The ‘Inside and Outside‘ campaign

 

 Mental Health in children and young people is at a much higher level than we have seen in the past.  Support for children who are suffering from severe anxiety and depression is vital.  Many children are self harming and child suicide is on the increase. 

 

We have launched  The Inside and Outside campaign to find funding to open a children’s outdoor therapy centre.  We cannot move forward and support children without it.

  

We need a property with 40 or more acres of land to provide the support using: 

 

 Animal Assisted Therapy

 

Forest school activities

 

Art and music Therapies 

Family centred support

 

 The centre will have onsite professionally trained

 

Therapists

Forest school workers 

Animal handlers

What we want:

We want to progress to opening a Children’s outdoor therapy centre focused on;

Equine assisted therapy,

Forest school

Animal Assisted therapy

Family centred support

 

Who is this for?

We will be supporting Young people and their families with additional needs and mental health challenges

These are families who have children and/or young people that have additional needs through behaviour, learning, neurological disorders, mental health and any neurodivergent issues.  

 

Why are we doing this?

Equine assisted therapy is a recognised subject that supports a persons psychological and physical wellbeing in a number of ways.

Research shows that people experience many physiological and psychological benefits by interacting with horses, including lower blood pressure and heart rate, higher beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters acting as pain suppressors), decreased stress levels, decreased feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, better social working; and greater feelings of empowerment, confidence, patience and self efficacy.

 The increase in the need for this support to children and their families with additional needs and mental health challenges is huge and with the pressure on mental health services struggling to support those that need it the most, we believe we are and can offer more of this support to those that need it. We are already overrun by requests for our service and believe in supporting members of the whole family. We are very much providing family centred support which caters for all the individual needs of each family member. Siblings, parents and any close family member who needs support, does so in their own way. The support does not stop with children with additional needs or who are classed as neurodivergent. The term “neurodivergent” describes people whose brain differences affect how their brain works. That means they have different strengths and challenges from people whose brains don’t have those differences. The possible differences include medical disorders, learning disabilities and other conditions.

This is why we would like to have the ability to provide support with family support therapists and councillors on site if needed, Equine and other animal assisted therapy and forest school activities.  These are all catered for individual needs. We want to make use of outside buildings that can be used for family accommodation if a family would benefit from a short stay by staying together in one place yet being able to access support on different levels when and if needed. It is not uncommon for us to be supporting families who have more than one child and even their caregiver having either a diagnosis or displaying symptoms of being neurodivergent.  We also support families who are coping with grief, childhood bullying, self harm and many more mental health issues.  We want to be able to be there on all different levels and the support that they want and need.

Forest school activities

Research now backs up what forest school practitioners have known all along – that children and young people are stimulated by the outdoors and typically experience, over time, an increase in their self belief, confidence, learning capacity, enthusiasm, communication and problem-solving skills and emotional well-being.

Forest School allows children to experience the emotions that go with challenging oneself, taking risks, achieving something and perhaps even failing at something. By providing a safe environment in which to experience these emotions, children can better learn how to manage them successfully.Spending time in natural environments has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels in both children and adults. Exposure to natural light, fresh air and peaceful surroundings can help children feel calm and relaxed.

 lisa.davies@christopherschoice.org.uk