With statutory CAMHS services often heavily oversubscribed, and school and college services mainly offering brief therapeutic interventions, parents are increasingly turning to private practitioners for therapy for their children when they need expert emotional or psychological support. Working privately with children and families can be a rewarding experience for counsellors and psychotherapists but it can also be fraught with concerns for both practitioners and families alike. These concerns can seem so daunting that therapists with clinical experience of therapy with children continue to limit themselves to working only in education or statutory settings.This book offers comprehensive guidance to both experienced and novice counsellors to assist them in the process of setting up or adapting their private practice to include children and young people. It coherently and systematically addresses the obstacles which stand in the way of practitioners offering this important service effectively and ethically.The book is divided into four parts and uses case material to bring to life the areas covered by each chapter. Each chapter concludes with a summary of key points covered. Part one is a practical guide to the referral, assessment, and contracting processes, as well as to the logistics of converting an adult practice into one suitable for children and young people. Part two contains chapters on general clinical issues important to this field such as confidentiality, the law and working with risk. Part three contains chapters examining professional issues such as training and supervision, while part four is a stand-alone chapter covering the aspects of digital technology and social networking which have had a huge impact on therapy and young people alike.

About the Author
Rebecca Kirkbride is a BACP Senior Accredited counsellor of adults, children, and young people. She originally undertook a training in psychodynamic psychotherapeutic counselling at the University of Sussex in 2000-02, since when she has worked as a counsellor and clinical supervisor in a number of settings, including education and private practice. She has developed and delivered training courses on attachment theory and professional development. Alongside this she maintains a private practice where she sees adults, children and young people, as well as offering clinical supervision to other practitioners working with these groups.

Reviews
'This book provides an excellent guide to key legal aspects of working as a therapist in private practice with children and young people. It makes very effective use of numerous unfolding case studies, which really resonate with the realities of undertaking therapeutic work with this challenging and rewarding client group.'- Peter Jenkins, counsellor, trainer, and author of Children's Rights and Counselling'If you're already working with children and young people in private practice, this is the book you'll wish you'd already had; those starting in this exciting and complex field will find it a vital resource from the start. Working therapeutically with this age group is as rewarding as it is challenging. It is a demographic rich with complexities such as the limits of a young person's autonomy; the nature of confidentiality; the breadth of duty of care; managing risk; the impact of family dynamics; and so much more. Rebecca Kirkbride has managed something in this text that is rare - the incorporation of great psychological thinking alongside a grounded and practical approach to the challenges inherent in this work. Accessible case examples brilliantly illustrate complex issues that enable practitioners to engage thoughtfully with ethical challenges. This will no doubt become the "go to" text for the field that will be referred to again and again.'- Aaron Balick, PhD, psychotherapist, honorary senior lecturer, Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, Univeristy of Essex, author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking'This book provides useful information on all matters relating to private practice in working with children. There is extensive coverage of relevant issues extending from the initial consultation through to the ending of treatment; even issues such as managing the waiting room are thought through. Many of these issues are explored in the context of a legal and ethical framework. The author raises questions which are not easily answered and allows the reader a range of perspectives from which to formulate their own ethical stance. This will be a useful text for both trainees and professionals.'- Dr Debbie Daniels, psychotherapist and co-author of Therapy with Children: Children's Rights, Confidentiality and the Law



Book Information
ISBN 9781782202615
Author Rebecca Kirkbride
Format Paperback
Page Count 234
Imprint Karnac Books
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd