Educational psychotherapy bridges the gap between education and therapy. The aim is to help children to learn about themselves, their learning, and their relationships. It combines teaching with chances for children to explore and make sense of life experiences that may get in the way of their learning and development.
This approach was pioneered by Irene Caspari in the 1970s. She took her professional interest in children who struggled to learn to read and developed it into a new way of working with children. The focus is on helping a child to feel confident as a learner and make and maintain friendships with peers and relationships with staff. This enables them to experience the joy of learning.
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Why Educational Psychotherapy?
In 2019 in England, over one third of pupils did not achieve the expected standard at the end of primary school. For disadvantaged pupils, this proportion was almost one half. In the same year, there was also a 35% increase in referrals to children’s mental health services and a 4% increase in the number of children receiving support from the NHS.
“One of the major problems children report to the Children’s Commissioner is being ‘turned away’ from mental health services without getting treatment.” Source: The state of children’s mental health services 2020/21 (January 2021)
From a survey of 1,924 children aged 6-17y in England held at the end of 2019 it states; “If all children could talk to someone at their school if they feel worried or stressed to help them look after their mental health.” Source: Children's Commissioner Childhood in 2020 Business plan consultation with children 2020-2021
Children need social and emotional confidence to function well in school. They need to have friends, be able to trust adults, and be brave enough to take the risks required to learn. Emotional worries can result in low self-esteem, poor attentiveness and disruptive behaviour.
Educational Psychotherapists help pupils to learn, achieve and develop character and resilience. It is a high level specialist intervention that supports children and young people's learning. It takes place in school where children and young people are seen in an environment famiilar to them and their families. This can avoid long waiting lists and offers a great opportunity for teachers, parents/carers and other involved agencies to work collaboratively.
We asked some EPTs about Educational Psychotherapy: how it helps pupils, what it meant to them, how it's different from other approaches and why they'd recommend training with the Caspari Foundation.
