The Parent Book
How we work,
and where you might begin.
If you have arrived here from The Parent Book wanting to understand what therapeutic support from Kensington Square Therapy actually looks like, this page is for you. A short, plain overview of the four ways we work with families, and how a first conversation typically begins.
Most parents arrive carrying one of these.
Parents who come to KST are usually navigating one of a small number of situations. None of them require certainty about what to do next. The conversation begins where you are.
Something feels off with your child, and you are not sure what.
Withdrawal, sleep changes, irritability that wasn’t there last term, a flatness you can’t place. You don’t need a diagnosis. You want someone who has sat with this before.
Your child is approaching or in the middle of the 11+, and the pressure has changed them.
Sleep, perfectionism, comparison, tears after a mock. The assessment year does things to children that the assessment itself never sees.
You yourself are stretched, and you would benefit from a thinking space, even if your child is fine.
Independent education is its own particular ecosystem. A Parent Consultation is an adult-focused session, completely separate from any child therapy, and often the most useful first conversation.
You are at a school considering bringing therapeutic support in.
Schools commission KST for in-school counselling, 11+ group work, and pastoral consultation. We take a small number of partner schools each year. Explore school partnership →
The same ethos, four distinct shapes.
Each of these is its own structured service. Most families enter through one and may, in time, use another alongside it. We’ll suggest which fits when we speak.
1:1 Therapy
One-to-one therapeutic work for children, adolescents, and young adults up to 25. In school, at our Kensington Square centre, or online where clinically appropriate. By referral, by parent enquiry, or by self-referral for adults.
Read more → 02 · For Year 5 & Year 611+ Wellbeing Support
Year-round therapeutic group programmes delivered inside partner schools. Not exam coaching. Perspective, regulation, and the inner resources to navigate the assessment year without being defined by it.
Read more → 03 · For you, the parentParent Consultations
Independent, adult-focused sessions designed to give parents and carers a thoughtful, professionally governed space of their own. You do not need your child to be in therapy. Often the most useful first conversation.
Read more → 04 · For your schoolSchool Partnerships
Embedded pastoral counselling for independent schools. Flexible commissioning, school-funded, parent-funded, or hybrid. We take a small number of partner schools each year and listen carefully before saying yes.
Read more →The first step is a short conversation.
-
01
Write to us, briefly.
A short email to [email protected] with a sentence or two on what is prompting the question. Every enquiry is read by Sam personally. We respond within one working day.
-
02
A 15–20 minute call.
Free, no commitment. Either with Sam, or with a senior KST clinician depending on availability. The purpose is to listen, understand the situation, and decide together whether and how KST might help. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so, and where possible suggest where to look instead.
-
03
Matching and consent.
If we proceed, we match your child (or you) with the clinician we believe fits best. For children under 16, a written parental consent form is sent over. For 16–17 year olds, the young person’s own capacity to consent is assessed alongside parental involvement. Confidentiality and how it works is explained in plain English before the first session.
-
04
First sessions, unhurried.
Therapy begins. Early sessions focus on comfort and the relationship; nothing is forced. Parent consultations run alongside child therapy where helpful, with the young person’s agreement. We review progress with you regularly. There is no fixed length of work, some children come for a term, some longer.
Fees are discussed in step 2, so we can shape the right arrangement for your family’s situation. We work in both school-funded and parent-funded contexts.
“If you are reading because something is worrying you, you are welcome to write. Every enquiry comes to me personally.”
Sam McManus · Founder · Read his full note →
Ready to think it through with us?
A short initial email costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Sam reads every enquiry personally and replies within one working day.
Begin a conversation