Child psychotherapy can help children and young people work through difficult feelings which may be causing them unhappiness in their day-to-day life.
For family therapy please use this link:
Family TherapyCounselling and Psychotherapy for Children
What can my child get help with?
Children who are in emotional distress often find it hard to articulate what they are feeling, or to identify a cause of those feelings. Psychotherapy can help children who are experiencing all kinds of psychological or emotional difficulties, such as depression or anxiety, as well as those who are having problems with their behaviour and relationships, at home or at school. Children may also benefit from psychotherapy when they have been through difficult or traumatic experiences such as parental separation.
What help is available?
Child psychotherapy can be a stand-alone treatment or used in combination with family therapy. For children who find it difficult to speak about what they are feeling, play and drawing can be used to help them express themselves.
How does it work?
When you make an initial enquiry on behalf of a child, you will be asked to provide some basic information about them and what they are struggling with. You may then be offered a telephone consultation, where you can provide a more detailed picture. This will help us to decide what therapist and type of therapy would be of most help to your child.
How much will it cost?
Costs differ between individuals. You will be given a clear idea of fees before any treatment begins.
Make an Enquiry
Complete our short enquiry form and one of our staff will get back to you as soon as possible
Our Specialists
Lesley Maroni
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner
Stephanie Fattorini
THERAPIST
Lesley Maroni
Lesley Maroni trained as a child and adolescent psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic, after which she took up a highly specialist post in the Family Unit at the Cassel Hospital, assessing and treating parents with their infants and children. This work involved report writing and appearing as an expert witness for the courts.
Lesley has also had extensive experience treating severely disturbed adolescents and young people both in NHS inpatient units and in specialist community child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Her areas of expertise are in working with adolescents with eating disorders; those who self-harm; those at risk of suicide; those who have been physically, emotionally and/or sexually abused and who have recurring flashbacks, as well as seeing children and young people who are suffering from anxiety and depression.
To facilitate the successful treatment of PTSD and dissociation, Lesley has completed the training for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing); this is a short-term treatment (approx. 7-8 sessions), recommended by NICE, which can be used with children, adolescents and adults.
Lesley has lectured and published widely on a range of mental health issues. Her publications include ‘Understanding your 4-5-year-old’ (Jessica Kingsley – part of the Tavistock Series ‘Understanding your Child’). Her most recent publication is a chapter entitled ‘The language of smell’ in the book ‘Towards Belonging’ (Karnac).
Maroni, L. (in press) ‘The language of silence: factors inhibiting the production of language. The Journal of Educational Psychotherapy. To appear in August 2021 edition.
Maroni, L. (2020) Book review ‘On Adolescence: inside stories’by Waddell, M. (Routledge, 2018). International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 101 (4): pp.835-837.
Maroni, L. (2015) ‘The smell of belonging’ in Briggs, A. (Ed.) Towards Belonging. Negotiating new relationships for adopted children and those in care. Tavistock Clinic Series. London: Karnac (Reprinted Routledge, 2018).
Stephanie Fattorini
Steph has been working with children and with families since 2005. She has worked as a therapist in various settings, such as a University, in primary and secondary schools, charities for children with Special Needs, a Mediation Centre and in her own practice in Fulham. She enjoys providing 1:1 therapeutic support, family therapy, and has facilitated play-therapy groups. She is an Adult Trainer who co-presents two Separated Parent Programmes in London, one of which she has as co-written and founded.
Her work with children is facilitated by her training in play-therapy. Whilst providing a calm and empathic space for children, teenagers, parents, couples and families, Steph is non directive and follows cues from children and works with all ages. The family sessions are tailored to foster better communication and relationships between children, parents and carers. She likes to increase a person’s self-awareness and self-confidence with various creative mediums. The focus of the sessions can be more on immediate problems, with practical suggestions offered and can be shorter term than psychoanalytic therapy.
Steph is an accredited BACP therapist and has recently specialised in helping families in separation and divorce and writes a monthly blog on related subjects (if interested, please visit: sftherapylondon.com).
Steph has trained in both Integrative and Psychodynamic Therapy. The basis of her work is founded on psychodynamic concepts but values the influences of the humanistic and person centred approaches.
