The Healing Together™ programme is for children whose lives have been impacted by domestic abuse and violence.
Innovating Minds is now training facilitators across the UK and internationally to deliver the programmes so more children can access the help they need by people they trust and in a space they feel safe.
One of the first organisation’s to take up the training will be Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust (OHC&AT). OHC&AT have been successful in gaining funding from the Youth Endowment Fund in order to upskill 18 of their staff to deliver the Healing Together programme. The fund prioritises work that will support vulnerable young people at risk of youth violence.
OHC&AT has 15 schools and six college centres to serve the needs of children and adults aged two to twenty four who have a wide range of learning abilities and additional needs including complex autism; speech, language and communication difficulties; social, emotional and mental health difficulties and physical disabilities including multi-sensory impairment and complex health needs
Developed by clinical psychologist Dr Asha Patel and trauma expert and author Jane Evans, the Healing Together programme combines neuroscience, attachment models and relational approaches to help children understand how their brains and body work together.
The Healing Together Facilitator Programme is open to anyone who has experience of working with children in a therapeutic way, regardless of the setting. Some will have qualifications, perhaps in psychology or counselling, others will have relevant experience of supporting children with emotional and mental health difficulties.
Staff at OHC&AT have been aware of the stress some students have been under during lockdown. Some of the children they work with live in insecure homes that face daily issues of debt, unemployment, drugs and alcohol. The lockdown has made things worse for families already on the edge and staff have been visiting, phoning, providing a listening ear and food parcels and liaising with different agencies.
This has been a challenging time as Lynn Barratt Director Corporate Development points out: however, through our partnership with Innovating Minds and with funding from the youth endowment fund, our schools will benefit from seeking guidance and consultation regarding an organisation-wide approach to supporting vulnerable young people that are at risk of youth violence. '
The Healing Together programme started with a request from mothers who had come out of an abusive relationship and wanted to access the same support for their children that they had received. The idea was that mothers and children would make their journey of recovery together.