Archive: Blog

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.

Family Futures offers a range of assessments, therapy and support for children and young people. Find out more here or book a free discovery call.

#TeamFF run the Hackney Half 2026

Show your support for our fantastic #TeamFF runners as they get ready for the Hackney Half on 17th May. All donations will go towards the Family Futures Crisis Fund to help children and young people who are struggling.

Donate here and show your support!

Meet Team FF

Alex, Michaela, Anna, Liv, Ana, Jorge and Josh are running the #HackneyHalf2026 to support Family Futures.

“I came into running later in life, it was a part of me deciding in my 20s to prioritise my health, both mentally and physically. Now I’m a dad in my late 30s and it’s even more important to me than ever to show my son to do the same. That’s why I want to run the Hackney Half and help Family Futures; they helped me become a dad in the first place, and that’s the best prize.” Alex, Family Futures parent

“The children we work with have faced challenges that are difficult to imagine and they should be able to access therapy based on need, not funding. I want to do as much as I can to support the families we work with, even if that means running 21.1km!” Michaela, Occupational Therapist at Family Futures

“I’m thrilled to be running the Hackney Half for Family Futures to raise awareness and funds for the brilliant parents and children we support! The work we do at Family Futures is both vital and deeply meaningful. By raising funds, I hope to help more families access the right kind of support when they need it most. Every mile I run is for stronger, closer, and supported families.” Anna, Assistant Psychologist at Family Futures

“I heard about Family Futures through a friend and was really touched by the work they do, I’m relatively new to running and the Hackney Half feels like a great opportunity to challenge myself and support an incredible organisation who make a real, meaningful difference to the lives of so many children” Liv, Family Futures Supporter

“I’m not a runner by any stretch of the imagination & running for this long feels terrifying right now! But what motivates me is knowing that the more children and families Family Futures can support, the more people will be motivated to adopt knowing that they will be receiving important specialist support along the way, which means more children in safe homes and less pressure on the care system, all of which I care a lot about.” Ana, iAdopt Service Coordinator

“I’m Josh, I’m 27, one of my best friends works at Family Futures, she has told me about all the amazing work they do for families and Children. I’m incredibly happy and proud to be running the Hackney Half in support of Family Futures. The work they do to support and transform the lives of families really resonates with me, and it means a lot to be part of something that creates such a positive impact. Being able to combine a personal challenge with a cause I genuinely believe in makes this experience even more special.” Josh, Family Futures Supporter

All donations will go towards our Crisis Fund. The Family Futures Crisis Fund provides urgent, practical support to families when they need it most. Donations help remove everyday barriers to essential care; whether that’s funding emergency home visits, covering travel costs, or providing therapeutic resources like art supplies. In a time when funding is increasingly limited, even the smallest contribution can make a life-changing difference. Sometimes, something as simple as a train fare to therapy can be the key to keeping a family supported and connected.

Looking for a challenge and a good cause to support? Finsbury Park Runs – Our Forever Home, Their Forever Future

This June, we are asking our supporters to take to the paths of Finsbury Park for their annual community runs. Join us in making a difference, right here in our local community. Sign up to run the 5k, 10k, or Junior race and help us continue to provide support when families need it most.

You can sign up to run via the links below, or donate and share our story here.

Register for the Junior run (800m) open to any children under the age of 11
Registration fee: £10 | Fundraising target: As much as you can!

Are we seeing more autism – or more need for support?

Blog by Maria Kondratchik, Senior Psychological Therapist (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, BACP registered), 28 April 2026

Over the past two decades, the number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has risen sharply. For many families, this shift has been helpful. A diagnosis can bring relief, offer an explanation for a child’s difficulties, and open access to support. It can also reduce the sense of confusion or self-blame that so often accompanies parenting a child who struggles.

At the same time, recent research invites us to look more closely at what this increase might actually represent.

A large longitudinal study by Sebastian Lundström and colleagues, following more than 27,000 children in Sweden, explored not only the presence of autistic traits, but how much these traits were experienced as impairing over time. What they found is both subtle and important. At similar levels of autistic traits, parents in more recent years reported significantly greater levels of difficulty and distress than parents did 15 to 20 years earlier. At clinically significant levels, perceived impairment increased by around 23%, and at milder levels the increase was even more pronounced.

In other words, the behaviours themselves may not have changed as much as we might assume. What appears to have shifted is the way those behaviours are experienced, understood, and responded to.

There are several possible reasons for this. The world children are growing up in has become more complex and demanding. Schools increasingly expect independence, flexibility, and sophisticated social communication. Children who find these areas difficult may struggle more visibly than they would have in the past. At the same time, awareness of autism has grown. Children who might once have been described as shy, sensitive, or simply “different” are now more likely to be recognised as needing support.

Another important factor is the role of diagnosis itself. In many systems, access to help depends on having a recognised diagnosis. This can place families and professionals in a position where seeking a diagnosis becomes not just a matter of understanding, but also a necessary step in securing support. Over time, this can contribute to a widening of diagnostic boundaries.

What this research highlights is not that autism is “overdiagnosed” in a simplistic sense, but that the boundary between difference and disorder is becoming more fluid. A diagnosis, while often useful, does not fully capture how a child experiences the world. Two children may show similar traits, yet one may feel relatively secure and able to cope, while another may feel overwhelmed, anxious, or disconnected.

For parents, this can be both challenging and freeing. It suggests that while a diagnosis can be an important starting point, it is not the whole story.

What matters most is understanding how a child experiences relationships, what situations feel difficult or confusing, how they manage strong feelings, and what helps them feel safe and supported.

Seen in this way, the increase in autism diagnoses reflects not only changes in children, but also changes in the environments they live in and the ways we, as adults, interpret and respond to their needs. The most helpful question may not simply be whether a child meets criteria for autism, but what kind of support will allow them to feel more secure, more understood, and more able to engage with the world around them.

Reference

Lundström, S., Taylor, M. J., Larsson, H., et al. (2022). Perceived child impairment and the ‘autism epidemic’. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13497

Family Futures now offers autism assessments, as well as a range of assessments for neurodivergence, sensory and trauma related conditions. Find out more here.

Jay’s blog – a critical moment for adoption support

We were delighted to start the year by receiving our fifth Ofsted Outstanding rating. The inspectors talked to children, families and staff at Family Futures and reported that “Children feel safe and secure in their adoptive families…The team provides consistent support that is highly individualised to reflect individual needs.” We were especially pleased to hear that the children who spoke with inspectors rated the support they receive as 10 out of 10 and said they felt able to contact the team whenever they needed help or reassurance. This is a tribute to our dedicated team at Family Futures and to the children and families in our care who make us what we are. You can read the full Ofsted report here.

This recognition of outstanding support for adopted and kinship families comes at a critical time. We have recently had the government announcement that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will continue until March 2028. However, the reduced £3,000 annual cap remains, with no separate assessment fund and no match funding option. For care experienced children living with complex trauma, this level of funding does not provide sufficient support for them to thrive in their daily lives, while the uncertainty over funding for lifelong or longer term support is a source of anxiety and stress among the adoptive and kinship families we speak to.

The government has opened a consultation called ‘Adoption support that works for all’ about the future of adoption and kinship support which runs until 5th May. Everyone with an interest in adoption and kinship – adoptees, parents, carers, and professionals – are invited to complete the survey here.

Family Futures, with other adoption agencies and campaigners, was instrumental in collectively campaigning for this public consultation. We believe this should be a significant opportunity to bring positive change for adoptive families. However, we have concerns about how the data from this consultation will ultimately be used, as this is not clearly explained. We encourage you to read the helpful guidance produced by Adoption UK before responding, as it summarises potential benefits and drawbacks of the proposals. The POTATO group have also published an open letter to the Minister for Children and Families setting out serious concerns among many adoptive families that the proposals shift emphasis away from access to specialist provision, risking ‘misalignment with the government’s own research findings,’ and not taking account of the complexity of developmental trauma among care experienced children.

Family Futures, along with many other service providers and families, is very concerned that the consultation questions are framed in a way that is difficult to disagree with. For example, the proposal to strengthen peer and community support gives a range of agree/disagree options but does not give crucial context. If funding for this type of support is increased under the proposals, it could be replacing funding for specialist therapeutic support. This is not made clear.

If you feel some of the questions in the consultation are unclear or lacking important details, it may be worth selecting ‘disagree’ rather than ‘agree’, and using the comment box to share what has or hasn’t worked in your experience. We think it likely that data from the tick boxes will be used as evidence once the consultation closes and we cannot assume our further comments will be listened to. However, it is still an important opportunity for us all to respond thoughtfully in the hope that the future of adoption and kinship support will be centred around evidence of what works best for children.

Family Futures is delighted to have recently joined CASA (The Consortium of Adoption Support Agencies) and we are looking forward to working collaboratively with other therapeutic providers to promote best practice, share expertise and influence change at this crucial time for the adoption support sector.

It is also vital that adoptee voices are embedded in policy and practice design. The recent report ‘Adoptee Voices’ published by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence, powerfully reflects young people’s lived experience and the lifelong impact of trauma. It is shocking to read in the report that “82% of respondents told us that adopted young people are not properly understood or supported by society or government.” Accessible and reliable ASGSF funding will be a vital part of supporting and understanding the needs of adoptees, and their voices need to be front and centre if the government are to get this right.

If you are a professional working with care experienced children or families, we have a range of training courses, resources and webinars (see current discounts here) to support parents, carers, colleagues and the wider community, all developed by our specialist team.

Family Futures is here to support you and our advice line is open every weekday morning if you are worried about your family or have a question about getting support. To speak to one of our therapists, call us on 020 7354 4161.

Jay Vaughan MBE and the Family Futures team

27 February 2026

Miles shares his experience of EMDR at Family Futures

“Going from painful thoughts and emotions on a certain issue, to a process where these became less charged and actually inspiring was quite an experience.”

I am a transracial adult adoptee who grew up in a loving, white middle class family in North London. My early years were generally pretty normal, but as I entered my teens and adult life I began to realise that life’s ups and downs seemed to be getting steadily harder. In hindsight, issues with identity, self-value, a sense of belonging, rejection, trust and acceptance were all bubbling away.

Coming out of what adoptees call the FOG (Fear, Obligation, Guilt) a few years ago was a painful few months, but things happen for a reason as they say.

Post-FOG I cast out a net, reading books on adoption, listening to podcasts and was fortunate to find local adoptee support groups (including one just for transracial adoptees), PAC UK’s support service, and a good therapist. Amazingly helpful as these all were, I found myself thinking about a line from a Woody Allen film after one therapy session, where he jokes ‘my therapist says in 20 years I should be cured’.

So I started to investigate other therapy avenues to complement the learning and connections I had made at the adoption support groups. That was when I heard about EMDR and timelines more like 8-12 weeks to address the PTSD us adoptees endure relating to the trauma of leaving our birth parents and being put in a new family.

I looked for recommendations and was keen to find a practitioner who was experienced, understood adoption, had a good vibe, and was in a nurturing environment. Adrian, having worked for PAC UK, being an adoptive father, and with a warm practical style, ticked all the boxes. It was especially helpful to have an initial chat on the phone with Adrian and to have a flexible approach on the number of sessions.

The positive and friendly vibe at the Family Futures office could not have been better. I sat doing my sessions with Adrian where families go to talk, heal and feel whole again; soft toys, lego and art materials were stacked up ready to be utilised in different rooms. Not that I was here to use any of these, I just liked doing my sessions surrounded in a place that felt special and nurturing.

In my case, I found the work I’d done with my therapist (which was at times painful) laid the ground work for the EMDR. I had in essence already explored what my issues were in therapy, these were translated into the EMDR ‘channels’ I explored with Adrian over 12 sessions using buzzers with my eyes closed.

Going from painful thoughts and emotions on a certain issue, to a process where these became less charged and actually inspiring was quite an experience. At the end of my EMDR journey I had done five channels / issues and felt strong and resilient. I would not hesitate to recommend Adrian and the Family Futures team to adoptees who want to move forward and find a more positive relationship with themselves.

At Family Futures we offer EMDR through our Wellbeing Hub. To find out more give us a call on 020 7354 4161 or email us at wellbeinghub@familyfutures.co.uk

How early stress affects adopted children: what new research shows

Blog by Maria Kondratchik, Senior Psychological Therapist (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, BACP registered), 27 February 2026

In 2025, a major review called ‘The Evolving Neurobiology of Early-Life Stress’ was published in one of the leading neuroscience journals, Neuron. This paper, written by Birnie & Baram*, brings together recent research on how early experiences shape the developing nervous system and why the effects of early stress can persist over time.

The authors emphasise that early stress matters not because a child consciously “remembers” specific events, but because the capacity of the nervous system to regulate stress is being formed in early life. Infancy and early childhood are periods when regulatory systems are still developing. During this time, children cannot calm themselves independently or manage states of arousal and distress; they rely entirely on their environment and on adults around them.

A central distinction in the review is between acute stress and what researchers describe as chronic activation. Acute stress refers to a short-term response in which the body becomes aroused and then returns to a calmer state. This kind of stress, in itself, is not harmful. In fact, it can support healthy development by allowing the nervous system to learn that arousal can be tolerated and resolved.

Chronic activation, however, is different. It refers to a state in which arousal does not come to an end. The body remains on high alert, recovery is limited, and tension becomes the background state. The authors highlight that repeated experiences of unresolved arousal in early life can have a lasting impact on how regulatory systems develop. As they note, early experience “does not simply influence stress responses, but shapes the architecture of developing regulatory systems, determining their later sensitivity” (Birnie & Baram, 2025).

This is particularly relevant for adopted children. Many have not necessarily experienced single, dramatic traumatic events, but rather loss, instability, unpredictability, or the absence of a consistent caregiving adult early in life. From the perspective of the developing nervous system, these experiences can register as ongoing stress without sufficient opportunities for recovery. In such conditions, the body adapts: it learns to function in a state of heightened activation because no alternative pattern has been established.

Importantly, the authors stress that infants and young children do not interpret experiences in the same way adults do. What matters most to the developing brain is not how “serious” an event appears, but whether arousal is followed by comfort, calming, and restoration. When this does not happen consistently, regulatory systems are shaped in a way that leaves them more sensitive and less flexible later on.

The article does not describe this process as irreversible damage. On the contrary, it highlights the ongoing plasticity of the developing brain. At the same time, it makes clear that when early stress affects the formation of regulation, its impact is seen not in memories of events but in how the nervous system functions—how quickly it becomes activated, how difficult it is to settle, and how intense emotional and bodily reactions can be.

For adoptive parents, this research offers an important framework for understanding their child. Many difficulties—strong emotional reactions, heightened anxiety, problems with calming, or, conversely, emotional withdrawal—are not signs of personality or deliberate behaviour. Rather, they can be understood as the biological imprint of early experience on the developing nervous system, a pattern increasingly recognised and described in contemporary neuroscience.

Reference

*Birnie, M. T., & Baram, T. Z. (2025). The evolving neurobiology of early-life stress. Neuron.
https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(25)00134-5

Why early therapeutic intervention matters: what contemporary research tells us

By Maria Kondratchik, Child Psychotherapist

Across the last two decades, evidence from neuroscience, developmental psychology and clinical research has become unequivocal: early therapeutic intervention is one of the most powerful protective factors in a child’s developmental trajectory, especially for those who have experienced trauma, instability or multiple placements.

Early intervention does not simply reduce symptoms. It shapes the architecture of the brain, strengthens emotional regulation, and supports the development of relational capacities that become increasingly difficult to build later in life.

Early Childhood as a Window of Opportunity

The first decade of life is marked by exceptionally high neuroplasticity. The child’s brain is more responsive — positively and negatively — to relational experience than at any later stage. Two implications follow:

Early trauma has disproportionately strong effects.
But therapeutic support in childhood can be more effective because the brain is still fundamentally malleable.

Research shows that early intervention promotes the development of:

emotional regulation
attentional control
attachment security
stress resilience
cognitive flexibility
capacity for social understanding and relationships

When we intervene early, the work is not to “undo” entrenched defensive structures; it is to support healthier internal models before defensive systems consolidate.

What the Science Shows: Key Findings

1. Early interventions significantly reduce emotional and behavioural difficulties

A comprehensive 2024 review of early childhood mental-health programmes (ages 4–9) found robust, consistent improvements across emotional, behavioural and relational domains.¹

2. Therapy is effective even for children in residential care

A 2024 systematic review of interventions for children in residential settings demonstrated significant improvements in emotional regulation, trauma symptoms and interpersonal functioning — even among those with severe histories of adversity.²

3. Early developmental intervention improves functioning

A meta-analysis of early intervention programmes for developmental, emotional and social difficulties found moderate-to-large effects across developmental domains.³

4. Early support reduces the risk of symptoms becoming chronic

A 2023 evidence review (infancy ? adolescence) shows that early intervention reduces the likelihood that early emotional difficulties turn into chronic mental-health disorders.

Why Later Intervention Is More Complex

As children grow older, several processes consolidate:

defensive structures linked to trauma
internal working models based on mistrust
rigid coping strategies
avoidance of relationships
chronic hypervigilance or shutdown

Therapists must work not only to build new relational capacities but also to disentangle defensive systems that were once adaptive for survival. This work is possible — and often transformative — but requires greater stability, consistency and time.

Early Intervention as Prevention, Not Just Treatment

Research shows that early therapeutic work:

reduces the likelihood of chronic anxiety or depression
prevents the accumulation of shame and self-blame
supports development of mentalisation and reflective capacity
improves educational and social outcomes
reduces adolescent risk behaviours (self-harm, substance use)
strengthens relational attachment patterns

In essence, early therapeutic input is not simply care for the present moment — it is an investment in the adult the child will become.

Implications for Practice

For children who have experienced trauma, early intervention:

prevents consolidation of pathological attachment patterns
allows traumatic experiences to be processed before they form the core of the inner world
provides a stable, reliable adult relationship essential for long-term development
supports emotional regulation and behavioural stability
builds a foundation for later independence and relational resilience

In a system where children may experience multiple moves, inconsistent support or prolonged waiting times, early therapy becomes not just a clinical recommendation but a developmental safeguard.

References

Interventions for Young Children’s Mental Health: A Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (2024). Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10465658/
Effectiveness of mental-health interventions for children and adolescents placed in residential care, Child & Youth Services Review (2024). Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740924005012
Efficacy of Early Intervention Programmes for Developmental Difficulties in Early Childhood (2024). Available at: https://journals.copmadrid.org/psed/art/psed2024a1
Early intervention and mental health: evidence review from infancy to adolescence, Pediatric Medicine (2023). Available at: https://pm.amegroups.org/article/view/5971/html

December 2025

Rethinking adoption support – putting children first

By Jay Vaughan, CEO, Family Futures

The BBC’s recent investigation into adoption, published last week (28 November 2025) has rightly prompted widespread concern. For those of us who have spent decades supporting children affected by early adversity and trauma, the issues highlighted are all too familiar. Many families have been in touch with me in the past few days to say that the painful experiences highlighted in the news reflect their own experience. This needs to change if children are to thrive in their adoptive families.

We need to look at what we’ve learnt from families and what needs to change so that children can recover from trauma and achieve their potential in life.

A system of support not fit for purpose

Family Futures was founded in 1998 because post-placement therapeutic support simply did not exist. At that time, adoption placements were already shifting from relinquished infants towards older children with complex histories of abuse, neglect and loss in their early developmental years. The need for a trauma-informed, multidisciplinary approach was clear then, and it remains as urgent as ever now.

I have worked with children from the care system for more than 35 years. The experiences described by families in the recent news stories reflect what we see daily at Family Futures in our Complex Trauma Service. Most adopted children have complex developmental trauma as a result of early life abuse, neglect and loss.

This appears in everyday life in different ways including: emotional dysregulation, difficulties with trust and attachment, heightened anxiety or vigilance, shutdown, impulsive reactions, sensory sensitivities, challenges at school, low self-esteem, boundary issues and food-related behaviours. Clearly, each individual child will have a different level and range of support needs but what is clear is that all children who have experienced trauma will need support to go on to thrive in their lives.

As families have said so powerfully when speaking out about their experiences, “love is not enough”.

Many of the children being placed for adoption or under special guardianship orders today are among the most developmentally traumatised in the country. Yet the system still offers no multidisciplinary assessment prior to placement, and there is no coherent model of early intervention so that their needs can be supported from the outset.

Children and families are left to cope with developmental trauma without support. Too many children do not meet the threshold for CAMHS, and, with the instability of ASGSF funding (Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund), there is now a chasm in provision.

We know where this leads. Without early, specialist support, the same children who struggle in their adoptive, kinship or foster care placements today become the adults who require high-cost interventions in the future: psychiatric hospital admissions, custodial sentences, or long-term homelessness. The emotional cost to each young person and their family is unacceptably high, with a huge financial cost to society as well.

Giving children a chance to heal from trauma

When we assess children’s needs holistically at Family Futures with our team of specialists looking at children’s needs through different lenses (sensory, psychological etc) – it isn’t just an accurate diagnosis that we can provide. It is the very foundation for effective support that is going to change that child’s life and set them up on a positive trajectory. Without this multidisciplinary assessment and tailored support, we see escalating needs and family crises where children are left to struggle or offered a ‘one size fits all’ intervention that misses the mark.

Families often say to us that the multidisciplinary assessment is the first time their child’s behaviours make sense and they can start to understand how their child can be helped. Next comes the crucial question: how can they get the vital therapeutic support their child needs?

The ASGSF did, for a time, make a difference. As Adoption UK’s annual Adoption Barometer has shown, the ASGSF gave some families access to therapeutic support that would otherwise have been out of reach for them. However, the drastic cuts to the fund this year, the delays and the uncertainty about its future have left many children with significant gaps in treatment. Families are left with no clarity about what lies ahead. The resulting instability only compounds the trauma for children and the difficulties faced by families.

Meanwhile, the overall system is still failing to understand traumatised children. Instead of being offered early therapeutic intervention, parents are frequently criticised or blamed for their child’s behaviours. Group-based parenting programmes are often the default offer for adoptive families, despite having limited impact for children with complex developmental trauma, neurodiversity or FASD. Families tell us repeatedly when they come to us that they have previously felt judged rather than supported, while the parenting support they were offered did not help and has no evidence base.

Permanency for children without support is not sustainable

Family Futures is both a Voluntary Adoption Agency (VAA) and a therapeutic service. As a VAA, we recruit, assess and approve people to become adoptive parents as part of our iAdopt service. iAdopt is unique in offering a free multidisciplinary assessment prior to placement. When we set up iAdopt we decided it was vital for us to invest in children’s futures by offering this holistic assessment of needs as part of our not-for-profit service. We know from our experience of working with local authorities that most do not have the budget for this and sometimes we hear the view that children “just need time to settle.”

Our experience demonstrates the opposite: children settle because they are supported.

Following the drastic ASGSF cuts this year, families are now left with significantly reduced access to the level of assessment and therapy than was previously possible. The previous £5,000 annual ASGSF allocation for adoptive families, plus £2,500 for an assessment, provided a far more realistic budget for early therapeutic work that helped families feel supported and set them up for long-term stability.

As an adoption agency, Family Futures has had to make difficult ethical decisions. Recruiting adopters and placing highly complex children – often aged six, seven or eight – with no guaranteed post-placement support is not acceptable. We have launched a fundraising appeal and thanks to a generous donor who has enabled us to set up our fund for new families, we are now able to ensure our families receive guaranteed therapeutic help in the first year while longer-term funding is negotiated.

This is a pioneering model of support for adoptive families which is evidence based from our published, peer reviewed research of what works to improve traumatised children’s outcomes. However, this essential support should not be reliant on philanthropy. The government should be funding this support for our most vulnerable children as standard.

We need a fundamental rethink

The current model of adoption without adequate support is not fit for purpose. If we are serious about improving outcomes for traumatised children, we need a national shift in thinking.

Permanency planning must place therapeutic intervention at its centre, from pre-placement through to adulthood.

Our most vulnerable children need a coherent national model of trauma-informed support, ensuring adopters and special guardians are equipped to support children effectively and are not left isolated.

The BBC investigation and families speaking out have opened an important public conversation. We now need to draw on this lived experience of young people and families and include the clinical experience of trauma-informed specialists who have been working with families for decades and have seen what change is needed to move the dial. If we want to create lasting change, we must start by acknowledging that a permanent home and loving family is not enough for traumatised children.

Stability comes from supporting family life therapeutically so that children can heal and thrive.

04/12/2025

Personalised Post Adoption Therapy: Supporting Amari’s Journey

Family Futures’ post adoption support for new families

At Family Futures, we understand that the adoption assessment is just the beginning of a family’s journey. Every child brings their own story and emotional needs, shaped by early life experiences. Our iAdopt post adoption support services are designed to help adoptive families navigate this important transition, offering tailored therapeutic care that nurtures healing, attachment, and confidence – the right support at the right time.

Through our integrated, trauma-informed approach, we help children and parents build stronger relationships and develop the tools they need to thrive together. The following case study illustrates how our specialist team supported one family during their first year after adoption.

Case Study: supporting Amari through personalised post adoption therapy

Background

Amari* was five years old when she was placed with her adoptive parents, Ben and Sofia, through Family Futures. Before being adopted, Amari had experienced several moves between carers and early experiences of neglect in her birth family. These early disruptions left her anxious and easily dysregulated, with difficulties trusting adults and managing transitions.

Assessment and Planning

Family Futures worked closely with Amari’s new adoptive parents and her local authority social worker to develop a bespoke therapeutic plan. This collaborative process ensured that support was embedded within the placement from the beginning, focusing on Amari’s unique emotional, behavioural, and sensory needs.

How therapy helped Amari and her family

Amari attended weekly therapy sessions alongside her parents. These joint sessions were essential in strengthening their attachment and helping Ben and Sofia understand Amari’s behaviours within the context of her early trauma.

The intervention combined several evidence-based therapies:

Sensory integration therapy with an occupational therapist – addressing Amari’s heightened sensitivity to touch and movement, which often led to distress in daily life.
Attachment-focused play therapy – using play-based approaches to help Amari express her feelings safely and build trust with his new parents.
Life story and transition work – helping Amari and her parents make sense of her experiences and adoption journey in a creative, age-appropriate way, supporting the development of her identity and sense of belonging.

Support for parents

Ben and Sofia also received ongoing support and guidance from Family Futures’ multidisciplinary team. Through parent sessions, they learned how trauma can influence children’s development and how to respond therapeutically to Amari’s emotional needs. These sessions gave them the confidence and tools to provide consistent, nurturing care at home.

Outcomes

Over time, Amari became more settled and secure. Her ability to regulate emotions improved, and she began seeking comfort from her parents when distressed – something she had previously been unable to do. Ben and Sofia shared that they felt more confident in understanding and supporting their daughter, and the family described a growing sense of connection, trust, and stability.

To learn more about how we can support your family:

Find out how to start your adoption journey with iAdopt
Read our latest Ofsted report – we’ve been rated Outstanding for the last 10 years
Read our research – evidence for an effective therapeutic intervention for adopted children recovering from trauma
If you are already an adoptive parent, foster carer or kinship carer, find out how our complex trauma service can support you

The Power of Psychoanalytic Therapy

By Maria Kondratchik, Child Psychotherapist

Can you think of a time when you really felt understood — when someone not only heard your words but also seemed to sense what you couldn’t put into them?

That feeling of being emotionally met is at the heart of psychoanalytic therapy.

As children, our first experiences of being seen and understood come from early relationships — the rhythm of feeding, the look of recognition, the sense that our feelings make sense to someone else. When these early experiences are disrupted by trauma, neglect, or loss, children often learn to protect themselves by shutting down emotionally or by acting out what they cannot say.

Psychoanalytic therapy provides a space where those early experiences can be re-imagined safely. The therapist’s task is not to correct behaviour but to help the child discover meaning in their emotions, thoughts and actions — to understand why they feel and react the way they do.

In therapy, words, play and silence all have meaning. A child may not be able to say “I’m frightened,” but they might build a wall of blocks, hide under a chair, or stare intently at the therapist. Over time, these moments become part of a shared story — one that connects feeling, thought and relationship.

For children who have experienced early trauma, this process can be transformative. When someone can think about their inner world with them, the child begins to think for themselves — and that is where real change begins.

My work at Family Futures is grounded in this approach. I trained in Infant Observation within the Tavistock tradition and studied with Joshua Durban at the Psychoanalytic Center of California, specialising in autism and early relational trauma. I’m particularly interested in how emotional and sensory experiences shape a child’s capacity to connect and to feel real.

Psychoanalytic therapy also fits naturally within Family Futures’ holistic model of care. It complements approaches such as Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP), Theraplay, and Sensory Integration, by deepening our understanding of the child’s internal world and how this interacts with their body, relationships and environment. Working collaboratively across disciplines allows us to help each child rebuild both emotional security and developmental resilience.

Psychoanalytic therapy is, above all, about relationship. It offers children — and parents — a chance to experience what it means to be thought about, contained and understood, often for the first time.

If you think psychoanalytic therapy could help your child or family, please get in touch with the Family Futures Wellbeing Hub for more information or to arrange an initial consultation.

Maria works with children and families attending the Wellbeing Hub and the Complex Trauma services at Family Futures. Her approach is deeply rooted in psychoanalytic thinking while integrating creative methods, including play and arts-based interventions, to provide a safe and nurturing therapeutic space.

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