Therapeutic tools to support children to heal from family violence

At Berry Street Take Two we provide therapeutic services for infants, children and young people and parents or caregivers to recover from family violence.

Over the last couple of years, we have developed new tools to support our staff to assess the child/young person’s and caregiver’s therapeutic needs, and their joint readiness to begin therapeutic work. It’s an important part of how we decide how and when we should start working with infants, children, young people and their caregivers who have experienced family violence.

We’re pleased to share these tools with other workers and clinicians to support good practice in this growing area.

In the past, much of the therapeutic focus was on the adult victim survivor’s recovery. It was often thought that if the children were physically safe and with them, they would also recover - so there were few services funded to support children and young people. But we know that's not enough.

Children and young people are victim survivors in their own right and often need some specialised child-focused support to help them recover.

Knowing that one parent is hurting another either physically or emotionally causes significant harm, including to a child's brain development. These children - particularly those who have heard or seen violence when they are young – are at risk of lifelong social, emotional and physical health impacts. Therapeutic support can help them avoid poor mental health, behavioural issues, learning problems, relationship issues and chronic health conditions.

These tools are intended to be used alongside your organisation's risk assessment and management framework.

Parents, caregivers and young people
If you are a parent, caregiver or young person seeking support, please contact The Orange Door initially. They can refer you to the appropriate service in your area.

More information
Restoring Childhood: Therapeutic services for children/young people and their safe parent or caregiver who have experienced family violence.

Restoring Relationships: Therapeutic services for young people using violence in the home.

About Berry Street Take Two
We are a trauma-informed mental health service with 20 years of experience working with children, young people and families who have experienced complex trauma.