Child Therapeutic Wellbeing Practice
Child Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioners can provide early intervention, promoting mental health and emotional wellbeing. They can integrate their therapeutic knowledge and skills into their work in other roles, including youth work, teaching, social work, counselling, play therapies or family support.
They can represent the voice and needs of the child to those responsible for the child’s care, wellbeing and learning.
They can offer learning and reflective opportunities to parents, carers and professionals who work with children to support and enhance therapeutic understanding in the contexts where children live, learn and play.
Child Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioners engage with activities which are meaningful to children such as sports, arts, leisure, communications technology, nature allied or animal assisted approaches which engage the child or young person’s energy, commitment, and imagination. They can deliver input to individuals and groups through therapeutic mentoring, therapeutic key working and creative group work to support children’s physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development which can increase their skills for life. They can promote capacities for wellbeing including self-awareness, self-confidence, emotional regulation, communication, and resilience. The Practitioner always works in the service of the best interests of the child.
Entry Requirements
This training is for people who want to make a difference to the lives of children and young people and can be a positive role model, with child-centred values and principles, a capacity to play and to be reflexive about their own lived experience. There are no specific previous qualifications required to apply for this course, but experience of having been in a caring role before is an advantage.
Duration
The training is 3 years part-time to qualify as a Child Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioner
Three Levels of Training
There are three levels of training:
Year one: Foundation Level – Certificate in Therapeutic Communication Skills for Children and Young People
Year two: Intermediate Level – Certificate/Diploma in Child Therapeutic Wellbeing Practice
Year three: Advanced Level – Diploma in Child Therapeutic Wellbeing Practice
Foundation Level
This enables people who work in a wide variety of contexts such as schools, hospitals, youth clubs, social care, youth justice and family work to apply transferable therapeutic thinking and skills in other roles. There is no requirement for personal therapy at this stage of training. Trainees do, however, study therapeutic skills and concepts and apply them to creative and relational therapeutic practice.
Trainees familiarise themselves with the contexts where children live, learn, and play with awareness of each child’s strengths, talents and interests. Training is also trauma- informed with awareness of the impact of adverse childhood experiences.
Training delivered at this level can be equivalent to the first year of a degree.
Intermediate Level
This is where the professional training begins and requires students to be able to engage with personal therapy and supervision / reflective practice.
Whilst trainings will differ, the curriculum includes key topics:
- Ethics and Conduct for Child-Centred Practice
- Holistic Approaches in Eco-systemic Context
- Multi-factorial Influences on Wellbeing
- Interdisciplinary and Multi-Agency Practice
- Safeguarding and Managing Risk
- Identifying Needs and Referral
- Assessment and Formulation
- Children’s Rights
- Child Mental Health
- Neurodiversity and Additional Needs
- Child Development and Attachment
- Key Concepts for Applied Therapeutic Thinking
- Play-based Approaches and Non-Verbal Communication
- Creative and Relational Facilitation Skills
- Children’s Participatory Voices
- Co-production and Collaboration
- Advocacy and the Role of the Intermediary
- Communicating with Parents and Carers
- Diversity, Equality, and Inclusivity
- Research and Evaluation
Advanced Level
Advanced level continues to deepen and evolve the trainee’s learning in accordance with the previous qualifications, lived experience, research, personal development, creative process, and professional practice. At this advanced level, the student is able to achieve a thorough synthesis of knowledge, skills and experience, including understanding of a range of research methods as applied to practice.
Training Requirements
Contact Hours Teaching and Learning:
Year one: 130 contact teaching and learning hours
Year two: 130 contact teaching and learning hours
Year three: 190 contact teaching and learning hours
Practice-based Learning in Placements
Placement – 450 hours made up of at least 200 individual or group therapeutic hours and 200 hours of contextual working
Experience of a range of ages and at different stages of development in a variety of settings
Supervision Requirements
Supervision / Reflective Practice – 50 hours minimum
Personal Therapy Requirements
Personal therapy with registered practitioner – 50 hours minimum
Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning (APEL)
Students may come to the course with different levels of qualifications and experience of working with children in another professional role. Training can be delivered as a modular structure to allow opportunities for accreditation of prior experience and learning.
No more than 50% of training can be recognised as APEL.
Version, 2021.