Wendy trained in London qualifying in 1991. Her years of paediatric physiotherapy experience have been gained in various settings both in the NHS and privately.

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At the end of 2006, Wendy set up TCT with the aim of providing high-quality, ethical, friendly service to children and their families. The practice has steadily expanded over the years and is now thriving. It is the only private practice of its kind in the area to provide such a wide range of multidisciplinary specialist paediatric therapy. Wendy now works both clinically and manages TCT. She works to combine her clinical work with lecturing and consultancy work around the UK.

 

As a keen advocate of prevention and early intervention, she has researched and developed the Storycises™ programme and stories with her colleague Jane, which has been developed to help establish essential foundation motor skills in children.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Wendy here.

Jane graduated from Southampton University in 2003 and has worked with children since 2005. She spent 13 years in the NHS as a physio (10 as a paediatric physio) and before that, 10 years as a paramedic. She is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and with the Health Professions Council as a state registered physiotherapist.

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Jane has worked with many families with children with a variety of diagnosis from developmental coordination disorders to neurological diagnosis like cerebral palsy. Her special interest is in neurodevelopmental diagnosis and she has completed both the Basic and Advanced Bobath Therapy courses. She has been involved in the successful rehabilitation of children after a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy helping them to achieve things that prior to surgery would have been impossible.

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She puts the family and child at the centre of everything she does, Her sessions are always play-based and lots of fun!

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Jane here.

Paediatric Physiotherapist Kat graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 2004 and is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Health Professions Council. Kat completed a Masters in Rehabilitation from Bradford University in 2011 and completed the Bobath course in 2013.

 

Since qualifying Kat has worked as a paediatric physio in Bradford, Dorset and Solent areas. She has  worked extensively in both NHS and independent practice, in clinics, hospitals, homes and in nursery/school settings. She enjoys seeing children of all ages and is experienced in supporting young people with a wide variety of conditions.

 

Kat has a specialist interest in neurological conditions, and especially enjoys working with children with Cerebral Palsy.  She has excellent experience working with children and their families following Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy to help them achieve their goals.

 

Other areas that Kat particularly enjoys, are supporting children with motor learning difficulties and delays, she loves to make her sessions child centred, and based around their interests.

 

Kat is proud to be part of the gold-standard, multiagency, Neurodiversity Assessment team at TCT.  

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In addition to assessing and supporting families therapeutically, Kat is trained to measure for custom-made dynamic Lycra garments /orthosis. She is also part of the TCT team that offers regular training, mentoring and consultation to other professionals and settings.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Kathryn here.

Sarah qualified from University College London with a degree in Speech Sciences in 2004. She is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and registered with the Health Professions Council. Her extensive experience includes working with a range of speech, language and communication difficulties in both children and teenagers. Sarah has worked in community clinics, early years settings, mainstream school, specialist education and college environments.

 

She is passionate about supporting children and their families through the process of developing functional communication and interaction skills. Sarah strongly believes that children learn more when they enjoy what they are doing rather than seeing it as hard work, she therefore always endeavours to make assessment and therapy as fun and child-focused as possible. 

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Sarah here.

Debbie qualified in 2006 with a BSc in Speech and Language Therapy. She enjoyed working for the NHS for many years with children in clinic, mainstream and in specialist education settings. Debbie chose to become an independent therapist in 2016 where she felt able to deliver a higher quality of therapy whilst providing a practical model to parents, teachers and teaching assistants as to how they can promote speech and language development on a daily basis.

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She offers assessment, advice, training and therapy packages to primary and secondary settings. Debbie enjoys working with families to provide an understanding of speech and language difficulties and ways to support their development. She has experience working with children with:

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• Speech sound delays/disorders

• Developmental language disorders

• Expressive and receptive language difficulties

• Understanding and putting words in sentences.

• Attention and listening difficulties

• Autistic spectrum conditions

• Attachment disorder 

• ADHD

• Developmental verbal dyspraxia

• Children with Down’s Syndrome

• Fluency/ stammering 

• Selective mutism

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Debbie here.

Since qualifying from City University, London in 2009 Nicky has worked with children and young adults with a range of speech, language, communication and swallowing difficulties in special and mainstream schools, nurseries and day opportunity centres.

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Nicky has over 10 years experience of working in the field of complex needs and has knowledge of working with conditions such as Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Traumatic Brain Injury, a variety of genetic conditions including Down Syndrome and Rett Syndrome as well as progressive conditions.

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She has extensive knowledge of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems ranging from low-tech symbols and signing to PODD books and high tech communication aids including iPads and eye gaze devices with a range of software and apps.

 

She is able to provide staff training or work directly with AAC users to further develop their skills in a fun way.

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Nicky also holds a post-graduate qualification in The Practical Management of Eating and Drinking Difficulties in Children and a keen interest in sensory feeding difficulties.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Nicky here.

Marie-Claire qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2003 and since then has worked with both children and adults in a range of settings including hospitals, clinics, schools, special schools, neonatal units and specialist children's hospitals.

 

Marie-Claire works for the NHS alongside her private work and is a clinical lead therapist in the field of paediatric dysphagia.  She has a particular interest in training others and is a university guest lecturer for student Speech and Language Therapists and for teacher training programmes. 

 

Marie-Claire enjoys all areas of speech and language development but has a particular interest in neurology, oral development, dysphagia, speech sound disorders and early communication development. 

 

Marie-Claire is very passionate about working with children and believes that for therapy to be most effective it must be fun, engaging and child centred. 

Rebecca qualified from Leeds Metropolitan University with a degree in Clinical Language Sciences in 2011. She is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language therapists and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

 

Since starting her career working in community clinics, mainstream schools and a special school in the NHS, Rebecca has spent nine years of her career working in special schools where she has directly worked with children with a wide range of speech, language and communication difficulties. These have included severe and complex speech and language disorders, Developmental Language Disorder and communication difficulties alongside additional diagnosis such as ASD, ADHD, Downs syndrome, Worster-Drought Syndrome and a range of genetic conditions.

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Rebecca has vast experience in educating others to better understand children’s speech, language and communication needs and supporting parents, carers, and professionals to use a variety of strategies and approaches, including Augmentative and Alternative Communication methods to enhance their child’s communication skills.

 

Rebecca is passionate about supporting children to build on the communication skills that they have in order to maximise their voice, influence their environment and be able to communicate what is important to them. 

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Rebecca here.

Jess graduated from University St Mark and St John in 2021 with a BSc in Speech and Language Therapy. She is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists as well as a registered practitioner with the Health Care and Professionals Council. 

 

Jess began her career in an NHS role working with children and their families across Bournemouth. She has worked in a number of different environments including mainstream and specialist education provision, mainstream inclusion hubs, community clinics and pre-schools. Since this NHS role, Jess has worked for a large special school with particular focus on supporting the speech and language development of children and young people with Intellectual Disabilities, ADHD and Autism. 

 

Now, Jess works in the NHS alongside her private work. As a generalist practitioner, no single clinical area of Speech and Language Therapy is enough for Jess; she has a great passion to continue learning and developing in a wide range of areas. She has particular interest in Gestalt Language Processing, Augmentative and Alternative Communication and training others in early communication development.

 

Jess believes that everyone deserves a voice and is passionate to use her skills to support young people and families in their journey with a child-led and engaging approach.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Jess here.

Diane qualified from the University College of London with a master’s degree in Speech and Language Therapy Sciences in 2005. She is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and is registered with the Health Professions Council.

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Diane has a history of working in special schools and over 14 years of experience working in the field of complex needs. She has knowledge of conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, autism, Down Syndrome, sensory impairments, traumatic brain injuries and has developed her knowledge in a number of specific areas such as social communication, attention and listening and development of speech sounds.

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She has a special interest in augmentative and alternative communication both high and low-tech and is passionate about a Total Communication approach.

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Diane also holds a post-basic dysphagia qualification and has knowledge of assessing, supporting, advising on complex eating and drinking difficulties.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Diane here.

Nettie has been a teacher for 20 years and a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (Senco)
for 17 years in local mainstream primary schools. She gained her Master’s in Education and
became a qualified dyslexia assessor in 2017. Nettie is registered with the British Dyslexia Association, as well as a member of the Dyslexia Guild and also registered with PATOSS.

Since then, Nettie has assessed and tutored primary and secondary aged pupils as well as
pupils that have been Electively Home Educated and those that attend specialist schools. Nettie has also assessed adults at university level. With her Senco experience, she has a wide range of knowledge and understanding on how to support a range of additional needs.

Nettie is currently supporting children who are accessing Alternative Provision in the BCP
area, alongside her dyslexia assessments and tuition.
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Nettie is always keen to continue to develop her knowledge and skills, this includes reading,
accessing extra courses and meeting with other educational specialists to share ideas and
knowledge.

Nettie is keen to make the child and their family feel at ease throughout the assessment
process and to make the process as fun as possible.

Outside of work, Nettie loves all animals and enjoys spending time with her many dogs, cats,
turtles and marine pets.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Nettie here.

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Current Practising Certificate: APC: 1122/099

Jo has been a passionate advocate for OT with children for over 20 years. She graduated from Coventry University in 1994 with a BSc Hons degree in Occupational Therapy and in 1995 took the opportunity to work in the USA for 2 years with children from the Native American population and has worked in paediatrics ever since. On returning to the UK, she worked in London and then locally with Solent NHS Trust with children with a variety of challenges including Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Coordination Disorder and Dyspraxia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Integrative difficulties, physical and learning disabilities.

 

She has a special interest in early years plus significant experience in mainstream and special school settings. Jo makes therapy fun and motivating ensuring that every challenge is achievable. She is committed to developing a child’s potential, working towards increased participation, occupation and independence while focusing on collaborative goals which are functional and a priority for the child.

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Jo is Bobath trained and has obtained the CLASI Certificate in Ayres Sensory Integration®. She is a member of Council of Professionals Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM), The Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT), and The Children and Young People Specialist Section. She is also a member of the SI network. 

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Jo here.

Nancy is a HCPC registered Occupational Therapist with 20 years’ experience. She had always wanted to work with children, so it was not long after her training at Southampton University that Nancy sought her first role in Paediatrics.

Currently Nancy works at a special school in Poole, this has allowed her to practice her skills in Sensory Integration and behaviours that challenge, which she finds thoroughly absorbing. Nancy has extensive experience in supporting children with
developmental disabilities, neurodiverse conditions, neurological and neuromuscular conditions and intellectual disability. This is both within
mainstream and special schools.

Nancy recently achieved a Post Graduate Certificate in Sensory Integration which is a
particular interest along with integrating play into treatment. She is passionate about knowing what is important to the children and families she works
with and supporting them in developing independence and managing challenges to daily activity.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Nancy here.

Eve qualified from Bournemouth University in 2018 with a BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy. She is a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, including the Specialist Section for Children, Young People and Families, and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. Eve is also a Level 1 Special Yoga Practitioner. 

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Since beginning her career at Victoria Education Centre, a specialist SEN school in Poole, Eve has built over five years of experience working with Children and Young People; working across CAMHS and eating disorder inpatient psychiatric units at Priory Hospital. Alongside this, Eve is a Director and Lead Facilitator at Resurface Therapy, a Community Interest Company which delivers evidence-based wellbeing activities for people of varied ages and backgrounds, including specialist surf and yoga groups for the home education community. 

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Eve is passionate about supporting Children, Young People and their families to improve quality of life and following a neurodiverse diagnosis to help make sense of themselves and their world. She takes a holistic and individualised approach within the multidisciplinary team, placing the child and family at the centre of everything she does.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Eve here.

Simone is an integral part of the team who coordinates the day-to-day running of the practice.

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She also works as a therapy assistant with our therapy team. Her background has enabled her to bring her years of experience working with children to her work at TCT. NNEB qualified for over 20 years Simone has worked in a variety of childcare settings: day nurseries, playgroups and schools in a variety of roles such as a Teaching Assistant and 1:1.

 

Her area of specialist interest is early years. Simone combines her considerable experience working with children with her natural warmth and enthusiasm resulting in a knowledgeable approach to working with children and families in a friendly, caring and fun way.

Over the past 25 years, working as a registered music therapist, Rachel has used music in a wide variety of health, education and community settings – working with children and adults of all ages.

 

After working at the Royal Hospital for Neuro Disability in London, Rachel moved to Dorset in 2001.

 

In addition to the work she does with Total Children’s Therapy, Rachel works with adults with acquired brain injury. Rachel is a member of the British Association for Music Therapy and is state registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. She plays the flute and piano.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Rachel here.

Vicky is registered with the Health Care Professionals Council and a member of the Association of Educational Psychologists. She qualified as a secondary school science teacher in 2015 before studying to become an Educational Psychologist at the University of Southampton in 2017.

Vicky worked as an educational psychologist for two years at a local authority before beginning work at TCT. She currently works part-time for the local authority alongside her role with us. Her favourite part about her job is meeting the children and young people and hearing about the way they see the world.

 

She has a passion for working with children and young people with social emotional and mental health needs, and completed her thesis looking at the influence of self-esteem on the mental health of young people who had been bullied.

Vicky loves working with children and young people of all ages and works in a variety of different ways depending on what is needed in the situation. She is always keen to gather the views of the young person, parents and school staff and will support you in working together to create an environment where the young person can thrive and achieve their goals. 

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Vicky here.

Zau is a Clinical Associate Psychologist and an experienced neurodevelopmental practitioner with over five years of dedicated service in an NHS-based community mental health service for children and families with mental health challenges.

 

Zau supports young people and their families dealing with neurodevelopmental difficulties, encompassing conditions such as ASD, ADHD, Tics, Tourette’s, and intellectual disabilities. In addition to her neurodevelopmental expertise, Zau’s interests extend to Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and provides psychoeducation to young people and families confronting FND. 

 

Zau boasts extensive experience conducting neurodevelopmental and neuropsychological assessments, offering guidance to young people and their families in understanding the strengths, challenges, and emotional and behavioural complexities that young people may encounter. 

 

Throughout her career, Zau has skilfully employed diverse therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 

 

On a personal note, Zau’s interests extend beyond her professional domain. She’s an avid traveller who delights in exploring new cuisines, and her favourite animal on the planet is the panda. 

Dr Mughal graduated in 1989 and was trained as General Paediatrician. After working as a Consultant Paediatrician in general paediatrics for a year, he then moved to Community Paediatrics in 2006. After the initial training in London (St Mary’s hospital in Paddington), Dr Mughal worked as a Consultant Community Paediatrician in Dorset County Hospital then later worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London from July 2008 till December 2009. He then moved to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey as lead Community Paediatrician and Head of Community Paediatric department. He worked at Frimley Park Hospital for 7 years before joining Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in February 2016 as Consultant Community Paediatrician and Designated Doctor for looked after children. He still works at Poole Hospital as Consultant Community Paediatrician and joined the TCT team for private work.

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Dr Mughal has vast experience, especially in the field of Neurodevelopmental conditions (ASD and ADHD) which is his special interest. Our ASD & ADHD assessment service at TCT is run by an assessment team headed by Dr Mughal.

Tanya is a Clinical Psychologist and is a registered practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). Prior to training as a clinical psychologist, Tanya worked as a CBT therapist and continues to hold accreditation by the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). She is also trained to foundation level in Systemic Therapy.

 

She has 15+ years of experience working across a number of different health and mental health settings, including private, voluntary and the NHS. She has experience in providing psychological assessment and therapy to people with a range of psychological and cognitive difficulties including depression, anxiety disorders (including OCD), PTSD, complex PTSD, bipolar disorder, psychosis, learning disability and dementia. Tanya has experience working therapeutically with both children and adults with autistic spectrum conditions and is able to adapt her therapeutic approach to suit the needs of the individual or family she is working with.

 

Tanya's doctoral thesis involved studying specific features of OCD and she has a special interest in working with this condition. In addition to her core training, Tanya has completed a wealth of training in additional therapeutic modalities including Compassion FocusedTherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing.

 

Tanya is passionate about providing the highest level of care and service to the people she works with and prides herself on building positive therapeutic relationships with every individual and family that she sees.

Kate is a clinical psychologist who is passionate about working alongside children and adolescents and their families. Kate specialises in working with young people with neurodiversity and intellectual disabilities.

 

She obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology from Oxford University in 2009. She has since worked in an inpatient adolescent unit and in specialist residential schools for children with ASD.

Kate has been the principal psychologist for an NHS-based community mental health service for children with intellectual disabilities for over a decade.

 

Kate is experienced in undertaking neurodevelopmental assessments to support in making accurate diagnoses where appropriate and in supporting young people and their families to understand the strengths and difficulties, as well as emotional and behavioural challenges that children may be struggling with.

 

Kate is also experienced in working using a range of therapeutic modalities including CBT and systemic approaches. Kate is also a Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) Practitioner and has found that this approach can be supportive and empowering when looking to improve communication and relationships with children and young people, which can often underlie emotional and behavioural challenges.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Kate here.

Caroline has worked with children and families in different capacities throughout her working life. She started her career in nursing before moving on to work in therapeutic residential care with young children, where she developed a therapeutic living environment for children who had experienced developmental trauma.

 

Her training in psychological therapy started 40 years ago when she worked in a Family Support Centre. She completed the Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling at Manchester University, twenty-seven years ago.

 

She moved to Dorset 25 years ago where she started working in the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) and became a child and family therapist having completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Family Practice (Family Therapy) from Reading University.

 

She has always had a passion related to the relationship between parents and children, which has led her to complete further training in Attachment, Level 2 in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), and Level 2 in Theraplay. She is currently working towards her final accreditation. During her time at CAHMS she has gained many skills and knowledge of the challenges children and parents struggle with, and the different therapeutic approaches to use when working with families. She has recently undertaken some extra training in Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT). 

 

Caroline always endeavours to create a warm and accepting environment in which children and families can feel safe and supported and can therefore explore their concerns, fears, worries, and feelings. She works with children and families in a creative, therapeutic way, and uses play, story work, and talking therapy in her sessions with both children and parents. 

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Caroline has worked as a part of the TCT team since for the last 9 years, as well as CAMHS in East Dorset team until last month. She is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Association of Family Therapy (AFT). Has the regular enhanced police check and safeguarding update ever 2 years.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Caroline here.

Cathy is a very successful practitioner in Early Years and Primary Phase educational support and is a qualified Sleep Practitioner. She is a member of The British Psychological Society and qualified from the Open University with an honours degree in Psychology in 2017.

 

Cathy has extensive experience gained by working in a variety of educational settings for 25 years supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their families. Cathy has also been a Deputy Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator and has been a Designated Deputy Safeguarding Lead.

 

Cathy supports children with bespoke programmes through her ‘Pick and Mix’ Service to aid many areas of early development. She has had many successes advancing children's reading, writing and maths ability in short periods of time. Cathy supports children with low level anxiety and helps them to understand and develop their emotional literacy. She helps to develop their confidence, self-esteem and enhance their social communication skills which can in turn help children to form and develop friendships.

 

All of her programmes are delivered in a fun and interactive manner which are designed for the individual needs of each child. Cathy takes a child centred approach when supporting children and whilst doing so ensures that her work is joined up with parents/carers and schools so that support can be maximised and the child feels fully supported.

 

In 2022 Cathy also became a Sleep Practitioner and she has had many successes working with parents and children to help introduce better sleep patterns which enables families to get a better night’s sleep.  Cathy offers a variety of bespoke support packages.

 

Cathy combines her many years of experience to work with children, parents and outside agencies in a passionate and friendly way to support the needs of her families that consistently produces results.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Cathy here.

Sandy has joined the TCT team to help organise and co-ordinate our gold standard paediatrician clinics.

Sandy books and oversees the enquiries and appointments and then runs one of the weekly clinics.

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Her efficiency, organisational skills, can-do attitude and ready smile, make her perfect for this role.

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Prior to TCT Sandy worked in a busy corporate environment, their loss is our gain, and we think we are very lucky to have her on the team.

Having worked since she left university, Liv has joined the team fresh from her previous job within education.

Her role is to support the TCT team which is varied and busy!

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At times Liv works at the practice, covering clinics and supporting the therapists. At other times she works at our off-site office and helping with the clerical side of TCT.

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Liv’s sunny personality and positive attitude make her a fantastic addition to the team.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Liv here.

Working on and off since studying psychology at university, Grace has joined the team to help with creative and practical matters in the office and around the clinic!

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Grace works at the clinics covering reception as well as working at our office helping with the clerical work at TCT. She is fabulous at making resources for our therapists to use with the children and young people who use our services.

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Grace’s chatty and upbeat attitude are a welcome addition to the team. She loves the sea swimming, reading and any sort of arts or craft!

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Grace here.

Kirsty has been qualified in level 3 in childcare & young people’s workforce for 15 years She has worked in a variety of childcare settings: day nurseries, and schools in a variety of roles such as a Teaching Assistant and 1:1 SENCO assistant. 

 

Her area of specialist interest is early years. Kirsty combines her considerable experience working with children with her natural warmth, caring and nurturing ways resulting in a knowledgeable approach to working with children and families in a friendly, caring, fun, enthusiastic way. 

 

She has recently completed her Zones of Regulation update which has consolidated work she has already done whilst working in primary school settings and has enabled her to update tools used and gained more resources to use with young people, their families and school settings.

 

Kirsty will be providing additional support to our TCT therapy team and will enable them to use her valuable experience to enhance their practice.

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Kirsty here.

Louise has joined the TCT team to assist with our paediatrician clinics and clerical work. Her previous NHS experience working with Dr Mughal at Poole Hospital  has meant that the transition to TCT has been seamless.

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She loves to travel, go for long walks and get lost in a good book.

Toto joined the TCT Team to carry out a very special role helping us in lots of important ways. As a very caring and friendly panda, Toto will:

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• be aware of any brave children who have been in hospital or have been poorly

• listen out for any kind things our children may do

• enjoy hearing about any special events from our children

• love to celebrate with our families when something special or momentous is achieved.

 

Toto will sometimes send messages to the children, or award certificates or stickers. There may even be times that a mini Toto is sent in the post.

Toto will also attend any events that we run and will occasionally visit the clinic... but only if everyone knows about it – Toto wouldn’t arrive unannounced!

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You can download a 'child-friendly' description of Toto here.