Welcome to Psychology Talks

Here at Psychology Talks we are passionate about promoting good mental health for all. We provide a bespoke psychological service to support children and those who work with and care for children in a wide variety of settings. We are a midlands based multi-disciplinary team, consisting of psychologists and social workers who come with extensive experience of working with hard to reach and vulnerable children. This, along with evidence based practice enables us to tailor our skills to achieve the best outcomes for all. Our team of psychologists and social workers enable us to work therapeutically while also supporting a stable and secure environment. To see if we can help support you or your organisation, please contact us.

Our Vision

We are passionate about making psychology accessible for all. Part of that is removing the fog that prevents people from understating psychological concepts and ideas. We deliver psychology, theory, knowledge and practice in a way that everybody can understand and communicate to young people, families and professionals.

We believe that psychological suffering exists in context. As such, we seek to gain an understanding of the significant relationships that the individual has in their immediate environment, and work with them in alleviating its symptoms.

We believe that this offers the young people the best possible opportunity to achieve meaningful outcomes along with providing them with the tools to ensure that they can manage their difficulties in a positive way throughout their adult life.

What We do

Service and Counselling Psychologist

Counselling Psychologist

Care and education teams

I) Young Person
II) Clinical supervision and independent oversight

Local Authority

External Agencies

At Psychology Talks, we focus on working with a tailored psychological formulation to improve psychological functioning and well-being, working collaboratively with people across a diverse r a n g e o f disciplines. We work with a wide range of mental health problems concerning life issues including bereavement, domestic violence, sexual abuse, attachment difficulties, anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues. We understand diagnosis and the medical context to mental health problems, and work with the individual’s unique subjective psychological experience to empower their recovery and alleviate distress.

The diagram represents the allocated psychologist’s (Dr. Daniel Mulligan) working model for psychological input to be delivered in residential care or schools. It keeps the young person at the centre of the process and then shows how each layer of support and oversight is applied. Therefore the team around the child are the most influential layer in terms of care, supported by the psychologist with the service being overseen and monitored by the senior management. Finally, the model demonstrates how the clinical supervision and consultancy that the psychologist

Key Activities Include

Completing initial psychological assessments
Contributing to care / behaviour / risk assessment plans
Creating Therapeutic Plans with short, medium and long term goals
Psychological consultation with staff members and managers
Developing strategies and interventions to be used on a day-to-day basis

Direct therapeutic work with children and young people
Providing written records/evidence of support intervention and recommendations for quality management purposes
Attending LAC reviews, PEP meetings and progression meetings
Workshop and training sessions
Support with life story work

Topics For Discussion With Staff And Managers May Include:

Review of the young person’s progress.
Exploring key events to develop understanding of the young person’s current emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Linking the young person’s difficulties to their early life experiences and the impact on their development through childhood and adolescence.
Relationships / attachments between the young person, other young people and carers
Guidance regarding behaviour management strategies (e.g. using quality time together with the young person, positive reinforcement techniques, effective communication, implementing natural and logical consequences).
Risk assessment and management.
Building on the young person’s strengths and developing resilience.
Review of key work sessions and suggestions for areas to focus on.
Reflection on how staff are working as a team.
Preparation for Ofsted visits.
Supporting the young person in attending their education.
Supporting the young person in relation to family contacts.
A number of theoretical paradigms are drawn upon throughout this process to meet the degree of flexibility which is required to tailor the guidance to each specific situation, thus contributing to better service provision.

*Note: These areas are subject to agreement between the Local Authority and / or the service directors.

CONSULTATION

Consultation is the primary model of ongoing support to teams. Consultation is a formal process, theoretically underpinned and supported by a clear evidence base. It is fully compliant with NICE Guidelines and National Minimum Standards for Children’s Homes.
Staff consultation is a way of working as part of a network which directly surrounds the young person explicitly for the benefit of the young person and the team.
It means that the psychologist will be directly involved in helping members of the staff team step back and reflect upon the myriad issues that they are dealing with.
This would usually include specific behavioural problems.

The psychologist is able to administer recognised psychological assessments according to the individual needs of the home and young person.
In addition, the psychologist is able to carry out a range of more in depth psychological assessments (e.g. mental health, emotional and behavioural difficulties, attachment, risk to self and others, intellectual functioning, readiness for independent living).
Information from the screening is used as a means to asses appropriate interventions that are catered to the individual needs of the young person and identify themes across various cohorts to inform training and strategy development.
The psychologist is experienced in providing reports for care proceedings, criminal and civil proceedings, contributing to pre-sentencing reports, funding panels, commissioning and tender processes, care planning and LAC reviews.

SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT

THERAPY

The psychologist can also provide a range of individual psychological therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psycho-analytic Therapy, Person centred, Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Narrative Therapy.
Areas in need of support may include trauma, abuse, anger, anxiety, depression, family difficulties, self-harm, low self-esteem, communication and social skills, substance misuse difficulties, although this list is not exhaustive.