Therapeutic fostering
What is Therapeutic Fostering?
A Therapeutic Foster Parent’s job is to learn about the child and understand what has gone wrong, and how they can best support the child’s emotional, psychological and social development.
With this it is hoped that there will be improvements to the well-being of the child, and they will for example be more confident, have a better self-esteem, be able to enjoy friendships and engage age appropriately.
The knowledge therapeutic Foster Parents gain is transferable to all sorts of relationships and situations, and many find that the strategies they have learned can help them manage other areas of their lives more effectively.
We know this because the fostering services we support have taught hundreds of people to work this way.
What’s needed in a Therapeutic Foster Parent?
In addition to the qualities required of a Foster Parent, Therapeutic Foster Parents will learn to:
- Understand how traumatic experiences impact on a child’s development
- Look beyond the behaviour, to understand what is causing it – this is the key to healing a hurt child
- Recognise that healing has a process that requires time and perseverance
- Accept the child for who they are and not judge them by what has happened to them
- Continue to develop new skills, have a willingness to learn new skills and increase their knowledge with specialist training
To a young person, nothing is more powerful than knowing you are with them in their distress and helping them to find ways to manage difficult feelings.
Working Therapeutically
Therapeutic fostering plans provide Foster Parents with a professional tool to support them in becoming an expert in understanding the internal worlds of their foster children.
Our therapeutic Foster Parents are not expected to become overnight therapists, but rather to be there for thier foster children in a comprehensive and forward thinking way. This can range from larger long-term planning or simply just being a more active listener and helping them to achieve the happy and healthy life all children deserve.
Working Therapeutically with Young People
Every child is different. Every child has unique physical and emotional needs, so every child will have a therapeutic plan.
The plan shows that therapeutic fostering is in the detail of day to day care.
Even a simple thing such as the way they are woken up in the morning is thought through. Having a therapeutic plan helps our Foster Parents identify and anticipate difficulties and triggers to behaviour. For example, if a child has been neglected or has lived with domestic violence, a foster parent can take guidance from the plan on how to help them.
Therapeutic fostering helps to identify the care needs of each child and offers Foster Parents strategies and ideas for helping the child develop in the areas identified as needing attention. The plan is reviewed regularly with the team and adjusted if necessary.
Professional Development
As you complete your training as a Therapeutic Foster Parent, along with other criteria, you have the opportunity to apply for promotion to higher pay scales.
All services that UC2F partner, value the development of skills of their foster parents and offer a range of incentives to continue to develop their fostering career.
