Tailored services to empower and support

From comprehensive assessments and therapeutic interventions to training, consultation, and research, my approach combines evidence-based strategies with empathy and understanding.

Therapy and Intervention

Drawing on psychological theories and a variety of therapeutic approaches to provide support and interventions tailored to the needs of children, young people, or organisations.

    • Parents and Carers: Seeking support to understand and manage behaviours of distress, improve their child’s wellbeing, and develop coping strategies.

    • Educators and Professionals: Looking for resources and tools to create inclusive environments and support neurodiverse individuals effectively.

    • Children, Young People, and Adults with Disabilities: Requiring tailored therapeutic interventions to enhance mental health, reduce anxiety, and improve overall wellbeing.

  • Psychoeducational Resources for Staff and Parents:

    • Tools to understand and address behaviours of distress.

    • Individualised social stories and comic strips to help children navigate change, routines, and social situations.

    • Bespoke interventions to support self-regulation and a sense of balance.

    Therapeutic Sessions:

    • Focused on mental health, anxiety reduction, and overall wellbeing.

    • Using approaches tailored to individual needs, such as:

    • EMDR for trauma or difficult memories.

    • CBT adapted for individuals with learning difficulties.

    • Play-based approaches to engage children in the therapeutic process.

  • Initial Consultation:

    Discuss your needs, goals, and challenges to identify the best approach.

    Tailored Support:

    I design resources or therapeutic plans based on individual needs and circumstances.

    Practical Implementation:

    Tools, strategies, or interventions are shared, along with guidance on how to apply them effectively.

    Ongoing Collaboration:

    Follow-up sessions or support to refine strategies and ensure meaningful, lasting results.

Assessment

Providing  in-depth, holistic assessments that explore development, learning, mental health, and neurodiversity. These include the child’s voice, the perspectives of key adults, and consideration of how different environments impact their engagement and experiences. View an example of a neurodiversity assessment here.

  • This service is ideal for:

    • Parents and Carers: Seeking clarity about their child’s development, learning, or behaviour and how to support their progress.

    • Educators and School Staff: Looking for a comprehensive understanding of a student’s needs to inform effective teaching and support strategies.

    • Children and Young People: Who may be experiencing learning difficulties, neurodiversity, or mental health challenges that require a deeper understanding and tailored strategies.

  • Comprehensive Assessments:

    • Covering development, learning, mental health, and neurodiversity.

    • Focus on understanding communication skills, sensory needs, attention, problem-solving, working memory and more.

    • Strengths-based neurodiversity assessments to explore how different environments impact engagement and belonging.

    • Understanding behaviours that  are challenging, and  identifying what these behaviours may be communicating in children  and young people with more complex needs.

    Child-Centred Approach:

    • Incorporating the child or young person’s voice and perspective.

    • Collaboration with parents, carers, and educators to provide a holistic understanding.

    Detailed Reports and Strategies:

    • Clear, practical recommendations tailored to individual needs.

    • Child-friendly versions of reports, where appropriate, to ensure accessibility.

  • Initial Consultation:

    We’ll discuss the child’s strengths, challenges, and the goals for the assessment.

    Environmental Exploration:

    Assess how different settings (home, school, etc.) impact the child’s experiences and engagement.

    Collaborative Assessment:

    Work closely with key adults (parents, carers, teachers) to build a full picture of the child’s needs.

    Comprehensive Reporting:

    A detailed report with tailored strategies and practical tools to support the child’s development and wellbeing.

    Follow-Up Support:

    Ongoing consultation or sessions to help apply the recommended strategies and interventions effectively.

Consultation and Research

Empowering parents, carers, schools and other organisations to create supportive environments that promote children’s progress and enhance their mental health.

  • This service is designed for:

    • Parents and Carers: Seeking guidance on how to address specific concerns, understand behaviours, and support their child’s development effectively.

    • Schools and Educators: Looking for expert consultation to create inclusive environments and better support students with additional support needs (ASN) or special educational needs (SEN).

    • Organisations: Needing research, evaluation, or practical strategies to enhance support systems for neurodiverse individuals.

  • Consultation for Organisations:

    • Guidance on topics like inclusion, managing behaviours of distress, and supporting children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

    One-Off Parent Consultations:

    • Sessions to explore specific issues of concern, followed by a written summary with practical strategies to apply at home.

    Parent Support Programme – Uplift:

    • A six-session programme tailored for parents and carers of children with learning disabilities, providing tools to understand and support their child’s development and wellbeing.

    Collaborative Research:

    • Evaluation of interventions to measure effectiveness.

    • Audits of current practices to improve support for children with ASN/SEND.

    • Working with educational teams to implement changes that promote mental health, inclusion, and achievement.

  • Initial Discussion:

    Identify your specific concerns, needs, or goals for consultation or research.

    Customised Plan:

    Tailor sessions, strategies, or research approaches to address your unique requirements.

    Implementation and Delivery:

    Conduct consultations, deliver the Uplift programme, or complete research activities with actionable outcomes.

    Follow-Up and Support:

    Provide follow-up summaries or recommendations to ensure long-term impact and meaningful changes.

Training, Talks and Webinars

Providing training, talks and webinars to empower teachers, parents, and professionals to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN) or special educational needs (SEN), learning difficulties and disabilities. View my Training and Webinar topics here.

  • This service is for:

    • Parents and Carers: Seeking practical strategies to better support their children’s development, behaviour, and mental health.

    • Educators and School Staff: Looking to enhance their understanding of neurodiversity, additional support needs (ASN), and inclusive teaching practices.

    • Organisations and Professionals: Needing tailored training or webinars to improve their ability to support individuals with learning difficulties or disabilities.

  • Tailored Training and Webinars:

    • Designed to meet the unique needs of parents, carers, educators, and professionals. Topics include:

    • Managing and understanding behaviours of distress.

    • Promoting mental health and reducing anxiety.

    • Fostering self-regulation and understanding sensory needs.

    • Safeguarding strategies for children with additional needs.

    • Inclusive pedagogy and tracking progress in children with learning difficulties.

    • Effective communication strategies for children with learning difficulties.

    Practical Coaching:

    • Follow-up coaching sessions to support the application of newly learned skills and strategies in real-life scenarios.

  • Initial Consultation:

    Discuss your goals and challenges to identify the most relevant training or webinar topics.

    Customised Content Delivery:

    Sessions are tailored to your needs and delivered in an engaging and practical format.

    Follow-Up Coaching:

    Additional support to help integrate strategies into everyday practice, ensuring lasting impact.

    • Chapters or sections from my book: The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and young people with learning difficulties: a guide for educators.

    • Get in touch for something bespoke.

    • View my Training and Webinar topics here.

  • Companies I have delivered training and webinars for:

    • Optimus Education 

    • Thrive Approach

    • Cerebral Palsy Scotland 

    • East Park School

    • University of Dundee 

    • Festival Of Education

    • Osiris

  • "Our daughter was listened to and our concerns were addressed. Very relaxed atmosphere and everything was tailored to our family's needs. Kirstie is friendly and very knowledgeable."

    Parents of 14 year old girl

  • "I really appreciate the focus on strengths and Kirstie's lovely manner working with our son. He really enjoys coming and so do we! We have learned so much already about his needs and what works and doesn’t and it’s also just nice to be able to check and get reassurance about some of the things we are already doing."

    Parents of 8 year old boy

  • "Kirstie delivered the training in a way that made me more confident in my practice. I have been left with a lot of food for thought."

    Participant at a training event

  • "Extremely informative, engaging and well delivered. Very inspiring to carry out further research."

    Participant at a training event

  • "The session was informative. There was a nice balance between group discussion and delivery of information. Very well delivered and very, very knowledgeable."

    Participant at a training event

  • "Excellent content and very interesting. I have lots of ideas from Dr Rees."

    Participant at an inclusion conference in London

  • "Very helpful and relatable. Lots of practical advice that could be implemented in the classroom."

    Participant at an inclusion conference in London

  • "Kirstie has supported our staff to better understand the needs of pupils with the most complex needs. Her relentless positivity has brought a refreshed willingness to find solutions and work as a team to look for better outcomes for the young people. Kirstie's book provides practical scaffolding to empower staff to assess and implement strategies which help young people in a variety of different ways. The use of these scaffolds has upskilled the whole staff team, and this has contributed significantly to our school ethos."

    Katie Robinson, Headteacher,
    Sanderson High School for Young People with ASN, East Kilbride

  • "Having read Kirstie’s book, I knew she was the perfect person to lead a specialist safeguarding course for our large staff team. Her natural warmth and immense knowledge and experience in the field of learning difficulties ensured that everyone was fully engaged, and her insights have helped us all develop our practice. As a team, we feel much more confident and I can’t recommend Kirstie’s courses highly enough."

    Catriona Campbell, Headteacher of East Park School
    For children and young people with complex additional support needs