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1-2-1 support
Emotional literacy support plays a crucial role at Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C. Here's an explanation of its significance:
Understanding Emotions: Emotional literacy support helps children develop a deeper understanding of their emotions. It enables them to identify and label their feelings accurately, which is essential for emotional well-being and self-awareness.
Expressing Emotions: Children may struggle to express their emotions effectively, leading to frustration or misunderstanding. Emotional literacy support provides a safe and non-judgmental environment where children can freely express their feelings, thoughts, and experiences.
Developing Emotional Skills: Through guided sessions, children learn valuable emotional skills such as self-regulation, empathy, resilience, and problem-solving. These skills empower them to navigate challenges, build positive relationships, and cope with stress more effectively.
Enhancing Communication: Emotional literacy support improves children's communication skills by teaching them how to express their emotions and needs appropriately. It also encourages active listening and effective communication with others, fostering better relationships and social interactions.
Managing Stress and Anxiety: Children often face stress and anxiety in their lives, and emotional literacy support equips them with tools and strategies to manage these emotions. They learn coping mechanisms, relaxation techniques, and mindfulness practices to reduce stress and enhance overall well-being.
Building Emotional Intelligence: Emotional literacy support helps children develop emotional intelligence, which is the ability to recognise, understand, and regulate emotions in themselves and others. This skill set contributes to improved self-esteem, decision-making, and conflict resolution.
Promoting Mental Health: By nurturing emotional literacy, we promote positive mental health in children. It helps prevent and address mental health challenges by fostering emotional resilience, providing coping mechanisms, and promoting open discussions about mental well-being.
Long-Term Outcomes: Emotional literacy support is not a quick fix but an investment in a child's long-term emotional development. By building a solid foundation of emotional literacy skills, children are better equipped to navigate challenges throughout their lives and maintain positive mental health.
At Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C., our dedicated practitioners are trained in providing effective emotional literacy support to empower children with the necessary skills to thrive emotionally and mentally. We are committed to working collaboratively with parents and children to create a supportive and enriching environment for their emotional growth.
How do I know if my child needs 1-2-1 sessions?
Sessions can be either ‘proactive’ (building resilience and emotional intelligence) or ‘reactive’ (support through a challenging time or situation).
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‘Proactive’ Sessions:
Do you want to be proactive in supporting your young person’s emotional development?
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Investing in a course (twelve sessions) of proactive emotional literacy education for your child has a huge impact on their ability to recognise, manage and cope with emotional highs and lows. This is our passion at Bridge the Gap: giving young people the skills and knowledge they need to help AVOID them hitting crisis point!
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‘Reactive’ Sessions
Are you looking for support for your child or young adult because they are struggling to cope with something on their own?
Our specialist practitioners offer support across a number of areas, for example:
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Low level anxiety
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Support at a challenging time (e.g., transition, separation etc)
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Growth mindset (“I CAN do this!”)
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Low self-esteem
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Building authentic resilience
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Sleep trouble
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It is important to note that we are not a crisis response service. We offer proactive support and early interventions, boosting self-esteem and resilience so your child can cope with challenging situations in the future.
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However: you are NOT alone – and you matter.
If your child is in crisis, talk to us.
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For example, they may be using self-harm as a coping strategy or limiting their usual activities because of phobias. If we can’t support you through the services we currently offer, we will help guide you to an appropriate pathway elsewhere. You are not alone.
If you haven’t accessed it already, please enrol on our FREE course for parents supporting a child in crisis. This includes sections on anxiety and self-harm, along with general information on how you can support your child through challenging situations.
What are One-to-One (1-2-1) Sessions?
Which support is best for my child?
What types of support are available?
Assessment Fee
Additional Services
One-to-One sessions at Bridge the Gap provide a warm, welcoming space for children and young adults to feel safe, seen, soothed and heard.
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Understanding the Difference between Emotional Literacy Support/Guided Self-Help and Therapy
At Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C., we offer emotional literacy support and guided self-help as part of our 1:1 support. It's important to differentiate these services from therapy. Here's a breakdown of the key distinctions:
Emotional Literacy Support/Guided Self-Help:
Focus: Emotional literacy support aims to enhance children's emotional understanding, self-expression, and emotional skills. It focuses on developing emotional intelligence, resilience, and coping strategies.
Structure: Sessions are structured to provide guidance, education, and practical tools for children to navigate their emotions effectively. The emphasis is on teaching and empowering children to develop emotional awareness and regulation.
Practitioner's Role: Our practitioners serve as guides and facilitators, offering insights, techniques, and resources to support children's emotional growth. They provide a safe and non-judgmental space for children to express themselves and learn valuable skills.
Goals: The primary goal is to foster emotional well-being, self-awareness, and improved communication. It helps children develop emotional literacy skills that can be applied in various aspects of their lives.
Timeframe: Emotional literacy support is often provided over a series of sessions, focusing on gradual and sustained development of emotional skills. The length of support depends on the unique needs of each child.
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Therapy:
Focus: Therapy involves a deeper exploration of emotional and psychological challenges. It addresses specific mental health concerns, diagnoses, and clinical conditions. Therapy aims to provide healing, resolution, and personal growth through evidence-based interventions.
Structure: Therapy sessions are typically structured to explore underlying issues, emotions, and thoughts. It involves a therapeutic relationship with a trained mental health professional who guides the process of healing and transformation.
Practitioner's Role: Therapists are licensed professionals who specialise in specific therapeutic modalities. They utilise various approaches tailored to the individual's needs, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, or family therapy.
Goals: Therapy focuses on the resolution of mental health difficulties, trauma, or challenges that impact daily functioning. It aims to alleviate symptoms, improve overall well-being, and promote personal growth.
Timeframe: The duration of therapy varies depending on the complexity of the issues being addressed. It can range from short-term, focused interventions to longer-term therapeutic relationships.
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It's important to note that while emotional literacy support and guided self-help can be highly beneficial, they may not be sufficient for individuals with severe or chronic mental health conditions. In such cases, a referral to specialised therapeutic services may be recommended to provide the necessary level of care and expertise.
At Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C., we provide emotional literacy support and guided self-help to empower children in developing emotional skills. If additional therapeutic intervention is needed, we can facilitate appropriate referrals to licensed therapists or counselors who can provide the specific therapeutic support required, this may be internal or external from our organisation.
Our commitment is to provide the best possible care and support for your child's emotional well-being, tailored to their unique needs and circumstances.
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Personalised support designed specifically for YOUR child and your family.
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Improve your child’s well-being
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Help them to understand, accept and to move through difficult emotions
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Help them to build authentic emotional resilience
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Boost their self-esteem
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Reassure them they are ENOUGH, exactly as they are
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Work through difficult, specific circumstances in a safe space
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What types of support are available?
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We currently offer five main options for one-to-one sessions. These are subject to availability (we do have waiting lists, although these are managed to be as short as possible) and we hope to add to these services in the future to offer more options for our families. See below to find out more on each type of support.
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We will discuss this with you when you have your assessment call. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and our mental health lead will allocate the most appropriate type of practitioner for your child.
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Generally speaking, the ‘type’ of practitioner and support your child would benefit from depends on a combination of how they are presenting (behaviours), how their thought processes are affecting their behaviours, and how their emotions are feeding these thoughts and behaviours.
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We will recommend the support that will most directly benefit them in their current circumstances.
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We will recommend a practitioner that will best connect with them as individuals and is able to meet their unique needs.
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Of course, if you already have a preference or know which service you would like to access – please let us know when booking your assessment call.
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Our Child Well-being Practitioners have experience offering proactive support across areas like low self-esteem, low-level anxiety and growth mindset. Our Community Mental Health Practitioners have ‘protected professional titles’ and offer experience dealing with more complex needs.
One to One sessions are appropriate for all ages, from around five years to adulthood.
Children, young people and adults can self-refer (contact us here).
Referrals can also be made through your child’s school, or via your GP.
How many sessions will my child or young adult have?
We advocate a ‘drip-drip’, connection-based approach and sessions will usually run for an average of around 12 weeks. If your child needs less or more – that is what they will receive.
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A series of proactive sessions to boost your child’s emotional intelligence and build resilience for their future may last around six sessions, depending on their response and your wishes.
We offer a private service which clients can pay for themselves.
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Schools can often access funding for children who have been referred – our practitioners tend to work from our premises on Friar Gate whenever possible, this allows us to see more children in a day helping to reduce our waitlist. When we do work in schools we require the school to have signed up to one of our school packages - please ask them to get in touch to find out details.
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If we know of any funded or free support available, we will always inform you and share the details. We are always looking for and applying for funding, although it is a costly and time-consuming process, so we always need help raising funds and applying for them.
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Please do not suffer in silence – if you're struggling, talk to us about your situation and we will let you know if there is anything we can do to help.
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How does it work
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You can self-refer into our private 1:1 service, or schools can do it for you if they are happy to fund the support for your child. We then arrange a telephone assessment (£45) with a member of our team to ensure that we are recommending the right pathway for support.
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Depending on the pathway chosen, we will make arrangements for the sessions to begin – either with you, or the school if applicable.
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If you choose to work with a therapist, you will need a further assessment or conversation with them to ensure the right care is given.
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NEW FOR SUMMER 2023
We will give you a code to access our full empowerment online learning for parents, 'Supporting your Child's Mental Health: An in-depth approach', with the cost of your assessment call deducted. This course helps you to understand more about the support your child is accessing and how you can facilitate further growth at home.
We currently offer five main options for one-to-one sessions. These are subject to availability (we do have waiting lists).
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Emotional Literacy sessions
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Play Therapy
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Music Therapy
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ACT-informed sessions
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Parent Support
These sessions range from £45/£65 per session.
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Read more on the research around EQ below:
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https://cpduk.co.uk/news/emotional-intelligence-a-key-21st-century-skill
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https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership]
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What is ‘Play Therapy’?
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“While adults may be comfortable talking about their concerns, children sometimes need a different way to express themselves.
Play therapy is a developmentally appropriate way for children to explore what is going on for them, to work through feelings and find new ways of looking at things.
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During a session, children can choose to work in a number of different ways:
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in the sand tray
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with clay or other art materials
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through musical instruments
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using puppets
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creating and exploring stories
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building
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talking
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The play therapist’s role is to create a safe space for these explorations and work with the child to allow them to explore what they need to. Sometimes, they will offer experiences and reflections intended to support them on their journey. Listening to what children have to say, through the language of play, can offer an experience of being heard and receiving attention which is therapeutic.”
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What are ‘ACT-informed’ Sessions?
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Specialist Mental Health Nurse Nikki Webster is a qualified ACT Practitioner and offers hugely inspirational and life-affirming ‘ACT informed Practice’ sessions.
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Acceptance & Commitment Therapy builds on the foundation of emotional literacy and is especially useful for older children, teenagers and adults.
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The process helps us to understand how we feel, why we might feel the way we do – and to embrace that part of ourselves as authentic, unique and valid. This is the ‘Acceptance’ element.
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We then look at what actions and behaviours we can commit to that positively enrich our lives, while embracing the parts of us that we cannot change or control.
A hugely empowering path to self-love and acceptance.
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Nikki Webster is our only ACT practitioner so there is often a wait for this service, it is costed at £60 per session.
What are ‘Parent Support’ Sessions?
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Support sessions give you a safe space to explore what is happening with your child so that we can work through things together in a safe, relaxed, non-judgmental, and informal environment. We work through different scenarios together so that you feel empowered with tools and strategies to be able to support them at home.
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Sessions are usually held with one of our Directors, Jennifer Wyman, or Nikki Webster.
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Jennifer Wyman is our Early Years specialist and is full of amazing ideas to help you manage parenting struggles that show up in the day to day, she is able to empower you with information on your child’s stage of development so that you are able to understand where your child currently is and meet them there.
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Nikki Webster is a Specialist Mental Health Nurse so is able to offer you a safe space to explore the daily struggles of supporting a child struggling with their mental health. Having a safe space to do so can help your child too – it is vital that we are putting on our own oxygen masks first. It is also important that your child’s privacy is protected so that they don’t feel ‘labelled’ as they move out of crisis.
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Sessions last up to an hour. We can have sessions monthly or fortnightly, some parents choose to have some just 'as and when' they feel that they need it.
We can arrange this face-to-face at our lovely premises on Friar Gate - the kettle will be on!
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Parent support sessions are £45 - £60 per session.
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*Alternatively online sessions are available for those currently out of area.
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We invest in you from the beginning...
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Assessment calls are £45 and last between 45 minutes - 1 hour.
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We’ll arrange a time that suits you and your busy life. We will take the call in a confidential environment and be available to support you emotionally. It can be difficult to share all the information you might want to so that we fully understand your child’s needs. While we can’t understand your unique situation – we do know how it feels to be vulnerable and to ask for help. We are here for you and your child with compassion and absolutely no judgement.
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We won’t refer you unless we believe we can make a difference. You might find that the free resources we have available or another option might be better for your child. We might also feel that your child needs a different type of support – perhaps something that we don’t offer here at BTG. If this is the case, we will advise you as best we can.
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We’ll take the time to listen.
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We’ll talk you through the options we can offer and make sure you understand and are happy with your choice.
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We’ll make you aware of any funding options we might have available and make sure you know exactly what you will be investing in your child’s well-being.
Services
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Weekly 1:1 support with a Bridge the Gap Practitioner £45 per session (45 minutes)
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Weekly 1:1 support with a community mental health practitioner £50
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ACT sessions £60
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Telephone assessment £45 (45 minutes)
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Parent support sessions £45 (1 hour)
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Community services prices available on booking page of website.
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Therapy prices will be discussed with the individual therapist on consultation.
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Additional services all charged at £45 per hour (£60 for Nikki Webster) please speak with us around the length of time needed to complete.
Examples of services you may ask for us to provide
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Report for school or diagnostic services
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Attendance in meeting with a school or other service
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Additional meetings with the practitioner outside of review sessions
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Mental Health Assessment (£120 in total for assessment and report)
At Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C., we recognise and value the uniqueness of each child's journey. It's essential to understand that outcomes of emotional literacy support can differ from child to child, depending on their individual starting point and circumstances. Here's an explanation of this concept:
Individual Starting Point: Every child begins their emotional literacy support journey from a distinct starting point. Factors such as their previous experiences, developmental stage, family dynamics, and personal strengths and challenges contribute to their starting point. It is important to acknowledge that each child has their own set of needs, abilities, and emotional development.
Varying Progress Rates: Due to the unique starting point of each child, their progress rates and trajectories will also differ. Some children may show significant progress within a relatively short period, while others may require more time and support to achieve similar outcomes. It's crucial to allow children to progress at their own pace and celebrate their individual milestones.
Complex Interplay of Factors: Emotional literacy support does not exist in isolation but interacts with various external factors that influence a child's development. Family dynamics, school environment, peer relationships, and external stressors can all impact a child's progress. Recognising and addressing these factors can contribute to positive outcomes in emotional literacy support.
Long-Term Development: Emotional literacy is a lifelong skill that continues to evolve as children grow and face new challenges. Emotional growth and development occur incrementally, with ongoing reinforcement and practice over time. It's important to view emotional literacy support as a foundation for long-term emotional well-being, rather than expecting immediate and definitive outcomes.
Tailored Support: Our practitioners at Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C. are committed to tailoring support to meet the specific needs of each child. We adapt our interventions, techniques, and strategies based on individual strengths and challenges. This personalised approach ensures that children receive the support they need while acknowledging their unique starting point.
Celebrating Progress and Resilience: Instead of focusing solely on specific outcomes, it is important to celebrate progress and resilience in emotional literacy support. Every step forward, no matter how small, contributes to a child's emotional growth. By recognising and appreciating the efforts and achievements of each child, we foster a positive and supportive environment.
Ultimately, emotional literacy support provides children with the tools and skills necessary to navigate their emotions effectively. While outcomes may vary, the focus remains on promoting emotional well-being, self-awareness, and healthy coping strategies that will benefit each child throughout their lives.
Child Wellbeing Practitioners
Child Wellbeing Practitioners (CWP) at Bridge the Gap hold a core qualification, a minimum of level 3, that enables them to work within the children and young person's workforce. TA's, Teachers, youth workers etc.
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The job role of a CWP is a unique role that allows professionals to deliver 1:1 support to children struggling managing big and difficult emotions, have low self-esteem, who require a supportive and neutral mentor, or who are identified as being vulnerable. You will have the opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives.
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We provide both internal and external training and focus on finding the right people that are suited to working with the children in our service. All child wellbeing practitioners receive regular informal and formal clinical supervision.
online pre-recorded courses to support your families mental health
Community Mental Health
Practitioners
Community Mental Health Practitioners (CMHP) at Bridge the Gap hold a protected professional title and are members of the appropriate governing body - Mental health nurses, occupational therapists or therapeutic social workers.
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The job role of CMHP is a unique role that allows professionals to deliver 1:1 support to children struggling to manage big and difficult emotions, have low self-esteem, or who are struggling to engage with day to day life.
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CMHP's are confident in their ability to assess risk and make professional decisions to ensure that children are kept safe and feel supported.
