Initial Consultations

When I am first asked to have involvement with a young person or family, having an initial consultation is the process by which I meet with all the relevant people (school, family and other professionals) who know the young person well to gather key information about the young person. This may include;

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• Early Development

• Who they live with and who cares for them.

• Where they go to school, their attendance and how they feel about school and learning

• Academic ability and progress

• Language and communication skills

• Friendship and social skills

• Self-esteem and well-being

• Behaviour

• Any health needs or conditions 

• Any significant life events that may have impacted on the young person E.g. bereavement, divorce, trauma

• The young person's views and aspirations for the future

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Consultations usually take about an hour and can last longer when there is a lot of information to share or the background history is complex.  The young person may attend, if it is felt to be appropriate to their age and stage of development. Otherwise the key people in the young person's life will attend on their behalf​. During an initial consultation the following discussions usually occurs;​

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• The young person's strengths and what is going well.

• Identifying what the young person's needs are and what the key barriers are to making progress with their development.

• Trying to understand and identify clearly why the young person might be having difficulty in a particular area.

• What is currently in place to support the young person, which aspects are successful and which are not.

• Joint problem solving between all parties about ways to move things forward. This may include further assessment and work that I will carry out and sometimes I will sign post to other agencies and services.

• Jointly planning SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Measured) outcomes for the young person in the future.

• Jointly agreeing a set of actions to ensure the young person can meet the proposed outcomes and make progress. 

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A written report detailing a summary of the discussions is completed and shared following the initial consultation meeting.

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Review Consultations 

Usually take place 8 - 10 weeks following an initial consultation and involve jointly reviewing the previous outcomes and agreed actions. At this stage it may be decided that no further work is required or alternatively new outcomes and actions will be agreed upon. A written report detailing the review meeting is shared following the review consultation.