IDENTITY CONSULTANCY (IC)

As a team of experienced and skilled clinicians we are also able to provide training programmes, whether these be a one-off training workshop or a programme of workshops.  Some examples of training packages delivered are:

Attachment and Developmental Trauma

This training offers an understanding of attachment theory and the impact of developmental trauma. The training also introduces key concepts associated with trauma such as shame and an understanding of the brain and nervous system.

Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT)

This introduces Compassion Focussed Therapy which is rooted in an evolutionary model of human psychology. It is heavily informed by attachment theory.  The aim of the workshop is to provide a framework for clinicians to understand mental health, psychological distress, behaviours that can be challenging and how we aim to support individuals.

Compassion focussed therapy emphasises the role of affiliation and relationships and within this workshop clinicians will be encouraged to consider this framework in relation to the self – the purpose being to support clinicians to develop their own self compassion skills. Self compassion is so important in our work to protect us from burn out, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma.

Compassionate Leadership

Compassionate Leadership can improve team functioning and wellbeing. Following recent events our roles as leaders, supervisors and managers are going to be even more important. This workshop focuses on how to support and harness natural resilience, how to apply self compassion and compassion to others.  This workshop discusses how Compassionate Leadership focusses on creating the conditions to support one another and focusses on collaboration.

DDP-informed Parenting

The workshop focuses on regulation-based parenting with PACE with the aim of equipping individuals with a shared model for parenting advice that is underpinned by an attachment/ trauma framework.  Regulation-based parenting with PACE is an approach that helps parents find ways to build security and safety for their children. DDP stresses that safety and security need to be worked on explicitly when children have the insecurities and fears that developmental trauma brings, and parents have difficult relationship histories.

As well as focussing on parenting that builds emotional connection, we will consider how to most helpfully provide behavioural support for children who do not trust and whose views and response to behavioural boundaries and discipline has been impacted by their early experiences.  We will look at putting all the ideas we have learnt together to think about ‘parenting in the moment’ and steps to follow when dealing with unfolding parenting situations.

DDP-informed Practice

This workshop focuses on the principles, values and skills of the DDP practice model.  DDP is an approach to supporting children and families based on theories of attachment and developmental trauma. Along with being a model for therapy and parenting, it is also a model for practice and working with children and parents affected by trauma and where capacity to build emotionally secure relationships has been compromised.

Training will address the four key principles of DDP as well as the importance of timing and ‘connection before correction’. We will think about and practice how to connect with a parents’ experience with the DDP attitude of PACE, rather than moving too quickly to try to fix the problem or give advice, reassurance and strategies. Training will provide rationale and space to explore and practice these skills.

Emotional Regulation

Developmental trauma can significantly impact an individual’s ability to understand, notice, name and regulate their emotions. Therefore, their mind and body are likely to have developed ways of coping based on avoidance.  This workshop focuses on trauma and the window of tolerance.  The aim of the workshop is to provide clinicians will some skills to support clients to develop their regulation skills. The workshop will focus on grounding, relaxation, mindfulness, imagery and communication.

Learning Disabilities and Neurodiversity

This workshop focuses on developing a practical understanding of the spectrum of learning disabilities and neurodiversity.  The workshop will provide information on what is meant by the terms Learning Disability (LD) and Autism (ASD), including the differences between male and female presentations of ASD.

The aim of this workshop is to support clinical staff to consider ways of adapting their assessments, communication and clinical sessions to meet the needs of those with learning disabilities and/or a neuro diverse presentation.

Normal Responses to Abnormal Situations

The aim of the workshop will be to provide a framework for understanding and monitoring our psychological health and well-being. Working as a health professional increases your risk for trauma, anxiety, depression and burn out. It is therefore essential we support individuals and organisations to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms, to reduce the stigma associated with seeking support and developing individuals’ insight and confidence to support colleagues.

Therapeutic Parenting

This training programme is based on the ‘Foundations for Attachment’ programme developed by Kim Golding. The training introduces individuals to the significant challenges of parenting and/or supporting children whose capacity to emotionally connect with those caring/supporting them has been compromised. It offers ways of building emotional connections with these children and also understand how to provide support for behaviour alongside this.

Therapeutic Story Writing Group

Therapeutic stories can help children to understand and make sense of their life story.  By creating individual stories based on the child’s experiences parents, carers and health and social care professionals can help address specific issues indirectly. This training workshop supports individuals to write therapeutic stories for the children and young people they care for.  It introduces them to  four key types of therapeutic stories (Claiming Stories, Developmental Stories, Trauma Stories and Learning Stories), each of which addresses a different aspect of the child’s life story and the meaning they have made of it.

We also offer workshops on Mental Health and Well-being, Developmental Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Supporting Organisations to Support their Employees, Compassionate Leadership and Depression and Anxiety.

This is only a selection of the training we can offer and we are able to provide training packages which are bespoke to the individual needs of the referrer.