EIATSCYP Child Therapeutic Practice Core Competencies for Therapeutic Practice with Children
1. Professional, autonomous, and accountable child therapeutic practice
2. The ability to communicate with and offer support to children and young people
3. The ability to conduct appropriate child focussed assessment and evaluate ongoing practice
4. The ability to establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship with children and young people
5. The ability to recognise risk and to act to keep children and young people safe
6. Understanding of the reasons that children and young people experience difficulties
7. Understanding of child development and the importance of attachment
8. The ability to work with parents and carers in different cultural contexts
9. Awareness of difference, inequalities, and cultural diversity with specific reference to children and young people’s needs and development
10. Knowledge and understanding of the Team Around the Child, interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary and inter-agency working
11. The ability to recognise own areas of expertise and to know when to refer on and seek assistance
12. Use of supervision, peer support and review, self-assessment and critical evaluation
13. Ethical practice and research, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice
14. Safe and effective practice management and administration.
15. Knowledge and understanding of research methods and approaches, keeping up to date with contemporary developments in the profession
16. Promotion and prevention through early intervention, child mental health and emotional wellbeing including psychoeducation for parents, carers and professionals.
1. Professional, autonomous and accountable child therapeutic practice
- Establish safe and effective conditions for professional practice
- Provide an appropriate environment for professional practice
- Engage in quality assurance processes and procedures
- Ensure appropriate training and professional development
- Maintain continuing personal and professional development
2. The ability to communicate with and offer support to children and young people
- Age-appropriate engagement and clear communication with children and young people
- Definition of the therapeutic practitioner’s and the client’s roles
- Child centred, process-oriented collaborative formulation to define aims and goals
- Understanding of play and its significance for development, learning and recovery
- Interacting with children and young people in ways which are meaningful to them
- Facilitative relational skills, compassionate presence and the ability to listen to children
3. The ability to conduct appropriate child focused assessment and evaluate ongoing practice
- Understanding of multi-factorial influences on child mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Observation skills and evaluative abilities in recognising individual children’s needs
- Application of different frameworks for conceptualising strengths and difficulties
- Integrating assessment and outcome measurements with ethical considerations
- Case presentation skills including assessment, formulation, practice and evaluation
4. The ability to establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship with children and young people
- Principles of professional practice for working with children and young people
- Development of working alliances with children which are secure and reliable
- Understanding of key concepts for the purposes of applied therapeutic thinking
- Working safely and effectively with relational and developmental processes
- Management of beginnings and endings with dignity and respect for children
5. The ability to recognise risk and to act to keep children and young people safe
- Knowledge of relevant legal, ethical and procedural frameworks for safeguarding
- Understanding of how legislation translates into policy and organisational practice
- Advocacy and mediation skills on behalf of children in rights-informed practice
- Management of power with regard for vulnerability, agency and autonomy.
- Knowledge and skills for accurate risk assessment and professional judgements
- Understanding of the risks and benefits of working with technology and the internet
6. Understanding of the reasons that children and young people experience difficulties
- Understanding of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) in context
- Knowledge of different diagnostic frameworks and a range of assessment criteria
- Awareness of each child’s unique and individual experiences of neurodiversity
- Awareness of and critical analysis of medical diagnosis and the impact of trauma
- Professional skills to interface between the child, family and wider system of care
7. Understanding of child development and the importance of attachment
- Understanding of physical, emotional, cognitive and social development
- Knowledge of key milestones from conception to adulthood
- Knowledge of neurodevelopmental perspectives and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
- Understanding of the impact of discrimination and deprived environments (with reference to ageism, childism, racism, cultural diversity, gender and gender identity issues, sexual orientation, ableism, difference in values, religion or spirituality)
- Recognition of the unique lived experience of each child in context
8. The ability to work with parents and carers in different cultural contexts
- Managing contracts and boundaries with parents and carers on behalf of children
- Understanding of the impact of the wider system of care on child development
- Communication and relationship skills to work effectively within systemic contexts
- Provision of information and understanding about children’s needs and rights
- Ability to provide parent and carer consultation and relevant psychoeducation
9. An awareness of difference, inequalities and cultural diversity with specific reference to children and young people’s needs and development
- Knowledge and understanding of legislation as it relates to practice
- Understanding of the impact of prejudice, discrimination and exclusion
- Professional skills to ensure safe and effective, anti-oppressive practice
- Abilities to work with complex relational and developmental processes
- Abilities to communicate and work alongside children’s participatory voices
10. Knowledge and understanding of the Team Around the Child, interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary and inter-agency working
- Understanding the wider context of inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working
- Managing interfaces in statutory, independent and voluntary inter-agency provision
- Facilitating the inclusive voice of the child in decision-making and report writing with specific reference to Article 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, taking account of safeguarding differences between the child’s wishes and needs
- Understanding the ethical complexities of information sharing within systemic context
- Advocacy and mediation skills within teams on behalf of children and young people
11. The ability to recognise their own area of expertise and to know when to refer on and seek assistance
- Knowledge of a wide range of multi-disciplinary practitioners and services
- Abilities to identify needs and make appropriate referrals where necessary
- Management of the competing agendas of adults in the best interests of children
- Consultation skills for children, young people, parents, carers and organisations
- Recognition of limits of competence and the ability to signpost to resources.
12. Use of supervision, peer support and review, self-assessment and critical evaluation
- Undertake routine evaluation of practice
- Engage in ongoing supervision and reflective practice
- Ensure specialist consultation as required
- Engage in practice audit in accordance with requirements
- Participation in the evaluation of ongoing therapeutic practice
- Enable updates and revision processes as required
13. Ethical practice and research, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice
- Working within legal, policy and ethical professional frameworks
- Informed by guidelines on confidentilaity, capacity and consent
- Applying professional and ethical guidelines in accordance with safeguarding guided by the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- The ability to work with awareness of the social and cultural context with sensitivity to issues of difference, power, privilege and positioning.
- Working with awareness of advocacy and safety in accordance with the vulnerability and dependency needs of children and young people
14. Safe and Effective Practice Management and Administration
- Maintian transaprent professional organisational practice administration
- Work in accordance with legal and ethical requirements
- Ensure professional record keeping and accounting
- Manage practice with professionalim within organisations or in independent practice in accordance with policies and regulations
15. Knowledge and understanding of research methods and approaches, keeping up to date with contemporary developments in the profession
- Enable a research informed approach to education, training and practice
- Maintain knowledge and understanding of different approcahes to research including qualitative and quantitative research methods
- Ensure ethical judgements about the use of measurement tools
- Engage in appropriate safeguarding and ethics in the context of research
- Evaluate the ethics of research in the context of vulnerable client groups
16. Promotion and prevention through early intervention, child mental health and emotional wellbeing including psychoeducation for parents, carers and professionals
- Competence in prevention and psychoeducation for children, adolescents, parents, carers and organisations
- Promotion of prevention programs informed by understanding of the determinants of health in children and young people
- Promote psychosocial education in simple, clear and comprehensive ways within organistions informed by evidence-based practice
- Raise awareness of stigma and discrimination, with reference to mental health issues for the purpose of prevention and early intervention, including communication with multi-disciplinary professionals