CARSTAIRS HOUSE

We embed trauma-informed practice into everything we do, recognising that many of our children/young people have experienced significant adversity, loss, and disrupted attachments. We understand that behaviours are often a communication of unmet need rather than deliberate defiance. Our team focuses on creating a safe, predictable, and nurturing environment where young people feel heard, valued, and understood.

We use the PACE approach (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy), to build trusting relationships and support emotional regulation. Through playfulness we reduce shame and defensiveness; through acceptance we separate the child/young person from the behaviour; through curiosity we explore the feelings behind behaviours; and through empathy we validate their emotional experiences. This approach strengthens attachments, promotes resilience, and supports young people to develop healthier coping strategies over time.

We have an in-house Consulting Clinical Psychologist who leads on the provision of therapy for our children/young people. The therapies that we offer are tailored to the child/young person and our understanding of their presenting needs following Assessment and/or Psychological Formulation. Specifically, this can include approaches from Psychodynamic, Systemic, Cognitive Behavioural and Attachment based approaches. 

We also provide Clinical Consultation for our staff team fortnightly and separately to our Directors & Service Managers in order to think strategically through a psychological lense about the needs of the staff team, our young people and, our direction of travel as an organisation.