About Us

My Story

As a specialist SEMH education consultant, expressive arts specialist, and somatic practitioner dedicated to supporting children, young people, and families, I’ve become profoundly aware of a significant gap in therapeutic interventions that truly identify and address the ‘unmet needs’- the root causes of emotional dysregulation.

I’ve witnessed too many children struggling to express their feelings or even recognise when they’re activated/triggered by certain situations, only to be offered talk-based therapies as the sole solution.

But what about the children and young people who find it difficult to express their overwhelming emotions, whether because they lack the words or simply don’t want to talk about it? What happens when the root cause of their dysregulation isn’t a lack of emotional regulation, but the support they receive only focuses on that? Will these children feel safe enough to engage when their true needs are being overlooked? Sadly, for many children, this is the reality – they discover that the support either exacerbates their situation or leaves them just as dysregulated as before.

These are children who may not fully understand the physical sensations linked to certain emotions, or who might avoid feeling them altogether. They might seem aggressive or defiant, but in reality, they’re scared, exhausted, and in desperate need of validation and empathy.

This understanding inspired the creation of the Child Therapy Service CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise committed to providing creative, trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming resources, training, and support.

I design creative therapeutic interventions and work alongside external trainers to ensure we address the needs of the whole child – from attachment and sensory integration to emotional regulation, social communication, and self-esteem.

By focusing on these areas, we can lay strong foundations, identify root causes, meet each child’s needs, and help them understand and embrace their authentic selves.

Thank you for being part of this movement toward change – one that places the needs of the child at the heart of everything we do.

Tracy Chadwick

Creator of BOUNCE, the Whole Child Framework, and Founder of the Child Therapy Service CIC

Our Mission

Our mission is to create assessment tools and trauma-informed interventions that delve deep into the root causes of a child’s emotional dysregulation. By focusing on nervous system regulation and helping children understand their own states of activation and calm, we aim to prevent mental health difficulties from escalating and limiting their potential and life opportunities.

The Whole Child

Understanding and supporting children to thrive requires a trauma-informed developmental framework that considers their entire being: their brain, internal nervous system, sensory preferences, and relationships with others.

By examining each of these aspects and taking a holistic approach – we put the child at the centre of everything, effectively address their needs and implement interventions for lasting change.

The Whole Child Framework delves into why a child’s nervous system might feel dysregulated, using the BOUNCE scale as our guide. We explore the internal factors, understanding what activates feelings of unsafety, as well as the external factors in their environment that contribute to dysregulation. We also focus on the in-between space, considering how we can build a supportive team around the child to aid in their healing process.

Through a universal curriculum and specialist social and emotional interventions, we strive to integrate this knowledge and create a comprehensive plan to build greater capacity, help the child move beyond survival and into a state of thriving. 

Not sure where to start? Why not take our QUICK QUIZ

finding the why

Meet the Trainers

Tracy

Tracy is a dedicated and compassionate educator, blending her extensive experience in mainstream settings, alternative provisions, pupil referral units, and an SEMH nurture provision with her specialism as a somatic practitioner and expressive arts specialist to support children with social and emotional needs.

Driven by a deep passion for integrating therapeutic interventions into everyday educational practices, Tracy founded the Child Therapy Service CIC. Her mission is to provide innovative, research-based alternatives to traditional talk therapies, offering tailored support that truly meets the diverse needs of each child.

As a proud neurodivergent individual, Tracy brings a unique and empathetic perspective to her work, ensuring that every child’s voice is not only heard but valued. Her inclusive approach to psychoeducation combines educational principles with somatic techniques, all viewed through a neurodivergent-affirming lens. This holistic method informs her training programmes, SEMH focused interventions, courses, and resources, designed to nurture the whole child – body, mind, and the authentic self.

Tracy is also the proud author of the BOUNCE Approach and the Whole Child Framework, foundational pillars of the work she shares on this site. These frameworks reflect her unwavering commitment to supporting the complete development of every child she works with.

Louise

Louise is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with over 20 years experience of working in a range of mental health settings within the NHS and also in various not-for-profit organisations.  She completed her Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) training 12 years ago and currently works as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist in the NHS.

Louise has worked with a range of people, including children and young people, families, older age adults, and those with new difficulties as well as those with more severe and enduring challenges.

She is passionate about adapting evidence based therapy to help each client achieve their individual goals, in a way that feels helpful to them at that point in time. Louise is aware that this can be a really challenging process and believes that a caring, understanding therapeutic relationship is essential to this.

Debbie

Debbie specialises in early years and neurodevelopment. Debbie has worked with children and their families for over 20 years. She began her career as an Early Years Professional, gaining a wealth of knowledge and skills in early development through working with children aged 0-5 years across a variety of early years settings. Debbie then moved into a family advisory role where she worked closely with the whole family (with children aged 0-19 years) helping parents to identify and overcome difficulties while empowering them to confidently make changes in order to successfully meet their child’s needs. During this time Debbie trained as a facilitator in various parenting programmes and has combined her learning to create her own approach to parenting which is tailored to the individual family and is based on developing positive relationships, communication and attunement with your child.

Currently, Debbie works for the NHS supporting families with children who are neurodivergent; she specialises in Autism and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Debbie is a qualified nursery nurse (NNEB) and has a degree in childhood studies and psychology.  Debbie has also completed qualifications in working with families, counselling skills and PDA.

Claire

Claire began her career as a youth worker in East Sussex as she felt passionate about supporting young people to overcome barriers in their lives and to offer them a different experience. Claire built on this passion through the management of health services targeting disadvantaged young people within East Sussex.

With an interest in people and wanting to develop her skills and knowledge, Claire pursued training in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy. She now has ten years’ experience working with young people in a psychotherapeutic capacity, supporting young people to work through a range of issues including addictions, self-harming, relationships, loss, bereavement, anxiety and depression.

Kim

Hi!  I’m Kim Griffin, occupational therapist and founder of GriffinOT.

I qualified as occupational therapist in Australia in 2003.  Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with many children and their families, as well as teachers.  I have worked in Australia, Ireland and the UK.  A core focus of my career has been helping children who have sensory processing differences and/or motor skill challenges.  This includes extensive experience supporting children with developmental delays, dyspraxia/DCD, specific learning difficulties and autistic children.  In addition, I have been lucky enough to complete training with many of the leaders in the field of sensory integration, such as Lucy Miller and Zoe Mailloux.

This background has provided me with the knowledge and motivation to set up the GriffinOT online supports.  I believe that occupational therapists have unique skills which can help children who may have sensory difficulties, and /or poor coordination skills.  My goal is to ensure that all families and school have immediate access to this occupational therapy expertise.  I want them to know how they can help their children to succeed at the things that are important to them.

If you would like to book bespoke CPD with Kim, please get in contact with us.

Soli

Soli Lazarus is a former teacher with 30 years experience culminating her career as a SENCO in a large primary school in London. Her adult son has ADHD so knows what it’s like to live with the chaos, unpredictability and an extremely loving little whirlwind.

Soli set up Yellow Sun in 2015 to support families with a child with ADHD and also delivers outstanding training to schools.

She writes a blog, produces a podcast and has a thriving Facebook support group.

Soli has recently published a children’s picture book ‘ADHD Is Our Superpower’ aimed at empowering young people to see themselves in a positive way.

Kate

Kate is passionate about an evidence based patient centred form of healthcare and incorporates lifestyle medicine into her practice.

This focuses on the key areas of diet, inflammation, stress, sleep, exercise, gut health and trauma giving you a 360 degree look at your health.

Kate works closely with GPs and Consultants where possible to ensure continuity of care.

Nickie

My name is Nickie Sutton and I am the Specialist Sleep Practitioner at Peak Sleep.

​Sleep deprivation affects every member of the family in every way – their sleep, their health, their work. It doesn’t need to be this way, and I am here to help.

​I offer individual support for adults and parents, as well as a comprehensive training package for charities, schools and organisations.

Laura Hellfeld

Laura

Laura is an Autistic and ADHD health educator, independent Nurse & Sleep Consultant, and Associate Editor of *Autistic Revolution* magazine, specializing in supporting neurodivergent and disabled community members.

Drawing from lived experience and public health service, Laura creates inclusive spaces, hosts community events, and co-authors books like Gabby’s Glimmers and Creating Safe Spaces for Autistic People.

Clare Truman

Clare Truman is an education consultant, author, PhD student and big sister to an autistic young man. She specialises in supporting PDA children and young people to access education.

She is author of ‘The Teacher’s Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance: Essential Strategies for the Classroom’ published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2021 and is currently completing a PhD exploring the educational experiences of PDA children and young people.

Child Therapy Service