Therapeutic Support for Fostered Children

Therapeutic care means helping others to heal from psychological trauma. All children who are looked after have experienced loss and some level of trauma, which will be processed and expressed differently by every child. Good parenting skills require a level of therapeutic support for children – for example, when a child falls out with their best friend, their parent should empathise with the difficulty of the situation, give the child an opportunity to express themselves and then support the child to heal (perhaps by giving them a treat to cheer them up). Sparks foster carers are trained and supported to provide a higher level of therapeutic support to meet the needs of children looked after. The approach of all foster carers (and arguably of all parents) should be therapeutic, especially in response to children’s trauma.