Treasure Keepers Models
Treasure Keepers offer psychological consultation and therapies under the Umbrella models of TREASURE (Therapeutic Parenting Consultation & Therapy) and GEMS (Parent-Child psychological Therapy).
These 2 models are designed to work together to create excellent outcomes for children, young people and their families and placements.
Aims of the Models
The Treasure Keepers models aim to give a clear and evidenced-based framework on what is likely to assist parenting to ensure adoptive families or fostered families are supported before they start to struggle, as well as when life has become more difficult.
The models are informed by multiple theories to create an integrative approach and strive for best practice. They are designed to be multimodal and broad in scope, which has been demonstrated to be successful in reducing the effects of traumatisation (Perry, 2006).
Our Models are built upon research from developmental trauma (Van der Kolk, Perry), child development, neuroscience research, attachment/relationships theories and therapies (Dan Hughes, Daniel Siegel, Gillian Ruch), Body & Trauma theories (Stephen Porges, Babette Rothschild), regulation approaches, Neurosequential therapeutic approaches (Bruce Perry), psychodynamic theories and other therapeutic approach theories (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Systemic Therapy).
All of our models are heavily influenced by the Polyvagal Theory application to clinical practice (Porges, 2011, Dana, 2018) so the nervous system of the Young Person and their Parents/Carer’s are better understood and responded to. This is thought to mirror good psychological health and overall improved wellbeing.
Stability, Strength & Sparkle
All of our interventions aim to cultivate:
Stability
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Home life feels more settled and secure
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School feels more settled and secure
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Quality of relationships with others is improved
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Increased ability to regulate yourself & regulate your young person
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Increased ability to use of grounding techniques
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Increased safety felt by young person
Strength
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Increased confidence in working as part of a team, both within your family home/placement and with professionals
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Increased understanding of your Young Person and of yourself.
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Increased understanding of trauma and of your own and your Young Person’s trauma history
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Development of therapeutic Parenting capacity to withstand the demands of re-Parenting young people with developmental trauma
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Learning how to use different techniques to support your own wellbeing and that of your Young Person.
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Evidence of Emotional and physical wellbeing change
Sparkle
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Talents developed
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Improved emotional wellbeing
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Improved physical health
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Improved empathy & reflective skill
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Improved enjoyment of being together as a family
TREASURE Parenting Consultation & Therapy Intervention
Objectives
To support Parents & Carers to help develop and stabilize their relationships, explore behavioural and emotional responses and understand the impact of past experiences (both the young person and themselves as Parent/Carers). To enable Parents & Carers to strengthen their understanding of the emotional, social, physical/health and psychological needs of the children they are caring for. To cultivate the ‘sparkle’ of their young people and build their confidence, assets, talents and resilience.
Teamwork: the recognition that everyone (social care practitioners, parents & carers, young people psychologists, school & therapists) need to work together in a joined up way to create good outcomes and safe practice
Regulation: the importance of being able to calm & soothe (down-regulate) or activate (up regulate) your young person to support their emotional and physical health
Emotional & Physical Wellbeing: Looking after yourself in mind, body and spirit. Required to be able to offer high quality care to others
Attributes & resilience: developing your young person’s talents, assets, self-esteem and confidence. Celebrating their resilience.
Helping them identify, express & tolerate their needs and feelings
Safety: establishing an enhanced level of safety for your young person. Acknowledging the part that fear plays within their emotions, behaviour and physical health. Giving your young person a sense of safety, routines and CALM parenting approach to discipline.
Understanding Trauma: developing an enhanced understanding in the role of trauma for your young person and for yourself.
Relationships: developing healthy, safe, connected and trusting relationships between yourself and your young person. Supporting healthy friendships. A developed ability to repair when things are difficult.
Empathy & Reflection - developing your ability to understand ‘why’ your young person may react or behave as they do.
The Treasure Keepers® TREASURE © model facilitates psychological development of the young person through directing strategies with the Foster Carers/Parents, the wider system (such as the school or relevant other support persons) and through direct work with the young person and the family. All interventions suggested are to enable psychological, emotional, behavioural, and social well-being and development of the young person.
GEMS Psychological Therapy Interventions
Objectives
To enable children to have a coherent self-view, emotional resilience and sense of inner stability. Knowledge and understanding of their background. Young People are encouraged to develop their emotional, intellectual, social, creative and physical strengths. For Young People to find their ‘sparkle’.
TREASURE & GEMS Combined
For Treasure Keepers work to be most effective and create the best level of change, the GEMS psychological therapy needs to be fully combined with the TREASURE therapeutic parenting.
TREASURE sessions offer a framework of therapeutic parenting intervention that is designed in a bespoke way for the needs of the child within their family (based on their assessment).
Our Parents/Carers hold the TREASURE- sparkling gold dust that is sprinkled, wrapped and encircling around their GEMS (children/young people).
This enables strong and stable families to be cultivated.
The intention is to help create loving, connected families/placements that can meet developmental and often complex needs of their children.
It needs to be considered that the most influence for trauma resilience/recovery is held by the Parents/Carers.
They provide the quality day to day care that changes the bodies, brains and relationships of their young people.
Ultimately Parents and Carers skilled in daily therapeutic parenting and informed by their Young Person’s therapies are able to provide the ‘fix/move toward recovery or resilience’.
The ‘fix/move toward recovery or resilience’ is not something that is ‘done to the child’ through them attending psychological therapy sessions for a few hours a month. The psychological therapy provides a space to explore behaviours and feelings and test out strategies to regulate these.
The lived experience and daily practice is then continued within the family home and in real lives.
GEMS sessions are usually attended by both Children and their Parents/Carers (although some times it is indicated by the assessment that the GEMS sessions are attended by the Young Person only).
GEMS sessions are neuro-sequentially organised to consider the building blocks needed for trauma resilience.
This is a phased intervention which works alongside the TREASURE interventions to create better outcomes.
These sessions can offer a space for the ‘live practice’ of the interventions suggested in the TREASURE sessions as well as enabling the Child/Young Person to develop a skill set of tools to better manage their own nervous system and cultivate their stability, strength and sparkle.
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The Calm Model
GEMS© Psychological Therapies
Treasure Keepers® Associates are qualified and specialised Practitioners who have been carefully selected to work within the Service.
Treasure Keepers® apply a GEMS © neuro-sequential approach within therapies which is Integrative, multidmodal and ‘bottom-up’.
This means that therapies are offered which consider that the lower brain and then mid brain need to be active to be able to reach the higher brain.
This is an integrated and holistic approach which includes working with the body, relationships, experiences and thinking in an individualised way for the young person.
It is also linked to our TREASURE © Parenting Model.
Parents & Carers are usually invited to these sessions alongside their Young Person to support the development of attached, regulating relationships.
