12/11/2023
THINK ABOUT YOUR CHILD WITH A CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOTHERAPIST
BRIEF CONSULTATION WORK AND LONGER-TERM THERAPEUTIC WORK FOR PARENTS AND CARERS
Dear parents and carers,
My name is Erika Velcokova and I am a child and adolescent psychanalytic psychotherapist. I completed my clinical training at the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust in London where parent work was an integral part of my training. I have extensive experience working with families in various settings, such as Early Years, Education and Social Care and have been practising clinically for the last 6 years working with babies, children, and young people 0-18 years of age in the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, known as CAMHS.
The challenges and difficulties of children and young people I work with often exist and need to be understood in the context of their closest and most significant relationships; building close therapeutic alliance with parents is often an important part of their children’s treatment and recovery.
Clinical experience and theoretical background:
I work with many issues including separation, anger and aggression, anxieties, panic and depression, self-harm and eating difficulties, gender identity issues, neurodiversity, complex and early trauma, fostered and adopted children. I have substantial experience working with professional networks around families which allows me to consider and to support the complex ‘unseen’ dynamics that parent-child relationships inevitably exist in.
My main theoretical background is psychoanalysis, sometimes referred to as psychodynamic approach. I also draw on teachings of attachment theory, child development, neuroscience and early brain development, and current research in child and adolescent mental health.
What do I offer:
Our primary aim will be to keep the relationship with your child at the heart of our thinking.
Parent Consultations: a brief consultation work with parents/ exploratory work aiming to address a particular issue in the relationship with your child that has been a struggle to manage or understand on your own for some time. In my experience it is beneficial to aim for 4-6 meetings to attempt to understand the issue in greater detail
Therapeutic Parent Work: therapeutic parent work where a child is receiving individual psychotherapy treatment and your child’s therapist recommends parent work alongside your child’s work
I work on-line only [Zoom], and I do not offer any in-person meetings currently.
What I do not offer:
I do not offer behavioural strategies, diagnoses, nor do I offer a ‘cure’. I do not offer couples therapy.
Credentials:
I am a fully registered member of the Association of Child Psychotherapists, and I adhere to their professional standards and code of ethics. I adhere strictly to Data Protection GDPR policies, and I am ICO registered. I attend to my own continuous professional development which includes my own clinical supervision.
If you wish to know more about how we might work together, about my fees, please message me and I will provide further information.
Thank you
Erika
