Extra training launched to support children in care in Essex
Essex County Council is offering the chance to better understand and support those who've experience trauma
Foster carers in Essex and other people who come into contact with a child in care are being offered the chance to better support young people who've experienced trauma.
Essex County Council has launched a new trauma informed therapeutic training programme, which is available online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was created following evidence that outcomes for children who may have experienced it are better if they are parented in a trauma informed way.
Poppy Heslop, from Harlow, began fostering four years ago after losing her husband three years before.
For the last 18 months she has cared for a 14-year-old, and says she now understands his actions better thanks to the training.
She said: "The biggest change was giving him a routine and setting boundaries which is something that he has not had before. By explaining why something is wrong, as opposed to just telling him he shouldn’t be doing it, is laying the foundations for a confident young man, ready to face the world at 18."
Essex County Council's Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Dr Barbara Canepa, said: "Moving forward, our aim is to recruit people who want to work therapeutically with children. Our goal is to help give children in care the best possible environment in which to feel safe and secure, and to go on to thrive.
"We see foster carers as the agents of that change, and our role is to give them the knowledge, support and tools with which to heal the trauma and transform the lives of the children and young people they care for."
The training aims to help children and young people by giving adults the ability to see through a "trauma lens" during challenges with behaviour.
Dr Canepa continued: "Remembering the horrible things they've gone through is hard for a foster carer, but it helps them put things into perspective and into context, that's the trauma lens.
"It's hard, but it's helpful."
People can find out more about fostering in Essex by visiting the council's website or calling 0800 801 530.