Adoption & Fostering
Helping children to recover from traumatic experiences is a difficult task and we are aware of the particular challenges faced by foster carers, adoptive parents, special guardians, social workers and other professionals.

We offer a wide range of services, including:
- Specialist Assessments and Therapeutic Assessments to provide a holistic understanding of a child to inform of a possible interventions
- A broad range of evidence based therapies including systemic family therapies, EMDR and Theraplay™
- Adoption support for professionals and parents
- Training for professionals
- Training for foster carers and adoptive parents
- Consultation and training to residential support staff and other front line staff
Our psychologists are specialised in working with children and young people who are experiencing trauma and attachment difficulties, and we offer a number of services targeted at supporting and optimising the fostering and adoption process. We consider the whole child and their environment when thinking about their strengths and needs, including current functioning at home, school and with their peers, family relationships, experiences in school, trauma history, attachment relationships and neurodevelopmental factors.
We use a “bio-psycho-social” model to incorporate up to date knowledge within a range of areas to best understand a child and their experiences in order to inform how best to support them to reach their potential.
We use a range of clinically appropriate psychometric tools to evaluate interventions and help to monitor change towards our clients hopes and goals. We have contributed towards the pilot evaluation of the ASF and have found that 95 percent of the children and families we work with indicate improvement.
"The agency is committed to and succeeds at improving the lives of adopted children and their families. It provides high-quality and effective therapeutic services."
Ofsted, March 2023

Adoption Support Funding
The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) was introduced as many adoptive and specialist guardianship families require some kind of therapeutic support. To find out more this funding, we have an ASF Information Sheet available, or you can visit the ASF Website.
Our practice is registered with Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills and has been accredited as an ‘Outstanding’ Adoption Support Agency. To read our 2023 ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted report, please click here.
For details of our official registration on the Ofsted website please click here.
Psychology Associates is also a member of CASA (the Consortium of Adoption Support Agencies), a group of independent Adoption Support Agencies (ASAs) who are registered under the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
We meet regularly with the Department for Education and Mott MacDonald and provide consultation around evaluation of and changes in adoption support.
Visit the CASA website for more information.
Some of the fostering and adoption agencies we work with are:
Useful information leaflets currently available:
“External professionals described the agency as ‘impressive’ and commented on the progress that children have made”
Download the PA Statement of Purpose Document
Testimonials
Ofsted 2023
“The agency is committed to and succeeds at improving the lives of adopted children and their families. It provides high-quality and effective therapeutic services."

“Families report they value the warm welcome that they received, and how the therapists put them at ease and built trusting relationships with them. Family relationships are strengthened through effective and timely therapeutic interventions."

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