Sally
Areas of expertise:
- Highly skilled and accredited Experienced DDP Practitioner
- Attachment-based and trauma-informed therapeutic approaches
- Trauma, attachment difficulties and disruption, and complex emotional needs.
- Developmental trauma/complex PTSD
- Neurobiology of attachment
- Child to parent violence
- Therapeutic parenting support
- Adopted and looked after children
- Neurodiversity, FASD, ADHD, ASC
- Supervision/consultation to professionals in DDP
Experience:
- Over twenty-four years’ experience in local authority social work, CAMHS service and therapeutic practice with children, young people, and families
- Trauma, attachment difficulties and disruption, and complex emotional/mental health needs
- Worked in CAMHS, adoption services, children’s services, and residential care supporting children and families affected by trauma
- Current role in NHS/social care provision for young people with significant and complex mental health needs including self-harm, suicide ideation, psychiatric care
- Supporting children to explore and understand their histories and increasing sense of trust and safety within their families
- Offering safe supportive space for parents, including those experiencing blocked care
- Assessing parent/child relationships and offering support to improve attachment
- Consideration of sensory needs
- Consideration of special educational needs and consultation to schools in how best to support those needs
- Liaison multi professional network
- Supporting foster carers/adoptive parents through transition from foster care to adoption placement
Bio:
I am a highly skilled and accredited DDP Practitioner with over two decades of experience in social work, CAMHS and therapeutic practice with children, young people, and families. I hold a BSc in Psychology and a MA in Applied Social Studies with a Diploma in Social Work, alongside a PQ Award in Social Work.
I achieved DDP Accreditation in June 2020 following over ten years of specialist training and practice. I have also completed Level 1 and Level 2 Theraplay and Marschak Interaction Method training, and am accredited in Story Stem Assessment, I have also attended Life story training – demonstrating my depth of expertise in attachment-based and trauma-informed therapeutic approaches.
I am currently employed as a Senior Social Worker at the Hope Service, who support young people with highly complex mental health and emotional needs including self-harm, suicide ideation and psychiatric care. I also work independently as a DDP Practitioner. My career spans roles in CAMHS, adoption services, children’s services, and residential care, with a consistent focus on supporting children and families affected by trauma, attachment difficulties, and complex mental health and emotional needs.
I am experienced in offering parent/child therapeutic sessions, therapeutic parenting support, consultation to schools/foster carers/professionals and can offer supervision to professionals using DDP. I completed many assessments of adoptive parents in my role as adoption Social Worker and am highly experienced in supporting children from foster care into adoption placements. Areas of special interest include adopted and foster children, developmental trauma, neurobiology of attachment.
