working therapeutically with children in our care is the development and quality
of the home environment that we create, that is safe and nurturing for children who have
experienced trauma which is essential for their healing and development. This provides a
sense of security for them which helps in the regulation of their emotions by offering a calm
and supportive atmosphere as well as helping them to gain the ability to build trust of others
after experiencing trauma.
Specific areas of need each therapy specialist supports
Speech and Language Therapists (SaLT)
The SaLT team supports students to maximize their speech, language, and communication ability to increase independence. The team promote a total communication approach, which values all forms of communication.
Occupational Therapy
Our OT is experienced in sensory integration. The programmes support students academic learning, behaviour and independence skills in an individualised way.
Education Psychology
Our Education Psychologist provides therapeutic input to students whose needs are identified as requiring intervention to support with emotional and psychological issues that can cause barriers to learning. We offer 1:1 timetabled support as well as reactive sessions based on the students needs.
Pastoral Team
Our Pastoral team adopt a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) model. PBS is a person-centred approach that focuses on developing skills to improve quality of life and gain new skills by replacing behaviours of concern with more functional or socially acceptable behaviours. The PBS Teamwork with staff and students to provide the optimum environment and develop strategies to support the individual needs of all young people.