At Bridge the Gap Child Mental Health C.I.C., our dedicated practitioners are trained to provide effective emotional literacy support. Whether your child needs proactive sessions to build resilience or reactive support during challenging times, we're adaptable to meet children's individual needs. We work with children who are struggling with anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem, bereavement and support those facing life challenges. We also work with children who have ASD or other additional needs.

 

Welcome to Bridge the Gap, where we're dedicated to providing a safe, friendly, and non-judgmental space for children and young adults. Our approach revolves around Emotional Literacy Support, recognising its pivotal role in nurturing emotional well-being. Here's a glimpse into what makes our support special:

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• Understanding Emotions: Our Emotional Literacy Support empowers children to understand and label their feelings, a fundamental step towards emotional well-being and self-awareness.

• Expressing Emotions: We create a secure and non-judgmental environment for children to freely express their feelings, thoughts, and experiences, addressing potential struggles and finding new ways to share them with others.

• Developing Emotional Skills: Guided sessions focus on building essential emotional skills like self-regulation, empathy, resilience, and problem-solving, supporting the ability to navigate challenges and build positive relationships.

• Enhancing Communication: Emotional Literacy Support improves communication skills, teaching children to express emotions safely, encouraging active listening, and fostering better relationships.

• Managing Stress and Anxiety: Equipping children with tools and strategies to manage stress and anxiety, we incorporate coping mechanisms, relaxation techniques, and mindfulness practices.

• Building Emotional Intelligence: Our support aids in developing emotional intelligence, enhancing self-esteem, problem solving and goal setting.

• Promoting Mental Health: By nurturing emotional literacy, we promote positive mental health, addressing challenges, fostering resilience, and encouraging open discussions about well-being. Helping children to feel less frightened of their feelings and thoughts.

• Long-Term Outcomes: Emotional literacy support is an investment in a child's long-term emotional development, providing a solid foundation to navigate challenges and maintain positive mental health.​

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How do I know if my child needs 1:1 sessions?

Sessions can be either 'proactive'—building resilience and emotional intelligence—or 'reactive'—offering support during challenging times.

'Proactive' Sessions: Invest in a course of proactive emotional literacy education (six or twelve sessions) to impact your child's ability to manage emotional highs and lows, preventing crisis points.

'Reactive' Sessions: Seek support for challenges like low-level anxiety, transitions, low self-esteem, growth mindset, or sleep troubles. While not a crisis response, we provide proactive support and early interventions.

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What are One-to-One (1:1) Sessions?

Our One-to-One sessions offer a warm, welcoming space for children to feel safe, seen, soothed, and heard. Differentiating from therapy, we focus on emotional literacy support and guided self-help.

Tailored Support: Our practitioners support children based on individual presentations, ensuring a personalized approach to meet unique needs.

Types of Support: We will work with you to discover what your child's support needs are. Emotional Literacy sessions, Play Therapy, Counselling, ACT-informed sessions, or Parent Support, based on your child's requirements.

How it works:

Our 1:1 support service is a private one and the cost of sessions starts from £45 per session.

• Self-refer.

• Speak with your child's school to see if they currently fund Bridge the Gap support in school.

• A telephone assessment guides us in recommending the right support pathway (book online)

• Sessions commence based on the chosen pathway, either with you or the school.

 

Access our full empowerment online learning for parents, deducting the cost from your assessment call. Understand and facilitate your child's growth at home.

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• Outcome Expectations: Recognise that outcomes may vary based on each child's starting point, progress rates, and the complex interplay of factors. Celebrate progress and resilience, viewing emotional literacy support as a foundation for long-term development.​

• Child Wellbeing Practitioners: Our practitioners hold core qualifications, working within the children and young person's workforce. Offering 1:1 support, they make a positive impact on children's lives through a unique role. They receive regular high quality training.

• Community Mental Health Practitioners: Holding protected professional titles, they provide 1:1 support for children struggling with emotions or low self-esteem. Confident in risk assessment, they ensure safety and support.

• Bridge the Gap is here to support your child's emotional growth, providing personalised, compassionate, and effective care. Don't hesitate to reach out—we're ready to listen and help.

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All of our practitioners receive regular, appropriate supervision.

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We work for a minimum of 12-weeks when working with a child on personalised goals and targets, we do offer a short-term emotional literacy based craft based programme called Growing Minds, for 6-weeks. 

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• FREE drop-in support - Tuesday and Wednesdays 9am - 11am - Pop along to our new Café space if you need on the day information and advice, come alone or bring your child.

• Compassionate Crafts 6-week volunteer led programme - FREE. Our 6-week, small group course where children explore emotions through creative activities. Aimed at children aged 7-11, this course provides a safe space to understand feelings like kindness, anger, worry, and more, with support from caring adults. Our sessions focus on building self-esteem and emotional literacy in a calm, nurturing environment. 

• 10 Week Emotions Course for parents and children aged 0-2 years - FREE ( please email staceymurray@jwbridgethegap.com to book). A free 10-week course for parents and their 0-2 year olds. Gently introduce emotional literacy through stories, play and creativity. Support the whole family’s wellbeing, ask questions, explore a different emotion each week, and access activities and ideas that you can continue at home. 

• 1:1 support with a Child Wellbeing Practitioner - £45 per session for 12 weeks. We create custom plans for each child based on their interests and learning styles. Weekly sessions focus on building a trusting relationship while working toward set goals. You'll get a report on progress, including the child's input and next steps. Plus, there's a quick mid-session parent check-in to keep everyone on the same page.

• 1:1 support with a Community Mental Health Practitioner - £50 per session for 12 weeks. Community Mental Health Practitioners work in the same way as Child Wellbeing Practitioners but hold protected professional titles. They work with more specialised needs and experiences.

• 1:1 6-week Growing Minds Programme with a Child Wellbeing Practitioner - £45 per session for 6 weeks. This 6-week program uses crafts to help children explore and understand emotions like worry, anger, happiness, self-esteem, kindness, and sadness. It’s like 6 weeks of emotional swimming lessons, designed as early intervention or a proactive way to support emotional growth.

• 1:1 Parent Support Sessions with Director Jennifer Wyman - £50 per hour. Parent support sessions offer a non-judgmental, safe space to discuss your child’s challenges, whether it’s behaviour, emotions, separation, bereavement, or mental health. We’re here to listen, support, and share helpful ideas to help you move forward. Jennifer has over 25 years experience supporting parents so that they can best plan for a child's next steps.

• 1:1 Parent Support Session with a Lead Child Wellbeing  Practitioner - £45 per session. Parent support sessions offer a non-judgmental, safe space to discuss your child’s challenges, if you have concerns about how to respond to your child's situation or emotions then these sessions provide an opportunity to learn and reflect.

• 1:1 Online Adult and Child Workshop - £45 per session. We offer a wide range of online workshops to help children understand and manage tough emotions like anger, anxiety, and self-esteem. You can access these engaging and thought-provoking sessions from the comfort of your home. Perfect as a stand-alone intervention or as a follow-up to 1:1 support, our Zoom workshops are both fun and effective! Let us help you find the right workshop for your needs.

• Out of hours (after 5pm and weekends) Assessment Call with Director Jennifer Wyman or Clinical Lead Kate Hardy - £80 per session (please email jenniferwyman@jwbridgethegap.com to book with Jennifer or book online for availability with Kate). If you're considering Bridge the Gap support, start with a 45-minute phone consultation with one of our team members. This call is a safe, non-judgmental space for parents and carers to discuss concerns about their child's mental health, whether it’s sleep, friendships, behaviour, self-esteem, anxiety, anger, or self-harm. We’ll work with you to develop a plan for moving forward. While we're not a clinical service and can’t diagnose, we offer relationship-focused support tailored to your child's needs. This call is your gateway to our services, whether you're interested in one-on-one support, group sessions, or just need someone to talk to.

• Out of hours (after 5pm and weekends) Online Adult and Child Workshop with Director Jennifer Wyman - £80 per session. We offer a wide range of online workshops to help children understand and manage tough emotions like anger, anxiety, and self-esteem. You can access these engaging and thought-provoking sessions from the comfort of your home. Perfect as a stand-alone intervention or as a follow-up to 1:1 support, our Zoom workshops are both fun and effective! Let us help you find the right workshop for your needs.

• In person Groups start from £5 and go up to £95 for a 4-week course. We offer a wide variety of in-person small group sessions that you can book online, designed to be fun, empowering, and educational. From Chess Club to Glow Girls, there's something for everyone! Our standout offering is the in-person adult and child workshops, where we help kids share with their safe adults, normalise big emotions, and explore practical tools together.

• 1:1 4-week Adult and Child Emotions Course - £200 (includes all resources). Some children find small groups difficult which is why we offer our popular 4-weeks emotions course as a 1:1 service. Meet with the same practitioner for 4-weeks to discover more about where we feel our feelings, anxiety, anger and self-esteem! A creative based course that makes a difference.

• Private Mental Health Assessment with Clinical Director Nikki Webster - £150 (please email nikkiwebster@jwbridgethegap.com to book). A mental health assessment may be required if we are concerned about a child's mental health, we may suggest this so that we can effectively safeguard and risk assess before they enter our service; or use it to determine the best support for your child's needs. You may also request an assessment to help you advocate for your child. We will only agree to complete a mental health assessment if we deem it necessary and ethical to do so. 

• Online Parent Webinars - from £7.50 Easy and accessible support and empowering information! If you want to learn more about anxiety, responding to behaviour, all things emotions or coping tools then we have a webinar for you! Each webinar is recorded and you get access for 30 days after the live delivery. Book via our Eventbrite page here.

• Online Adult and Child Workshops - from £7.50 Just like our in-person sessions we have successfully developed online workshops that children can attend in the comfort in their own home with a safe and trusted adult. All you need is some paper and pens to take part! You can ask questions anonymously, and our practitioners camera is the only one turned on so you can be in your PJ's if you like! As with our parent webinars, sessions are recorded and you get access for 30 days after the live delivery. Book via our Eventbrite page here.

• Training - rates depending on needs, please email jenniferwyman@jwbridgethegap.com to enquire. Please visit our dedicated page for more details.