Counselling Children and Young People in Private Practice: A Practical Guide

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.