Improved therapeutic input at Mayfield Children’s Home
Therapeutic support is critical to ensure that the young people who live with us can fully achieve their potential.
Our highly trained team understand the importance of frequent and focused therapeutic inputs, and we are constantly reviewing what is or isn’t working and adapting accordingly. We also recognise that many of the young people who live with us have very specific requirements and we provide extensive specialist support to ensure that they receive everything they need.
Due to the complications and delays we had been facing when accessing CAHMS services, in 2017, Mayfield Children’s Home made the decision to use a local, private therapy centre, Starjumpz who provide pioneering paediatric services which can make an astounding difference to the lives of young people with severe learning disabilities. This enabled us to ensure that our young people were able to access the therapies that they needed more quickly and easily.
We have a great relationship with Starjumpz and are incredibly grateful for the difference that their work has made to the outcomes of the young people in our care. Although we will continue to use their services, in September 2021, Mayfield Children’s Home were thrilled to announce that they have secured a team of in-house therapists to work on a regular basis within the home. This exciting development enables us to create a unique therapeutic environment where the staff team looking after each child, can work even more closely with therapists to ensure that any new needs are identified, shared and acted upon in the most appropriate way. This therapeutic environment also enables us to provide a holistic approach to care, supporting the needs of the young people as well as the care staff that look after them.
In addition to the new in-house therapy team, a new activity centre/therapy space is being built in the garden. This will enable the therapists to have a quiet space to meet with the young people and make use of therapeutic equipment including sensory toys and ‘magic carpet’.
Each young person who lives with us has a different set of requirements. Therefore, we offer a suite of therapeutic options, so we can find the right blend to support each individual.
This is a sample of the therapies we offer through the in-house team:
- Psychology
- Behaviour therapy
- Art and play therapy
- Speech & language therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Reflexology
We also access the Starjumpz therapists where appropriate for therapies including:
- Paediatrics
- Neurofeedback treatment
- Sexual therapy
- Nutritional programmes
- Counselling
The in-house therapists that we will be working with have been selected for their extensive experience with children and young people with complex needs.
Emma Stevens, Clinical Psychologist
Emma is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and specialises in learning disability and complex trauma. As well as working with the young people, Emma will be running a house staff session every week to discuss any incidents, achievements, and concerns with the team as well as running open door sessions for staff to discuss any issues whether they are regarding the young people they support or any personal stresses.
Sophie Gill, Lead Behaviour Therapist
Sophie has been a behaviour practitioner for several years and brings extensive experience to our therapy team.
Hannah Coles, Speech and Language Therapist
Hannah is an award-winning speech and language therapist. She uses a range of therapeutic interventions including Makaton, Intensive Interaction, Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC), and LEGO® Therapy.
Mel Campbell, Occupational Therapist
Mel is an experienced Occupational Therapist and advanced sensory integration practitioner. As well as working with the children and young people Mel is a qualified trainer and will be working with the team to upskill them.
Kerry Hayns, Play Therapist
Kerry has been a Certified Play therapist and therapeutic play expert for a number of years and has a huge amount of experience working with children with Autism and traumatic backgrounds.
To see the full bio’s of our therapists visit the, ‘Meet the Therapists’ section of the website.
the bringing together of a team of in-house therapists at Mayfield Children’s Home is another example of the willingness to continually develop and improve the care offered by PJL Healthcare, underlying their commitment to provide the best opportunities for the young people we look after.
Chris Coleman, Head of Development & Commissioning, PJL Healthcare Ltd
