The organisation offers complementary services (see below) and we are continuing to build on this in order to provide a truly holistic range of supports for local children & families. We are working towards securing funding to expand the scope of service provision to the community in 2022, including a specific project focusing on positive mental health & well-being activities.
Systemic Family Psychotherapy
Systemic Family Psychotherapy is best known as ‘Family Therapy’. Family Therapy recognises that life can be difficult and stressful at times. It can be helpful to have a safe, confidential place, outside of your home, to talk. It is interested in a family’s strengths and in finding helpful ways of resolving life’s difficulties. It identifies family patterns that contribute to behaviours and helps break those habits by problem solving to improve family relationships.
Clients are asked to ensure they attend every weekly/bi-weekly or monthly Family Therapy session.
Play (Creative) Therapy
At times in life something can happen which can affect a child.
Therapy can help by:
- Helping children safely work through their emotions
- Improving behavioural issues
- Improving relationships at home or school
- Building resilience
A child can be referred by family or a professional. Play Therapy or Child Psychotherapy can help issues such as:
- Anger
- Aggression
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Separation/Divorce
- Loss/Bereavement
- Self-harm
- Suicide
- Issues at home or school
Families should complete a ‘play therapy’ application form along with a ‘strengths & difficulties’ questionnaire.
Non-Violent Resistance (NVR)
This is a peer support workshop over a minimum of six weeks, working with parents who experience aggressive or violent behaviour from their child. This discussion based activity helps parents learn the skills needed to be a positive ‘influencer’ in their child’s life. NVR is made up of a number of sessions and provides opportunities to meet other parents and work through the various stages of tackling the violence or aggression by de-escalating situations in the home. It can also be delivered on with individual parents. The Dóchas Project Director (Claire) is trained to deliver the Non-Violent Resistance Programme, which includes the following stages:
Find out more here.
Rainbows Programme
For children, aged 7-12 years living with parental separation & bereavement. It is a peer support group over 9 weeks and facilitated by two adults. Rainbows is not a counselling service and staff do not provide written reports or feedback to parents (it’s a child’s confidential space). Dóchas will be commencing Rainbows in 2022.
Find out more here.