Individual support

• Evidenced-based therapies for trauma such as Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) and other therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Other individual therapies include Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills, Integrative Arts Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).
• Outreach work- the team offers outreach work to young people where it is felt this is needed.
• The team has a Consultant Psychiatrist who can discuss with you any medication needs.
• Sometimes it is helpful for us to work alongside other services in CAMHS and the wider team to help to best meet the needs of the young person. The team works closely with colleagues in specialist CAMHS services and frequently cases may be jointly worked across these teams.

Group support

• In 2022 we are also starting a therapy group based on narrative psychology and mentalization therapy for adolescents within the Buckinghamshire County Council children’s residential homes, and for unaccompanied asylum seekers.

Carer advice and support

• In most cases, we will work closely with foster carers, special guardians, adoptive parents or residential staff on their responses to the child’s needs. This is offered through therapeutic parenting and mentalization to help to improve the child’s emotional wellbeing, stabilise placements and increase attachment security with their carer. This work might include a mixture of psychoeducation, alongside using systemic models to increase the systems understanding of the concerns and strengths.
• The ACE team uses the Adaptive Mentalization Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT) model when working with the young person and their networks. This is a model that allows everyone to better understand each other’s perspective and ideas using some specific mentalization tools, such as the disintegration grid.

Teaching and Training

The LAAC team offer a lot of training and teaching to other professionals. Please contact us if this is something you would be interested in.

Working alongside Buckinghamshire County Council

The team has developed and delivered a psychology service across the four Local Authority Homes in Buckinghamshire, who provide care to young people up to the age of 18. The team also work closely with social workers offering consultations and support.

Supporting Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers (UAS)

The team has led with developing a mental health service to children and young people living in Buckinghamshire who are Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers.