Children’s Mental Health week
3 Feb 2025

3 Feb 2025
Children’s Mental Health week is a time to reflect on the importance of supporting young people’s emotional and mental wellbeing. This year’s theme, ‘Know Yourself, Grow Yourself', perfectly encapsulates the work done by Break’s Therapeutic Services (BTS).
At the heart of the team’s approach is the recognition that young people rely on their caregivers as key attachment figures. Through prioritising the relationships between the children in the Break homes and their carers, the focus is on empowering their colleagues, giving them the understanding and the tools they need to support the young people in their care to heal and grow.
As manager Gail explains, “We’re here to help our colleagues understand why a young person is behaving in a certain way. Because when you understand what drives a young person’s behaviour, you can respond to the need behind it, not just the behaviour itself. This in turn will help build trusting relationships. Before any of our young people can begin to heal from the trauma they may have experience, they need stable, caring relationships that help them feel safe, accepted, and valued.”
To achieve this, the team works closely with the homes delivering a range of bespoke trauma-informed training sessions, addressing themes such as trauma, attachment, compassion fatigue, and understanding particular trauma-based behaviours. This gives carers the tools they need to respond compassionately and effectively to the complex needs of the children in their care. An element of the approach is PACE-informed practice, which stands for Playful, Accepting, Curious, and Empathetic, and helps create a foundation of safety for children who have often never experienced secure relationships. “Many of our young people have never felt safe in relationships with an adult,” Gail emphasises. “Our aim is to build positive relationships so our young people can begin to feel seen, heard, and accepted which in turn means they can begin to trust and regulate their emotions, and PACE helps us to do this.”
Another vital aspect of BTS’s work is reflective practice. Each home has a dedicated practitioner who meets regularly with colleagues to reflect on the young people’s needs and behaviours. This reflective space allows caregivers the time to explore the “why” behind behaviours, whether it’s anger after a difficult text message or withdrawal after family contact. This means they are able to respond thoughtfully and tailor care plans to each child’s unique experiences and needs.
The Break Therapeutic Team
By working through a trauma informed lens, the results of this work for young people can be life-changing, leading to improved outcomes in education, relationships, and life. It also helps to improve staff retention, meaning our young people can have the long-term relationships they need because when their caregivers feel equipped and supported, they are more likely to remain in their roles.
“Stable relationships are transformative for young people with developmental trauma,” explains Gail. “Over time, they build a secure base that enables them to explore the world, this helps them to access education and other opportunities, build healthy relationships and achieve their potential. When we help young people know themselves and understand their feelings, they can begin to grow into the best version of themselves. Every child deserves to feel safe, loved, and valued – and that’s what we aim to give them.”