Therapeutic Day Service

Therapy Day Service               

Our Therapy Day Service model is based on young people (from KS3+) attending between 2-4 days per week with us. This model was created as a mid/long term offer for young people, who for whatever reason may be struggling to engage in full time education, or education at all! We noticed a pattern of young people finding life very difficult to manage, and the way that some of them were triggered by the pressures of education, was something that we could not ignore. With this in mind, we created the Therapy Day Service which is a service whereby professionals refer a service user to us (self-referrals are not available for this service). In some instances, this is a school whereby a service user is only managing a reduced timetable and is in urgent need of therapeutic support on the other days, or it is social care who have recently removed a young person from a family home which has undoubtedly caused distress for the individual for example.  This service operates at a minimum of one term, with no current maximum duration- it is bespoke dependent on each individual service user which is referred.

Conditions We Can Support:

Following a successful assessment process for service users, we can support those with mild to moderate levels of the following:

♦ Neurodevelopmental Disorders including Autistic Spectrum Disorder ♦  Alcohol Foetal Syndrome ♦ Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Developmental Traumas ♦ Learning Difficulties ♦ Communication Difficulties ♦ Attention and Over-Activity Disorders (ADHD/ADD) ♦  Varying Anxiety Diagnosis’s (Generalised/ Social/ OCD) ♦ Phobias including School Phobia ♦ Panic Disorders ♦ Mood Disorders ♦ Personality Disorders ♦ Emotional Dysregulation ♦ Self-harm or Suicide Ideation ♦ Self- Sabotage including Eating Difficulties ♦ Sensory Needs (hyper-hypo sensitivity) ♦ Fine and Gross Motor Skill Delays ♦ Attachment Disorders ♦ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ♦ Tourette’s Syndrome ♦ Depression ♦ Abuse-Neglect Issues ♦ Memory Difficulties, including Cognitive Processing & Developmental Delay ♦ Low Emotional Intelligence ♦ Speech and Language Difficulties

Conditions We Are Unable To Support

We are unable to support service users with the following needs:

♦ Significant Suicide Risk ♦ Significant Risk to Others ♦ Students Who Would Cause Harm and Injury to Wildlife-Animals-Nature ♦ Complexed Psychotic or Schizophrenic Episodes ♦ Students with Significant Criminal Involvement ♦ Students with Complexed Behavioural Issues ♦  Low, Little or No Understanding of Risks ♦  PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) ♦ Continual Absconding From Site ♦  Non Verbal (not including selective-mutism), it is those who are unable to understand and relay risks ♦ Non Sighted ♦ Complexed Physical Difficulties ♦ Students with Incontinence ♦ Encopresis or Enuresis ♦ Complexed Incontinence Issues

A Day in the Therapy Day Service               

Service users firstly have to attend a two-day practical assessment (see our assessment tab for more information). Once offered a place, they attend from 9am-3pm for a minimum of two days, between Monday-Friday (the days are the same each week). Within the day, service users are supported by our staff and will be in small groups of like-minded, mixed-aged young people. The groups get access to a variety of interventions, including Group Art Interventions with our qualified Art Therapist, 1:1 interventions with our Equine Therapists and specific work surrounding social skills/ keeping safe/ and Zones of Regulation. Ultimately, the aim is to provide the individuals with the toolkits they need to survive within society, as comfortably as possible. The groups get access to our animals, including horses, adventure sport and wider eco activities.   

Is it Educational?      

Yes, our therapy day service is educational. Whilst it is not our first priority, because what is education if we do not have our mental health? we do offer a wide variety of short courses and unit awards with AQA based on different topics. We are also in the process of becoming an accredited qualification body to be able to deliver Functional Skills and BTECs on a part time basis for this service.         

What are the Next Steps?         

In some instances, our individuals on the Therapy Day Service may be progressing so well, attending up to four days, increasing their confidence and resilience so there can be discussions within the network to discuss if ADO River Valley (our sister company which is a Full Time Specialist Independent School could be a next step option, in their pathway). In other cases, service users have developed the strategies to cope, and they can return back to their school full time, or continue with us on a long term basis.