RLE Specialist Psychological Services

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RLE have access to a multi-disciplinary clinical team to support the needs of children through individualised approaches to care. 

This includes: 

• Forensic Psychologists 
• Clinical Psychologists
• Educational Psychologists
• Integrative Psychotherapists
• Therapeutic practitioners  

Consultation will be provided to services to support their work with children and young people who have experienced trauma or present with specific complex needs, risks and vulnerabilities that impact their presentation and behaviours. This provides an opportunity to explore the current circumstances and consider evidence-based practices that can support individuals. Resources, strategies and recommendations can be developed through this approach. 

A comprehensive resource bank is available to providers. This includes information guides, workbooks and self-directed work for young people. They can provide a basis for keyworker sessions and enhance a young person’s self-insight through self-directed work. 

Through clinical formulation processes, we will work with multi-agency partners to develop an understanding of what has influenced a child or young person’s presentational needs. Psychological formulation enables those who are caring for children and young people to better understand the factors that are functionally related to their presentation. It provides support in care planning, consideration of appropriate provisions and strategic support, to provide comprehensive care that meets the psychological needs of the young people. The formulation model applied in practice will be in the best interests of the child, in order to understand their presentation. 

Formulation will be conducted collaboratively with professional agencies and collateral information will be reviewed, in order to develop a robust psychological report. 

A variety of validated psychological measures are applied by the clinical team to provide a breadth of insight into young people and inform further recommendations to support their care. Both standardised and idiographic measures are utilised that allow for an understanding of a child or young person’s:

• Cognitive functioning needs
• Neurodevelopmental conditions
• Sensory needs
• Mental health conditions including mood disorders and conduct disorders
• Attachment presentations  
• Complex risk presentation including violence risk, group related violence risk, and harmful sexual behaviours (HSB)
• Areas of vulnerability such as child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE)

The following standardised assessments are available from RLE Specialist Psychology Services:

Cognitive functioning assessments & Neurodevelopmental assessments:

• Adaptive Behaviour Assessment Systems third edition (ABAS-3)
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children fifth UK edition (WISC-V)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
• Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R)
• Sensory considerations report

Risk assessments: 

• Early Assessment Risk List for Boys, version 2 (EARL- 20B): violence risk in male children under 12 years old
• Early Assessment Risk List for Girls, version 1 (EARL- 21G): violence risk in female children under 12 years old
• Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY): Violence risk for children aged between 12 and 18 years old
• Multi-level Guidelines version 2 (MLG-2): Group based violence risk for individuals aged 14 years old +
• AIM3: Assessment of harmful sexual behaviours for children aged between 12 and 18 years old
• Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol- II (JSOAP-II): assessment of risk for those convicted of sexual offending
• Fire-setting behaviours in young people: assessment of fire-setting risk and typology

Vulnerability assessments: 

• Child Adolescent Sexual Exploitation Evaluation (CASEE): An assessment of vulnerability and protective factors related to being at risk of the exposure to CSE
• Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE): Drawing on neo-ecological theory to assess vulnerabilities related to CCE

Please note, a wide range of psychometric tools can also be applied through assessment, in order to gain further insight into the needs of the child or young person. 

Direct Intervention

Therapeutic intervention is planned through the assessment process, to meet the presenting needs of the young person, as well as consider their responsivity needs. This ensures that intervention is responsive to their needs and takes place at a time when the young person is ready to engage. 

The clinical team are skilled in delivering intervention through the lens of: 

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Narrative based intervention 
• Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
• Schema based therapy
• Systemic family intervention
• Compassion focussed therapy

 Training is provided to support professionals in working responsively and proactively with children and young people, across areas such as:

• Attachment Theory & PACE
• Level 2: Developing therapeutic skills (in partnership with Headsight Services LTD)
• Harmful sexual behaviours (HSB)
• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) 
• Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) & Group Membership affiliation
• Alcohol & substance misuse 
• Self-injury & Suicidal Ideation 
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
• ADHD
• Intellectual disability 
• Autism spectrum condition
• Safeguarding children from extremism & radicalisation 
• Transitioning from custody or secure provisions to residential care 

Supportive and safe environments are provided for practitioners to explore challenges, reflect on their practice and gain insights to inform their work. Reflective practice principles are applied to allow practitioners to focus on their professional growth and enhance their care provision. 

The model of reflective practice applied, will be based on the needs of the professional and the purpose of the session. 

Models utilised by RLE Specialist Psychological Services include:

• The ERA cycle (Jasper, 2013)
• Reflective Cycle (Gibbs, 1998)
• Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1984)

For referrals related to any aspect of clinical provision, the RLE team will seek to respond within 24 hours. Costings for individual services or the full package are available on request.