The Cambridge Forum for Children's Emotional Well-being is based at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Find out more about our counselling courses.

Purpose

• To promote and extend the practice and development of psychotherapeutic counsellors in the region
• To offer a vibrant programme of courses and conferences which provide for the continuing professional development of psychotherapeutic counsellors
• To maintain the professional standards of psychotherapeutic counselling

Aims

• To promote and extend the practice and development of psychotherapeutic counselling and to enhance children's emotional well-being
• To promote high standards of training in psychotherapeutic counselling
• To promote high standards of practice in therapeutic work with children and young people
• To promote research and knowledge in the theory and practice of children's emotional well-being

Upcoming events

Saturday 19th October 2024 10.00 to 12.30

Researching embodied practices in psychotherapeutic counselling to deepen our connection with self and others

Mary Allan Building Auditorium, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8PH

Book your place here

Course alumni Josie Bright and Georgia Riley will be presenting their Transforming Practice MEd dissertations.

Josie’s research was titled The Gaps Where the Gold Flows and was a heuristic inquiry into embodied knowledge and the power of the unknown in psychotherapeutic counselling. In the assessment of her dissertation her assessors wrote:

"You offer significantly original, imaginative and innovative insights into, and perspectives upon, the matters addressed. I loved your discussion of authenticity and your engagement with a university ethics form. You are impressively resourceful in the way in which you take conventional processes and instead of kicking them out you move beyond them but internalise the useful parts of them."

Georgia’s research was titled The Good Enough Therapist and was an autoethnographic exploration into accepting imperfection and integrating the mind and body through deliberate practice. Her assessors wrote:

"You engage the reader instantly with a frank and tender autoethnographic account which is precisely and consistently situated within the professional field of practice with informative and carefully chosen literature. You also demonstrate knowledge and understanding of ethical principles relevant to your professional work. You strive to communicate your message in a way that unites educators and counsellors and develops a stronger understanding between them."

Both dissertations were awarded Distinctions.

This session will give both psychotherapeutic practitioners and educators (in the widest sense of that word) insights into how research that is congruent with the relational practice of therapy and education can deeply transform people; practitioners, children we work with, colleagues. You will leave inspired and reminded that what makes the difference in transforming the lives of the people we work with is the quality of the relationship we create with them.

Please book your place through this link. 

In 2024/25 we have two in person Forums and one online. We will not be running hybrid sessions. The theme of the Forums this year is working in an embodied way to deepen our practice.

Our Online Forum will be on Thursday 27 February 2025 18.30 to 20.30. Dafna Lender will be presenting on Embodied Play Practices for Healing Attachment Trauma.

Dafna is a Theraplay practitioner, trainer and supervisor who works alongside Peter Levine to present online training about Embodied Play Practices. In this Forum Dafna will introduce us to the fine detail of working with rhythm, touch, prosody, touch, movement, nurture and play to address the difficulties our clients bring due to distortions to attachment experiences. This session will relate to both work with children and adults and will support psychotherapeutic practitioners and educators to find ways to connect to those they are working with to set firm foundations for flourishing.

And then on 7th June 2025 Charlotte Davies will present her insights on motor-sensory integration as a foundation for therapists and educators developing a way of working together to support children who are struggling to access learning. This will be an in person session at the Faculty.

Do put these dates in your diary. Booking information will follow in due course.

Please follow this link for information on past Forum events. 

Please contact Kat at ppd@educ.cam.ac.uk if you have any questions, or if you would like to be added to the email list to receive information about upcoming Forum events.