Our approach

When you’re seeking guidance and support for your child’s development or behaviour, it’s important to understand the different approaches.

One pathway involves a focus on diagnosis, which primarily assigns a label to certain traits or behaviours. While a diagnosis can offer some guidance, it doesn’t necessarily provide deeper insight into YOUR child and their world; it simply confirms they meet the criteria for a specific label. Recent research on best practices (NICE Guidelines) highlight the importance of truly understanding your child and how to support their individual needs. This is because a label cannot account for all the unique differences that exist in each child and it also doesn’t account for the environmental influences that impact your child’s development either.

That’s why at The Child Psychology Service, we work in a more child-centred way by using a multidisciplinary, neurodivergence-affirming  approach. This kind of approach explores your child’s strengths and challenges and identifies what makes them unique in areas like thinking, emotions, and social interactions. It also looks at their environment and relationships and how these might be influencing their development or behaviour. It reinforces the idea that being different is perfectly okay and concentrates on supporting and celebrating each child’s uniqueness whilst supporting the more tricky things.

The TCPS approach provides clear guidance for the next steps in all areas of your child’s life. Whilst a diagnosis may be a component of an MDT approach, it’s only a small part, not the main purpose, because it isn’t the label that makes the biggest difference. What does, is knowing what this means to your child and family, gaining a deeper understanding and making the changes that can support your child. Here at TCPS, we are here to support you on your journey to gaining better clarity, support, and understanding for you and your child. 

By opting for this way of working, you and your child can collaborate with various mental health professionals who are dedicated to fully understanding them and their world and, supporting them with positive growth to fulfil their own unique potential.