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	Family Consultancy

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Child and Family Consultancy

What makes us worry about our children?

Things they do that they shouldn’t be doing.

Things they say that we don’t want to hear.

Things they don’t say that we do want to hear.

Or a combination of all four.

If we are simply cross with our children we don’t take them to see a doctor or a psychologist.

It is when we are really worried that we want help and we cross the threshold of concern because our worry and vexation is intense.

At the Ashwood Practice we have met thousands of children of worried parents, worried grandparents, worried schoolteachers and worried doctors.

The consultancy offers an assessment and advising service to parents and children (who may be quite grown up by the time they come to need our sort of help). It also offers a therapeutic service for children and parents, as individuals, as couples, as whole or part families.

Children are often reacting to stress or trying to adjust to major changes – like loss of a parent or sibling, bullying at school, feeling left out or deprived, feeling unfairly treated. They may be closeting a powerful secret that causes big changes in mood and attitude that isnt readily explained. The variety of worrying behaviors and symptoms is too long to list comprehensively but can include:

At the Ashwood Practice, children, even teenagers are seen with their parent(s) first but will eventually be seen on their own too, when they are more comfortable. We know that a first contact can be scary – "I’m not seeing a shrink, Mum". And parents often trick their children into coming to us (it doesn’t usually help). We know about urgency. We know about children. We respect that parents are the experts on their own children (usually) but that we are the expert who understands what may lie beneath a worrying presenting problem.

We will not keep you waiting too long for a first appointment, we will choose the most appropriate assessor once we know something of the problem and we will stick with you to see the problem resolved as soon as possible.

Therapeutic intervention may include:

Medication and Monitoring

Individual therapy (Counselling, CRT, Creative Play Therapy)

Group therapy

Family therapy

Parental Counselling

Referral to another agency (CAMHS)

Referral to our Child Service

Who is in the Child & Family Consultancy Team:

Dr Tony Baker

Ms Sylvia Duncan

Dr Catharine Humphries

Ms Lynne Hipkin

Dr Louise Connor

Referrals should be made to the to the Practice Manager in the first instance who will consult with the team the most appropriate approach after consideration of the presenting problems.

We will need to know if you are likely to claim our fees back from your private health insurers, as we will have to comply with your insurers requirements from the outset. This will include a letter from the family doctor referring the problem and the initial assessment will be carried out by one of our child psychiatrists who may advise another member of the Consultancy Team in the assessment or the intervention.