The main emphasis of our approach is to empower and enhance the environments around the children and young people we strive to support. However, we understand that direct work also has a role to play and we provide assessments of complex needs and direct therapeutic intervention using a variety of approaches. We have a particular interest in the use of whole school community approaches such as Solution Focused thinking and Mindfulness to reduce stress and promote wellbeing in children, young people and their families, as well as the professionals that work hard to educate and support them. We believe that schools are central to their communities, we will engage with, support and advise other professionals involved with the children, young people and the families we are working with. We are skilled in all areas of cognitive, developmental, educational and social psychology, covering themes such as attachment and loss, the emotional effects of neglect and abuse, social learning, self-efficacy and resilience, emotional intelligence, personal constructs, systemic factors, personality and identity, as well as motivation and learning ability/capacity. We are skilled at meeting the therapeutic needs of families under considerable stress such as refugees and asylum seekers. We are unique in actively promoting the establishment of school to school collaboration in the same locality, supported by a single, dedicated psychological practice. We work together with you, integrated with your staff team, to raise standards for everyone, Jagdish is a Chartered Educational Psychologist and a Director of FocusChange Ltd, which operates FocusPsychology. She is the Practice Lead, managing the team of experienced associates and setting the high quality benchmark for professional practice. Jagdish brings a unique set of skills to this role and has over 20 years experience working with children, young people and adults in a variety of settings. In addition to her work in schools and other organisations, Jagdish works as an Expert Witness for the Family Courts. Jagdish s particular area of expertise is the influence of culture on constructs around parenting and child development and its influence on attachment. As part of our holistic approach to service delivery we believe effective psychological services should only be delivered through a multi-disciplinary targeted team containing specialist and complementary knowledge and experience, where the educational psychologist is one of a group of associate colleagues (e.g. art therapist, counsellor, clinical or specialist psychologist). Jagdish is the principal professional lead for the practice and the first point of contact when a client approaches FocusPsychology. All our fully qualified psychologists are chartered members of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and are listed in the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) register of Practitioner Psychologists. All hold a current practising certificate and have been subject to an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Check. James is a highly experienced Enterprise Architect who specialises in organisational change and Information Management, with over 20 years experience, mostly operating at senior management or board level across a range of diverse organisations, James has a deep understanding of complex organisational dynamics. James can bring together the people, information, technology and processes within an organisation to significant effect. James is a Director of FocusChange Ltd, which operates FocusPsychology and he brings his unique insight to bear on the services FocusPsychology can offer our clients. James also leads the work of our sister organisation, FocusTransformation.
On areas such as SEN, Common Assessment Framework, meeting objectives on development plans, pupil progress and systems analysis; we offer regular meetings (to suit individual requirements) with key staff in school where pupil and/or school issues or initiatives are discussed. In our experience these solution focused meetings empower staff to make positive changes in partnership with other professionals and parents / carers before a situation becomes too acute. Our service packages allow us to become fully involved in the local school community. We will engage with, support and advise other professionals involved with the children, young people and the families we are working with. We are able to offer schools specialist therapeutic services such as Art Therapy (using fully trained and accredited psychotherapists and counsellors), as well as specialist teaching support or advice (for example, for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders or emotional and behavioural difficulties). Tony is a Chartered Educational Psychologist who specialises in making positive changes for looked after children and young people (LACYP), foster carers, LACYP practitioners, adoptive families, kinship carers, as well as vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families in need of support. Tony s background is in teaching as well as psychology and his work draws upon a broad range of psychological and therapeutic theories, models, frameworks and ideas which he applies to education, care giving and parenting. Tony is trained to deliver Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. Our clients benefit from our online Secure Community Groups (SCG) allowing the sharing of sensitive information without the risk of inappropriate disclosure. We take privacy and personal security issues very seriously, all our clients are provided access to our secure file transfer facility allowing us to exchange sensitive information in a highly secure and protected environment Katya is a Child and Adolescent Art Psychotherapist, a member of the British Association of Art Psychotherapists (BAAT) and has more than nine years experience in the care sector. She has experience of providing individual and group art therapy in Mainstream Schools and a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). She has also worked for the Place2be where she supervised student counsellors alongside delivering clinical work. In addition Katya has experience of working within the NHS with adolescents in care, drug and alcohol rehabilitation (adults), elderly mental health services and children with learning/physical disabilities. At regular times throughout the year to suit individual requirements (e.g. lunch time or after school) where any member of staff can confidentially discuss difficulties they may be having with aspects of pupil behaviour, learning and emotional needs. This allows school staff to ask for advice from an independent agency in a safe, non-threatening and confidential environment. It also allows staff to put any direct or indirect interventions into place before the next surgery at which time initiatives are reviewed and modified dependent on success. Schools may also want to offer parent / carer surgeries in order to provide the opportunity for care-givers to seek professional advice.
This can be effective in creating positive changes to children and young people s behaviour and emotional well-being. We have experience of running groups with structured sessions focusing on a variety of needs ranging from raising self-esteem, conflict resolution and coping with stress and exams to specific support groups for children and young people with learning needs such as Aspergers Syndrome or Dyslexia. We also offer training and guidance on whole class support systems such as Circle of Friends. In addition, we can organise workshops for parents / carers to meet school community needs. Our aim is to empower school staff and we encourage clients to learn from us in order that approaches that we have introduced can continue long after our intervention has ceased. Tim is a is a Chartered Educational Psychologist who has been working professionally with children, young people and their families in Education and Social Care settings for 20 years. Within his specialist role with Cared for Children, Tim developed research interests in attachment, resilience and support of those involved in adoption and fostering. Tim is also a skilled and experienced educator and as such can offer tuition on a wide range of specialist areas in learning, child development, communication and social and emotional needs; he has developed and delivered regional seminars and workshops. We consider ourselves to be approachable and friendly and are always willing to discuss and share knowledge. We welcome requests for tender and are open to discussion regarding costs for long term contracts. Contact us for a no obligation, confidential discussion about your requirements. We can provide Supervision and Mentoring of staff using a safe and non-threatening solution orientated approach. This allows schools to meet the emotional and well-being needs of staff using an independent agency. Naomi is a Child and Adolescent Art Psychotherapist, she completed a degree in Glass Design in 1994 and then in Fine Art in 2002 before qualifying as an Art Psychotherapist in 2010 having trained at Leeds Metropolitan University. Naomi worked for many years in social housing, working to improve community cohesion and inclusion to enhance the lives of families and individuals. Naomi has worked with children and young people in the NHS since 2009 and currently works part-time in Doncaster Children s and Young Peoples Mental Health Service. Our sister organisation, FocusTransformation, can offer additional and complementary skills in the area of solution orientated organisational change, as well as support with effective information management and technology implementation (with an emphasis on meeting Safeguarding standards). We develop and deliver bespoke courses and training for professionals on a range of topics such as Supporting Children & Young People with Attachment Difficulties, Using Solution Focused Methods in the Classroom, Encouraging Communication & Social Skills Development and Understanding & Meeting the Support Needs of Asylum Seekers & Refugees. We are also experienced at meeting the needs of other client groups such as parents / carers.
We offer therapy and counselling to children and families with a variety of problems ranging from attachment and behavioural difficulties to stress, anxiety, depression, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorders. We use a variety of therapeutic approaches such as Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Theraplay, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and Art Therapy. David is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist providing counselling and therapy to teenagers for the Interchange project in Sheffield, as well as brief interventions in the NHS and expert witness reports in child and family courts. In addition, he is a student at the Family Relations Institute, Miami, where he is training in the Adult Attachment Interview and at University College London, where he is studying for a post graduate certificate in cognitive behavioural therapy with children and adolescents. We believe passionately that the application of sound psychological knowledge can positively change and enhance the lives of children, young people and adults, as well as empower parents/carers and the professionals that work to support them. Our commitment to continuing professional development ensures that our services are up to date with current research, legislation and policy; making us a leading edge provider of applied psychology. Our associates do not just work for us, they often have other roles and commitments; this unique approach delivers a vibrant and experienced psychological practice made up of individuals who are truly aware and engaged with the challenges faced by education today. This can be very influential in informing whole school initiatives. We have experience of supporting schools in strategic decision making through evidence based applied research and evaluation. Previous work has included exploring group dynamics through assessment of learning styles and the subsequent effect of this on on-task behaviour and peer relations, as well as analysing the use of the Vygotskian approach to teaching and learning. Follow FocusPsychology on Twitter @focuspsychology Christine is a Chartered Educational Psychologist with over 20 years experience of working with children, young people and adults in schools and Early Years settings within two South Yorkshire Local Authorities. In her capacity as Principal Educational Psychologist Christine had the opportunity to be involved in key Children's Services strategies which included taking the lead on the anti bullying and family support strategies. Recently Christine has worked as part of a senior management team within Children's Services, where the focus was re-shaping the Special Educational Needs Service in line with current DfE recommendations. We offer a range of assessments to identify learning, emotional or behavioural needs in children and young people and recommend appropriate remediation. Some of the numerous reasons for the difficulties that a young person may be presenting with include Learning Difficulties, Communication and Social Interaction Difficulties, Attachment & Loss and Anxiety & Stress.
We believe that FocusPsychology offers unparalleled levels of expertise, professionalism and experience; we want our clients to really value the services we provide and because we recognise that expert knowledge is always only half the story, we want our customers to genuinely feel positive about working with us as people. Don t just take our word for it; listen to our clients. Athersley North Primary Summerfield Primary Doncaster Road Primary
We are a mature and established practice, delivering services to our clients since 2006 We are unique in offering a psychological service and not just an educational psychology service this allows us to offer a wider range of holistic capabilities We offer generous discounts to schools committing to annual contracts of 12 days or more Our long-term contract schools are allocated a lead psychologist who oversees the contract We do not tie you into a contract if you don t want to. You can Pay as You Go For Pay as You Go clients we offer an appointment within four weeks during term time (as long as we are supplied with the information requested from school) We return your calls and e-mails within two days during term-time We get reports to you within three weeks post assessment during term time We offer loyalty gifts such as a free INSET to our high user schools We offer a Secure File Transfer Service, which complies with safeguarding and data protection Our Associates are highly professional and committed to the application of leading edge psychological approaches We pride ourselves on our up to date knowledge of psychology and education legislation Our Associates benefit from supervision, peer mentoring and being part of a professional team Our Associates are required to keep up CPD and maintain clinical supervision Our Associates do not just work for us, they are active practitioners in their own right. This provides our clients with a varied and rich skill set We are friendly and approachable