Bath Trauma Recovery Centre (TRC) provides highly specialised trauma recovery support to children, youth, young adults and parents/ carers.
They help families recover from complex trauma and support them as they piece their lives back together until a wholeness can be found.
For children:
We look forward to you coming… make sure you come ready to tell us what you want to play with first! Paints, craft, puppets, toys, musical instruments or books?
We have different rooms where children just like you come each week to work with a trained adult so that life isn’t so full of strong emotions. We have paints, toys, art stuff, puppets, musical instruments and lots of other fun stuff! You’ll have one therapist who you’ll get to know as you use the equipment!
The adult who brings you will wait with a cup of tea in a group for parents or carers where they chat about the best ways to support you.
You will find the adults here at the TRC are warm, friendly, kind, not judgemental or impatient but fun and curious about you. They are especially trained to help children who are feeling frustrated or muddled or sad.
We don’t tell others what you say and do in your sessions (unless we are worried about you hurting yourself badly and then we’ll have to tell the right adult) so you can trust us that we NEVER gossip or laugh at you or think you’re silly. We respect your feelings and muddles and always believe the best about you!
For young people & young adults:
TRC is here to help.
You may be feeling anxious or angry; fed up or sad; full of rage against others or yourself or you may have behaviours that frustrate you. We can help you.
We are a diverse group of therapists - music therapists, art psychotherapists, play therapists or creative counsellors. We all work well together because we all share the same vision that we want kids and young people to be able to enjoy life, have dreams for their life and not weighed down by the negative experiences that they’ve had. We love nothing more than seeing young people make sense of what’s happened and feel less confused, angry, sad, frustrated, upset, cross, depressed, anxious or any other emotion that is hard work to live with 24/7.
What will happen?
You’ll be allocated one therapist who you’ll get to know and you’ll have the choice to keep coming back every week, although we usually have a good idea of how many sessions could be really helpful. It's usually between 12 and 36 sessions for one hour a week that is the best length of time to ‘sort out’ the issues that are holding you back.
Your parent or carer (if you’re 16 and under) will be waiting in the parents group for you where they learn about how trauma impacts a person’s brain, behaviour, emotions and relationships whilst being served a cup of tea and biscuits! Don’t worry – anything they say in the group is confidential to the group and we are used to guiding any adult if they ‘say too much’ as we want all that happens in the centre to respect you and your needs.
Parent/Carer Support
At the TRC we think working with the parents and carers is essential and is not just an added extra. We know that as adults we need support from each other and from professionals, in a culture where no one feels shame or blame, where we can explore how we feel about traumatic experiences and the children or young persons behaviours and challenges.
It’s tough looking after traumatised children and young people.
While the children and young people are having their therapy sessions, the parent/carer have a group session with a parent support worker that explore issues around the neuroscience of trauma, parenting when children deeply challenging behaviour, parenting when emotionally exhausted etc. They are led by experienced, trauma informed practitioners who model empathy, kindness and support and won’t let shame and blame be part of any atmosphere.
Betsy de Thierry's book 'The Simple Guide to Child Trauma' is used as the handbook for the parenting course.
The feedback is that parents really value this space as a safe space to meet other adults who are facing similar challenges and a place to learn strategies and tools to help their family life.
TRC Staff for Bath & Guernsey
We work as a team with a number of creative counsellors, supervisors, psychotherapists and other professionals who we contract in to work with our children, young people and adults. We also provide placements for a number of trainees therapists. Every member of our team has regular clinical supervision, according to their level of training and the requirements of their regulating body.
Regulating Bodies
Each professional working at the TRC is regulated by their own professional body. They are all clinically supervised by an external clinical supervisor who is approved by their regulating body.
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Play Therapy (PTUK)
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British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT)
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British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
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British Association Music Therapy (BAMT)
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Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
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UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)