Direct services
Working with families & children
Families West are an increasingly diverse and well-resourced professional team able to deliver bespoke direct services to children and families across the whole of South & West Wales.
In addition to Life Story / Journey work, explaining difficult information to children and direct Parenting Support, Families West also offer bespoke Therapeutic Interventions for children and families including the application of Dyadic Developmental Psychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques.
Bespoke services
In addition to those services outlined below, Families West will be happy to discuss bespoke direct work, specifically designed to support an individual or family's needs as identified by your department or team.
Parenting support
Working alongside parent(s), Families West can provide direct support to identify specific areas of parenting that may require strengthening, then design and implement a bespoke Parenting Support Plan to achieve those ends.
These packages are always child focused and are lead-developed alongside the families.
We can also provide for the development of therapeutically informed parenting where required, in order to meet a child's needs (usually with children who have experienced significant developmental trauma and attachment insecurity).
Families West have particular experience of working with looked-after children, in all forms of placement, and those already in the adoption process.
Life story or journey
Life story work is an important development process for all children, whether they are looked-after, living with parents or with a long term adoptive family.
This process of direct work helps a child develop their own identity by understanding their journey so far. It also establishes a sense of belonging for children whilst providing carers with effective narratives to support the child's continued emotional and identity development.
Families West work with children to help them understand a specific part of their journey which they may be struggling to understand. This information is then presented in a book form on completion of the direct work.
We will also work with the significant adults in the child's life to ensure that they gain skill and confidence in the process so that development of the Journey book can continue.
All life story and journey work completed by Families West is therapeutically informed and overseen personally by our therapeutic lead.
Therapeutics
Families West have a dedicated therapeutic lead who works closely with our Independent Social Workers to provide DDP/PACE informed practice guidance and clinical supervision.
We are also able to offer NCAST Assessment & Intervention. . . a research-based assessment and evidence-lead intervention based on parent child interactions. This form of intervention is interactive, and engaging, for parents and child alike.
Other allied services include;
- DDP informed practice and supervision
- PACE informed practice and guidance
- Infant Attachment Assessments
- Therapeutic Parenting Interventions*
* Please ask about having a bespoke TPI package designed.
Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW)
TLSW has been an extremely effective intervention for children, young people and adults for the last 30 years.
Therapeutic Life Story Work has been subject to independent research, and validated as an evidenced based narrative model, with excellent outcomes for traumatised children, young people and adults.