Social, Emotional & Mental Health Support
Longlands Mental Health Support is unique
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Qualified & experienced specialist staff, on-site every day
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Wide range of therapeutic approaches
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Calm, spacious environment
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90% of students see significant improvement
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Independently funded
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No Stigma – our mental health support is a natural part of every day, accessed by over half our students
Who can benefit
We particularly help young people who are experiencing:
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EBSA (school avoidance)
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Trauma
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Anxiety
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Neurodivergence
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Challenging behaviour
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Difficulties expressing emotions
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Difficulties in school
Our Environment
The Longlands environment allows young people to engage in therapeutic support which they have previously refused.
“The only place I have ever felt
safe and accepted.”
"They can have conversations they've never had before."
In addition we have:
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Bespoke therapeutic spaces
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Positive 1:1 interventions, often while engaged in practical tasks
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Ethos of unconditional positive regard and non-judgment
Being outdoors and interacting with animals are proven to be therapeutic in themselves (more here).
In addition we have:
-
Bespoke therapeutic spaces
-
Positive 1:1 interventions, often while engaged in practical tasks
Being outdoors and interacting with animals are proven to be therapeutic in themselves (more here).
Two other staff are trained in Equine Facilitated Learning
Our Staff
We have three specialist therapeutic staff members who offer different styles and skills, allowing us to provide bespoke support for individual students.
Beth Miller has a BSc in Health Sciences, a Diploma in CBT, and she has 18 years’ experience in social care supporting vulnerable children and families. She has a particularly interest in anxiety related conditions, including OCD, and how they present differently in neurodivergent people.
Charlotte Webby has a BA in Art and has been a teacher for over 20 years, 10 of them working in a Pupil Referral Unit. She has a certificate in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, is a qualified Emotion Coach and Therapeutic Drawing and Talking Practitioner.
Aisha Begum is a BACP Accredited Psychotherapist, and has worked as an English teacher in Secondary schools. She practices Trauma Informed, Humanistic Counselling, with specialism in working with children and young people, neurodivergence, yoga and dance. www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/394056/aisha-begum
Aston Perkins and Laura Barnett both have a Level 2 Certificate in Equine Facilitated Learning. Aston was one of our first students, and was herself excluded from school which makes her very relatable for the students. She is a member of ACCPH while completing her Level 4 qualification in counselling. Laura has been around horses all her life and has a deep understanding of their behaviour and body-language, so she is exceptionally well-equipped to interpret their responses when interacting with our students.
All our staff contribute: they bring a wide range of backgrounds and skills, including counselling, teaching and mentoring, and work as a team to support our students. They all have ongoing professional supervision with a qualified therapist.
Approaches and Activities
We offer a range of approaches including:
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CBT
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Therapeutic expressive art with a variety of media, including sand tray therapy
(Click on them for more information)
We constantly reassess students’ progress, adapting each programme as we go along; and we liaise with families and schools, offering practical and emotional help including with EHCP applications and reviews.
Case Study: Student L, year 10 L was referred to Longlands aged 15. Diagnosed with ADHD Combined Presentation, he had struggled in mainstream education: staying focused, managing impulses, and regulating his emotions were daily battles. Eventually he was attending no education setting at all, thus also missing out on social experiences. Longlands has given him a place where he can learn by doing, particularly engaging with animal care, and his attendance here has been 100%. In only a few months he made new friends and grew in confidence – enough to talk about his worries and anxieties with staff.
Outcomes
Referrers report that 90% of students show significant improvement in behaviour and well-being from attending Longlands.
81% of students report that they can cope with their problems better since coming to Longlands.
Case Study – Student M, year 8 M was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD, she experiences emotional dysregulation, high anxiety and sensory sensitivities that made mainstream education overwhelming. For a year before referral to Longlands, school avoidance meant she was only being educated at home by a tutor. At Longlands she truly became part of our family, socialising with students and staff, cooking, completing farm tasks, and learning about animal care. She developed confidence and resilience, and hopes to become a tattoo artist or work with animals. She has now returned to full time education at a school specialising in autism.