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Welcome to Golden Thread Psychology: A guide for parents & carers

As a parent/carer of a child or young person who's going through a tricky time at school, having external professionals involved can feel intrusive, confusing and scary. Golden Thread Psychology believe that the best results come from strong, trusting relationships between all the adults who care about and support a child.


Here, we answer some FAQs to help you get a better understanding of what it means to work with an Educational Psychologist (EP) and for you to get a feel for how things are done at Golden Thread Psychology.



 

Within this blog you will find:

 

  1. What's an EP and how are you different from the other professionals who are involved with my child?

An EP (or Educational Psychologist or Ed Psych) is someone who works with children, young people and the adults around them to help them get he most from their education. This might involve thinking about the way they think and learn, how they show their feelings and emotions or looking at their friendship skills and way so of getting along with others. Your child might have already been supported by a professional who specialises in one area. EPs usually provide more of an overview of a situation and try to bring together lots of pieces of the puzzle to help understand what's going on for the child or young person. Once we have a better idea about going on, we can then think about what might help!


  1. If EPs work with schools, why am I being asked to speak to them?

Although we mainly focus on how children cope in school, it's important to think about how different areas of life impact on each other. Quite often, a child might find something hard in school but have no problem with it at home (or vice versa). By speaking to someone at home as well as someone in school, we can be sure we're getting a full picture of what's going on and really start to understand how we can best help your child.


  1. I've been invited to a consultation. Is that where you tell me what's wrong?

Most people have come across doctor consultations at your GP - where you give a list of symptoms and the doctor diagnoses a problem and gives a solution. This is a different kind of consultation. At the doctors, they act as the 'expert', telling you what to do. At Golden Thread Psychology, we try to avoid being the expert. This is part of our commitment to showing respect towards others and really valuing everyone's contribution. Whilst our EPs have qualifications in psychology, you're the one who knows your child inside out and it's this knowledge and expertise that you bring to the consultation.


  1. How do I prepare for my meeting (or consultation) with the EP?

In most cases, there's nothing you need to do ahead of our consultation. Occasionally, a questionnaire might have been shared with you in advance and if you're not sure, you can always check with your school's SENCo. Like we said, you're the expert of your child so all we ask is that you come with an open mind and a willingness to be a part of the meeting. Really, a consultation is just a chat with the EP and sometimes with school staff too.


If you're feeling worried about this and would like some extra support, you can always ask another family member or a friend to join us. Alternatively, if you speak to SENDIASS, they can send a parent/carer advocate to help you get what you need from the meeting. Just remember, there may be topics that we discuss that feel sensitive or personal to you or your child, so if you bring someone with you, please be sure you're comfortable with them being present for these conversations.


  1. What will we talk about in the consultation?

Every consultation is a little bit different because every person is unique! However, generally we will think about:

  • What's working well at the moment

  • What's not working so well

  • What we hope the future might look like


We might also ask some questions about the past (for example, pregnancy and birth, pre-school experiences, home life and significant events) as well as asking you to talk about how things are right now. It's OK - the EP will be able to guide the conversation so you don't need to worry about remembering what to say!


  1. Meeting with professionals makes me really anxious. Do I have to attend?

There's no obligation for you to agree to EP involvement with your child, or for you to meet with the EP. Of course, we'd love for you to feel comfortable to agree to these things but we understand that this might not be the case straight away. If you're not sure about meeting with us, have a chat with the school SENCo and let them know your concerns. They might be able to put your mind at rest, or they might ask us to give you a quick call so we can introduce ourselves and you can ask any questions you might have and suss us out for yourself! We're always happy to do that.


Ultimately, you need to feel happy about the people who are supporting your child or young person. That is why, without you fully understanding and agreeing to our involvement (known as informed consent), we won't do anything. You can find out more about this by watching our video.


  1. How long will you need me for?

Consultation meetings vary in length depending on who's there and what we're discussing. They can sometimes be as short as 45 minutes or last over an hour and a half. When you agree to us working with your child or young person (when you give us informed consent), we then organise our visit with the school SENCo who should let you know where you're needed, when. If you have any questions about our involvmenet, the school SENCo should be your first point of contact. If they're not able to help, feel free to drop us an email at hello@goldenthreadpsychology.co.uk.


  1. After the consultation, is that it?

It will depend what has been agreed. Usually, the EP will meet with parents/carers and school staff. They might then visit your child in school to see how they're getting on and might work with them one-to-one too. They'll then write a summary report, with a copy being emailed to yourself and to school. Sometimes, you might be invited to a feedback meeting, or a review meeting. We never 'discharge' a child, so once we've got to know you and your family, we might check in with school from time-to-time to see how things are going. If things aren't quite going to plan, we might get involved again if everyone agrees that that would be helpful.


  1. I'm really worried about my child but the school haven't mentioned an EP. Can I pay you to see them privately?

Unfortunately, Golden Thread Psychology doesn't provide private services for parents. This is because we believe to effect change in schools, the school is a key component and needs to 'buy in' to the process. We also think psychology services should be free to families at the point of access. If you have concerns, we'd always recommend sharing these with the school SENCo. If you still wish to commission an EP, a list of private practitioners can be found at ACHIPPP.


If you have any questions, please let us know by emailing hello@goldenthreadpsychology.co.uk and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible. We look forward to meeting you in the future!

 
 
 

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