What to expect, from first email to first session.

For most children, in school during the school day, at schools where KST works. Adolescents and young adults can also meet their therapist online, where that is clinically appropriate. We talk through which setting fits during the first call. If your child’s school is not one we work with yet, tell us which school it is, and we can talk about what might be possible there.

A quiet, private room that the school sets aside for the work, away from the bustle of the day. For younger children there are simple materials, such as paper, pens and sometimes a few play objects, to use or ignore as they like. Nothing in the room suggests a checklist or a script. The space is there so a child can simply arrive.

During the first call: what is prompting the question, what you have noticed, what the school has noticed, what has helped or not helped before, and what you hope for. Nothing more clinical than that. We will not ask for a medical history in the first conversation. If a referral or specialist assessment becomes the right step, we will explain why.

Therapy with children and young people is held carefully. The detail of what is said in sessions is private to the young person, in line with their age and understanding. For children and younger teenagers, parents are kept informed in broad terms, such as themes, progress and how the work is going, without breaching the young person’s confidence. The exception is when we are worried about a young person’s safety, or someone else’s. Then we follow our Safeguarding Policy, and we talk with the young person and with you wherever it is safe to do so. The detail is in our Safeguarding Policy and Privacy Policy.

Ideally, yes. Therapy is a collaboration. For very young children, your consent carries the weight; for older children and adolescents, their own willingness matters a great deal. We talk openly with the young person about what therapy is, what it is not, and whether they feel ready.

Not in the academic sense. Sometimes the young person and the therapist agree something small to try between sessions, and sometimes you and the therapist do. Nothing is imposed. The work is done in the room.

There is no fixed length. Some children come for a term and find that enough; others come for a year or longer. We review with you regularly, and talk openly about when the work has reached a natural ending.

Fees are discussed during the first call, so we can shape the right arrangement for your family, and confirmed in writing before anything begins. We work in both school-funded and parent-funded settings, and keep reduced-rate places each term for families where cost is the obstacle.