About Educational Psychotherapy

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Educational Psychotherapy is a dynamic, flexible and exciting way of working with children and young people.  It makes a positive difference!

Educational Psychotherapy bridges the gap between education and therapy. The aim is to help children to learn about themselves, their learning, and their relationships. It combines teaching with chances for children to explore and make sense of life experiences that may get in the way of their learning and development. 

This approach was pioneered by Irene Caspari in the 1970s. She took her professional interest in children who struggled to learn to read and developed it into a new way of working with children. The focus is on helping a child to feel confident as a learner and make and maintain friendships with peers and relationships with staff. This enables them to experience the joy of learning in all its forms. 

I work with children online  or in person at their school. 

Sessions are usually 50 minutes long and have a predictable structure which includes routines such as: the use of the clock and calendar ;  time where I  engage the child in tasks and time where the child can choose what they would like to do.

Educational Psychotherapists understand that learning and emotions need to be thought about together. I am interested in how a child approaches learning tasks as well as what they can do  and what they struggle with or are good at.  I  use a range of creative, imaginative and learning tasks, games and tools. I am psychodynamically trained: I work with thoughts, emotions, imaginings and feelings, often through the metaphor to bring the unconscious into conscious awareness and create change .

 -Children aged 4 -18 .

I have worked with children and young people with a range of needs, such as : anxiety around attending school; low self-confidence; difficulties with relationships; struggles with meeting the demands of school life; children at risk of exclusion from school; children who find learning difficult  and children who academically able or gifted.  

Sometimes part of the work is to help a child think about a diagnosis such as Autism, AD/HD, OCD, Tourettes or Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder and how this impacts their everyday life.

I am registered with Caspari Foundation to work with children through the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Fund and have experience of working with adopted children in short and long term therapy.