What help and support will I get?
Families are offered support and help from our team of therapists, family support workers, psychologists and social workers. There are also other organisations you can go to in the local area, and some online resources too.
Support from Orchard House
Family support
We have a team of people to support you who are always available. They are there during the day and night (waking) for you to ask for help, to talk to and to help you keep your baby safe and cared for. There may be times where we recommend additional one-to-one support where a member of staff will be with you at all times or during certain tasks.
Every day, the family support workers write down what your child's day has been like, how they have been cared for and what has happened to them.
Workshops
Workshops are sessions where you learn about skills relating to parenting.
We use videos, quizzes, discussions to help learning. We also give handouts for you to take away so you can put your knowledge and skills into practice with your baby.
Parents often enjoy doing workshops in groups and learning from each other, but if you would prefer to have them one to one, please say.
Budgeting
Healthy eating
Looking after yourself
Weaning
Sexual health
Healthy relationships
Understanding stress
Basic first aid
Internet safety
Why babies cry
Why love matters
Childhood illnesses
Guidance and boundaries
Keeping children safe
Routines
Play and development
Development & milestones
Baby PEEP - Learning Together Programme
Peep supports parents to create the best start for their children by making the most of everyday learning opportunities – listening, talking, playing, singing and sharing stories and books. Spending time with their parents and carers in these ways helps children become confident communicators and active learners.
Circle of security
The Circle of Security® is a creative new programme designed to improve the developmental pathway of children and their parents. It is a video-based intervention that strengthens parents’ abilities to observe and improve their caregiving skills.
Guided footage learning
A Guided footage session is a relationship based session where the parent is guided to think about and talk about video clips of their own successful interactions with their child/ren.
The aim of the session is to give individuals a chance to reflect on their interactions, drawing attention to elements that are successful, and supporting parents to make changes where desired.
This type of help is useful for parents who don't like talking about things, or who find being 'taught' difficult. It is shared rather than prescriptive, and empowering rather than de-skilling. It highlights strengths and potential, rather than problems or weaknesses.
Counselling
Any parent at Orchard House can ask to see one of our counsellors. They offer a private and confidential space for you to have some emotional support and some time just for you.
Psychotherapy
We have a team of psychologists who are able to offer therapeutic support for parents and children. Sometimes parents have had assessments before they come to Orchard House and these have made recommendations for therapy. We can provide this therapy, although we will need to make sure that it is the right time for you to do this.
Your therapy needs to be a safe place for you to be able to talk about important things and your therapist will be very respectful of this. However, your therapist will talk to the rest of the team at Orchard House about how things are going in therapy, and if there is anything that has come up that might affect your safety or the safety of your child.
Local support
We have local AA and NA groups in Taunton. Click on the logo for their websites and to search for meetings.
