Educational Psychologists and therapeutic intervention: Promoting positive mental health.

MacKay (2007) suggests that educational psychologists (EPs) are a key therapeutic resource for children and young people, especially in educational contexts such as schools and argues for a renewed focus on therapy within educational psychology practice. This project explores the role of EPs in relation to the delivery of therapeutic interventions and supporting emotional well-being, through the use of an online survey completed by more than 450 EPs working in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Questionnaire responses revealed that 90% of EPs use therapeutic interventions as part of their current practice, in a variety of educational settings, with children and adults. A wide range of therapeutic interventions were reported, with the most popular being Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Personal Construct Therapy (PCP). As well as in direct work with children and young people, therapeutic interventions were used in groupwork, consultation and assessment and also at a systemic level through training or developing the skills of others. Enablers and barriers to EPs providing therapeutic intervention were also established, with access to training and a supportive service culture found to be facilitative, while time limitations provided the biggest barrier to therapeutic practice. Implications for the EP’s role in and capacity for delivering therapeutic services to children and young people are systematically explored.