Why a multidisciplinary approach matters
Blog by Maria Kondratchik, Senior Psychological Therapist (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, BACP registered), 30 June 2026
Over the past two decades, research has increasingly shown that children’s emotional wellbeing, relationships, neurodevelopment, sensory processing, communication and learning are closely interconnected. As a result, multidisciplinary approaches are now widely recognised as best practice for supporting children with complex developmental, emotional and behavioural needs.
For many years, Family Futures has pioneered this approach in its work with adopted children and families affected by developmental trauma. Through decades of clinical experience, we have developed a model that does not simply provide individual therapies but brings together expertise from different disciplines to understand the whole child and design the support that is right for them.
Our multidisciplinary team includes psychotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, psychiatrists and other specialists. Depending on the child’s needs, different professionals contribute to a shared clinical formulation, allowing us to understand not only the child’s difficulties but also their strengths, developmental profile and potential.
This shared understanding enables us to develop a truly individual programme of support. Rather than following a standard pathway, we carefully combine different interventions according to each child’s needs.
For one child, psychotherapy may be central. For another, sensory integration may provide the foundation that allows emotional regulation and learning to develop. Others may benefit from play therapy, educational support, speech and language therapy, parent work or a combination of these approaches. The programme is always built around the child, never the other way around.
Today, we are bringing this expertise beyond the field of adoption. While our work now supports a much wider range of children and families, the philosophy remains the same: every child deserves an individualised programme of care, developed through the combined knowledge and experience of a multidisciplinary team.
