Schools Counselling Northern & Western areasPhil Lindsay, CSM BACP Accredited Counsellor

Who are weCSMPhil Lindsay MBACP Accredited CounsellorBSC Hons Youth & Community workCert CAMHsCounsellorsPatricia Lindsay Certified Play Therapist Qualified CounsellorCarmel Rooney Accredited CounsellorAnn Johnston Child PsychotherapistLocum workersMairead ODonnellTommy Marron

Our aims

to increase childrens emotional well-being, and improve their learning potential

What we do

Time 4 MeOne to one counsellingTime 4 UsGroupworkBespoke groupwork Pyramid Programme Hero book ProgrammeTime 4 StaffStaff Training Staff consultationTime 4 Parent Awareness raising for Parents / consultationRoad showsIncredible Years Programmes

Work children young people and their families in primary and special needs post primaryIn individual schools and clusters

Which geographical areas do we coverNorthern Area

Western AreaMid-Ulster through Derry, Enniskillen/Fermanagh

Mental Health: Handling Emotions and BehaviourKey Ingredients for working with any young person:Maintaining an open mindEach day is differentUnderstanding each child as an individualSense of humourUnderstanding behaviour as communication

Keeping Your Child in MindOvercoming Defiance, Tantrums and other everyday behaviour problems by seeing the world THROUGH your Childs Eyes by Claudia M.Gold, MDBeing understood by a person we love is one of our most powerful yearnings, for adults and children alike. The need for understanding is part of what makes us human. When our feelings are validated we know that were not alone. For a child, this understanding helps develop his mind and sense of himself. When the people who care for him can reflect back his experience, he learns to recognise and manage his emotions, think more clearly, and adapt to his complex social world.

What do your current strategies look like? If its working why try fixing?

If its not working why keep doing it?

Key background reading which can help us to understand and then find ways to support our children and young people in self regulation

Attachment: Attachment theory can help to make us more compassionate. We need to think about it in a wider, longer term sense.Explore key attachment patternsEmotional Regulation:Can the child identify and express a range of emotions Do they have an emotional languageDo they recognise links between feelings and thoughtsCan they recognise sensations, facial expression and tone of voiceDo they respond inappropriately to others emotions

Adolescent Brain Development:Brain development continues right throughout adolescence and into the twenties and thirties.During adolescence with all the biological, hormonal and physical changes that come with puberty the most dramatic change is happening to the pre frontal cortex.

Strategies: Calm BoxMr Happy / Calm boxSuitable for: all age ranges of children and young people as well as special needs sectorsThis is a creative technique which compliments the current resources used in schools to support children and young people with moderate to severe disabilities; however it can be suitable for all age ranges and abilities.Each box is unique and is decorated with pictures/stickers etc which are personal to the childs interests. The contents contain various objects suitable to the particular child/young persons age, aptitude, needs and capabilities. The box aims to stimulate positive feelings which all children and families need for healthy growth. The objects within, are used in a fun way to create positive feelings of happiness and calm. The counsellor, parents/carers, key contact, class teacher and child can all plan together suitable and effective techniques and resources can and should be placed in the box. The contents include a range of resources which can be used in the classroom and in therapy sessions. Two boxes can be made during the sessions with the client, one for school and one for home.The box encourages staff and family members to enter into the spirit of fun, pride in the childs achievements and personal creativity as well as promoting open communications.Suggestion of objects to place in the box include:A Safe Place C.DRelax kids CDAffirmation sentencesTexture tissue/coloured paperMassage ball/stress ballTurtle card Squidgy ballSprings/ slinkysA4 paper and crayons and Colouring booksMaterial such as: Felt, rough stuff, silk, satin, rough, prickly, aromatherapy oils or lavender wipesToy soldiersPlay doughColouring stuff/markersGlitter bottle can be bought or made (eg)Bottle water drops of colour sprinklesPhotographs of multi sensory room home/bed etc and parks etc

Emotion dictionaries

They can be used to identify own and others emotionsCreating a book of the different emotions, what they look like, feel like and what do about them when you come across them

Other strategies and techniques to assist in creating understandings of an emotional language and self regulation

The following can be used to introduce a variety and varying degrees of emotions Scaling lines Cue cards hassle logs role playvideo

Strategies Key points from Attachment SupportAttending toEmpathy before disciplinewondering aloudProviding containmentBeing kept in mindCommentariesCreate new opportunitiesEmpathy and hopeIntegrating advice and informationUnderpinning all of this is a secure key adult relationship

Strategies: comic strip conversations/social storiesUse of colours to signify the underlying emotionUsing thoughts in the form of thought bubbles to supportUsing a magic remote controlUsing comic strips to replay and review situations and drawing upon the colours and bubbles to indicate thoughts actions and phrases

What is want to do in this very short workshop is to tell you about who we area and what we do Move into some key areas of thinking which I believe shape our practice and assist us in working therapeutically to support children and young people Share a few strategies that we have found to workOur experience and measures of effectiveness clearly demonstrate that as childrens emotional understanding and well being improve so too does their behaviour and the knock on effect of both is that their brain is freed up to be able to learn.Talk about our model of practiceTalk about Daves team in the Belfast and southern areasYoung Minds in England, describe mental health as The capacity to enter into and sustain, mutually satisfying and sustaining personal relationshipsContinuing progression of psychological developmentAn ability to play and to learn so that attainments are appropriate for age and intellectual levelA developing moral sense of right and wrongA degree of psychological distress and maladaptive behaviour within normal limits for the childs age and contextIt is transient which means its not like flu where you either have it or you don'tTake a moment to reflect upon this statementand its impact and affect/effect it has for our children and young people in special needs schools.If you doubt, read the reason I jump!

In your pack you will a range of resources that we wont have time to go through today but they are all well worth a read. What works for one child will not necessarily work for another. It helps us understanding just how fragile a babys sense of safety really is especially in the first year of life. It is these love strategies which are set up form the foundation on which we base all future relationships. Neuroscience tells us that attachment is not simply a case of learned behaviour patterns. Rather, these early experiences of love are being knit into the synaptic connections of our brain.Understanding attachment typesUnderstanding brain developmentUnderstanding emotional regulation

People on the autistic spectrum may have difficulties with emotional identification, expression and regulation. Language to express emotions is often impaired or developmentally immature. Frequently these young people when asked how they're feeling will be unable to know that emotion they are feeling. Feelings and thoughts appear to be unconnected. Therefore they are unable to express feelings verbally and this can lead to behavioural expression. This may be reflected through aggression. If a child or young person is unable to identify varying degrees of emotional they may need specific instruction on how to identify internal emotion and physical sensations of emotions or misinterpret the physical symptoms of differing emotions. Lots of practice and role play and videoing role play situations are supportive in ensuring retention of the learning and hardwiring in the brain. Mirroring and demonstrating is also useful. Cue cards in pocket size can also reinforce the learning which can contain strategies and affirmations for coping. A hassle log for anger triggers , the settings and how they handled a situation and self appraisal and praise for self regulation and managing.