Initial Relationship Health Consultations and Coaching
Do you need help to think through your role in helping your child?
SUPPORTING YOU IN FINDING THE WAY FORWARD
Have you been wondering about what to do to help a child you are concerned about? You know something is off track right now but are not sure what. You have been wondering about whether your child might have some developmental challenges but it is difficult to know where to start. A relationship health consultation is an opportunity to think about what is happening from the perspective of your own role and the issue of helping yourself become most effective.
Please note: we are not offering a crisis support service. If difficulties are severely escalated, involving self harm or aggression and threats, you will need the support of an approved I Matter Link Professional in your own community, preferably at your child's school, or via your local GP's for us to be able to progress a consultation. If there is an I Matter Link professional, we are happy to work as part of a team approach.
In the recent period, due to the increasing complexity of challenges being faced in all directions by all parties, anyone interested in an I Matter Relationship Health Learning Journey starts with an initial expression of interest and a brief consultation. Consultations are now offered as a stand alone service and may or may not be followed by further I Matter training. A short clarity call is usually followed up by a longer registration questionnaire and a longer consultation. The aim of this service is to help guide you in the first steps of finding the way forward and helping you and us ensure there is a fit with our services. Places on the I Matter Online Learning Journey are limited and we are not a fit for everyone.
We strongly recommend early intervention - it is better not to wait until difficulties are really escalated - but we know that when adults and young people have readiness to learn new skills then positive change can happen - if there is willingness to stick with the process
Professionals and parents-carers and adults and young people come to us with desire to help themselves and others with a range of common priorities or difficulties:
- Feeling prepared for managing wellbeing in high pressure roles
- Feeling equipped for a role as a parent-carer or partner
- Feeling equipped for a role as a professional
- Feeling equipped for senior leadership roles
Common challenges that people often want to think about include relationships where there are :
- Anxiety difficulties,
- Challenging behaviour
- Separation anxiety
- School avoidance
- Low mood
- Reactions to Loss and bereavement
- Reactions to trauma
- Panic and phobias
- Couple conflicts
- Conflicts with parents
- Sibling conflicts
- Communication challenges
- Managing Physical health challenges
- Social emotional learning difficulties
- Behavioural challenges and impulsivity
- Adult-Adult Relationship challenges
- Team Relationship Challenges
The good news is that it is never too late for positive changes!
In an I Matter Relationship Health consultation, training and coaching process, an I Matter relationship health informed practitioner will work with you and your Focus Child or Other, as applicable, over a short or longer time to help you start to develop a psychological formulation based on more in-depth understanding. This means we aim to help you make sense of:
- What is happening right now
- When the difficulties started
- What factors may have contributed to the difficulties
- What is keeping the difficulties going
- What strengths and resources are present
- What skills need practising in order to see progress
Alongside your consultations we encourage you to commit to the I Matter Relationship Health learning Process as long as is needed to bring about healthier happier relationships and confidence. Professionals, parents and young people tell us that this way of seeing things feels supportive, empowering, refreshing and hopeful.
Consultation Options
REGISTRATION FOR
BRIEF CLARITY
CALL
You will complete an initial questionnaire. If we think we can help this will be followed by a call to help clarify options and next best steps.
FREE
IN-DEPTH QUESTIONNAIRE + RECOMMENDATIONS
You complete an indepth registration questionnaire and we have a 75min call to help you think about the way forward and key priorities
£150
THREE STEP
INITIAL CONSULT WITH FAMILY MEMBER
You complete an indepth questionnaire and we meet to discuss followed by an appointment with family member and a follow up to give guidance .
£300
IN-DEPTH ASSESSMENT
OVER 5 SESSIONS
With clarity on the foundations of an I Matter approach we work together to deepen understanding of the current challenges and a clear plan
£500
SERIES OF CONSULTATIONS OR MONTHLY PLAN
Consultations are intended to deepen your understanding of theory to practice in relation to your specific focus situation as you build skills and confidence.
From £200-£400pcm
How do I enquire about consultations?
If you are interested in our services you are welcome to get in touch with us to make a general enquiry
At present we only offer consultations to those who are registered for or potentially interested in joining the Level 1 online programme. We work by recommendation and like parents-carers to have an I Matter link professional in an organisation that we have some existing ties with. This is because a key part of our approach involves building a network of informed adults. For more information click here
There is a huge demand for our services, so during particularly busy times there may be a wait for a suitable appointment time to become available for you. The initial focus of our work is always with the adults.
What happens following a general enquiry?
If we progress past a general enquiry you will be invited to complete an initial expression of interest with a 15 min call. This will help us understand a bit more about your current concerns and interests
Once we have reviewed the first information, if we think we may be able to offer a service, we will contact you to review your current consultation needs. This will usually include completing a more in-depth questionnaire and a longer consultation with you.
After an appointment to review the initial information a second appointment can be offered (if applicable) to which others can be invited. You will be asked to pay for the consultation steps before the appointments. Most appointments are currently online.
What happens in an initial clarity call?
In contrast to the general enquiry, an initial clarity call offers a first questionnaire and a brief call to understand your concerns and interests. This call can be followed by registering for the online training or we may advise a further initial consultation. This involves a more in-depth questionnaire and a longer consultation. Sometimes we recommend further steps which may include a meeting with other parties - all together or separately.
When the difficulties are more complex, we will sometimes advise an extended assessment-registration step, and we will explain exactly what is involved and the associated costs.
Our initial registration steps aims to:
- Understand the nature of current difficulties
- Explore any concerns about safety and risk management
- Develop an initial understanding of the current challenges (known as a ‘formulation’)
- Make recommendations for a way forward
An I Matter Learning Journey is not therapy - but commitment to a supported learning process can be therapeutic. Professionals and families have told us that the process often sheds new light on the problems they have brought to us, which can create change and hope early on in our work with them. We see the initial stages as a vital part of an I Matter Learning process, because understanding the difficulties is always the first step towards change.
You will be provided with a brief summary of our thoughts and recommendations. This can often be an important way to build improved understanding’ for all involved
What happens after the initial consultation?
The purpose of the initial consultation is to make some recommendations which we feel would be beneficial, which fit with your own priorities for change. The recommendations we make are informed by the following key principles:
- We believe strongly that understanding is key to the change process. So most of our recommendations include either a period of more indepth assessment or a training step first. This is usually first for adults and sometimes also for the young person. The foundation of this training is the I Matter Framework.
- To enable any child to thrive, the intervention plan needs to consider the powerful role of how the adults involved, including the parents/carers and other professionals such as school can facilitate change through working together
- To create change, we must look beneath the surface for both adults and young people to understand the challenges, build new skills, and try out new behaviours so as to find relationship healing and restore health.
- Intervention is most effective when it is offered in the right sequence. Sometimes, for example change in the parents and adults understanding and responses is needed before change in a young person or other adult can be seen.
- Often, a learning process is often most effective when it is offered in phases, with planned ‘breaks’. This means that those involved can put into practice all that they have learnt about themselves and each other.
Your recommendations can include a range of optional ways forward.
How is progress reviewed?
Progress through an I Matter Learning Journey is something which is continually reviewed. During the initial stages, we will make a plan with you about a learning journey and including what sort of group or 1:1 study support is advisable before a more formal ‘pause and review’ step is offered.
Alongside this, we have three main ways that we evaluate the progress that is being made with a focus on the relationship itself:
- During your initial registration, you will be asked to fill out a number of questionnaires, which you will be asked to complete again at the end of each piece of work.
- At the start of each piece of work, you will be asked to identify three priority goals, and scale them to show us how well you feel you are achieving those goals. We will continue to review your goals and scaling as you progress.
- At the end of a piece of work, you will be asked to tell us how satisfied you feel with your experience of joining the I Matter Learning Journey and about whether you feel the difficulties you wanted to address have improved.
What do professionals, parents/carers and young people say about the I Matter Learning Process?
We understand that taking a step towards learning something new or asking for help takes courage. We also understand that it can feel like a step into the unknown.
Take a browse through our Impact Testimonials where you can read what other parents and professionals, have said about their I Matter Relationship Health learning Journey
Getting in Touch
If you have questions about our services please feel free to contact us we welcome informal conversations about whether we are the right service for you. Or to make an enquiry please contact us
Express interest in a 15 min FREE CLARITY CALL
In a clarity call we explore your current interests and concerns and help figure out your best next steps
EXPRESS INTEREST