About Us

Why

At Green Sparks we believe anyone can experience poor mental health when their social or emotional needs are not met. We all had an opportunity to witness this during the pandemic, when feelings of anxiety, depression and loneliness became a new normal for many of us. These emotional experiences were sensible, sane and proportionate to the situation we found ourselves in. For the majority of us, the answer to these difficulties was not found in a diagnosis or a prescription, but in reaching out for human connection, getting out in nature and getting involved in meaningful activities. At Green Sparks we want to bring this formula for recovery to children in need and offer them skilled help to make it part of their everyday lives. We want to offer help while outdoors and doing, rather than asking children to sit indoors trying to find words for what they are experiencing. We want to be part of supporting children to understand that they weren’t broken to begin with, and helping them learn how to find comfort and calm.

How

We offer activity based emotional support. This will look like an hour or two hour long session where a practitioner works one to one with a child completing an activity or activities together that involved their shared attention and focus. The activity or activities will be tailored to the specific interests and sensory needs of the child. Sessions start with a check in to understand where the child is emotionally on that particular day, and end with a check out to recognise and acknowledge the impact the session has had and anything the child might need moving forward.

Underneath the surface we are drawing on different areas of knowledge to help us make sense of what children are experiencing and communication, both verbally and non-verbally. We apply the principles of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy in our practice. We complete training with Sensory Integration Education which supports us to recognise, understand and respond to children’s sensory processing needs. We have training and professional experience in working with children who have experienced trauma and loss and who have difficulties in forming secure attachment relationships. We complete training with the National Autistic Society and have professional experience in working with children and adults who are neurodiverse. We use the PACE framework to help us manage behaviour during sessions.

What

We operate in West Dorset and travel to children at school or at home, rather than asking them to come to us. We work in school or domestic gardens or community green spaces. At present we are offering the following services;

• Home and school based support with transport where required for children whose mental health needs are making it hard for them to attend school (also known as Emotionally Based School Avoidance or EBSA)
• Inclusion support in school for children who have social, emotional or learning needs that are making it hard for them to manage in class
• One to one sessions for children who need support to improve their levels of emotional resilience, social skills and/or emotional literacy

We also provide services via the Dorset Family’s Matter programme and Dorset Council’s Supporting Progress and Inclusion Framework.

Who

Co-Director and Lead Practitioner Naomi Bush is a qualified and registered social worker with fourteen years of professional experience in child protection and safeguarding, seven of which have been while based in West Dorset. She is an experienced practitioner of Social and Therapeutic Horticulture, Motivational Interviewing, Relationship Based Practice and Restorative Practice.

Co-Director James McLynn has a BA in Psychology, an MA in Sports Psychology and nine years of professional experience in providing activity-based interventions to children displaying challenging behaviour, primarily those already attending Pupil Referral Units. He is also an expert by experience which he uses to inform service design and intervention.