Therapeutic Consultancy for Parents

What do you do when your child won't talk to a therapist?

You don't need your child's cooperation to get professional help. Therapeutic Consultancy for Parents is a one to one service for parents and carers whose child is refusing therapy, avoiding school, withdrawing from family life, or communicating distress through behaviour instead of words. The initial consultation takes place with you, not your child.

Book a Parent Consultation: 60 minutes, £150.

What is therapeutic consultancy?

Therapeutic consultancy is professional consultation with a parent, not therapy delivered to a child without their participation. Instead of starting with "how do we get my child into therapy," the work starts with a different question: what might be happening for this child, and what can the adults around them do differently?

A consultation explores patterns of behaviour, communication, emotional responses, and family dynamics, and considers how these may be affecting your child's ability or willingness to engage. The outcome is greater understanding, practical strategies, and a clearer sense of what to do next.

When does parent consultancy help?

This service is designed for parents facing situations such as:

• Your child refuses to see a therapist or counsellor

• Your teenager insists they don't need help

• Your child has stopped engaging with school, including school refusal or emotionally based school avoidance

• Your child becomes angry, withdrawn, or dysregulated

• You are struggling to communicate with your teenager

• Your child has experienced family separation or parental conflict

• Your child has additional needs, SEND, or neurodivergent traits

• Previous therapeutic support hasn't worked, or your child keeps disengaging from professionals

• You're unsure whether your child needs therapy at all

• You need help preparing for conversations with school or other professionals

• Different professionals are giving you conflicting advice

• You want an experienced professional to help you make sense of the situation

A diagnosis or formal assessment is not required before booking.

What if my child refuses to engage at all?

Trying to force a child into therapy often increases resistance. When a child says "I'm fine," "I don't want to talk," or "leave me alone," the more useful starting point is often work with the parent, not the child. Changing how the adults around a child respond changes the environment around them, and over time that can create the conditions for the child to engage on their own terms.

What happens during a consultation?

Each consultation is a structured conversation built around six questions:

1. What is happening? The specific difficulties, and when they occur.

2. What might be underneath the behaviour? Behaviour as communication of emotions or needs a child cannot yet put into words.

3. What is happening around the child? Family relationships, school, friendships, transitions, and other context.

4. What has already been tried? What has and hasn't worked, and what that reveals about how your child responds.

5. What could you do differently? Practical changes that may reduce conflict or increase your child's sense of safety and control.

6. What support might be appropriate? Whether therapy, family work, school-based support, SEND support, or another service may help.

You leave with clarity, not just more information.

What if the situation is more complex?

The Parent Strategy Consultation (90 minutes, £225) is built for situations with multiple overlapping factors, such as:

• School refusal combined with anxiety

• SEND combined with challenging behaviour

• Family separation combined with child resistance

• Teenage withdrawal combined with communication difficulties

• Parental conflict combined with emotional distress

• Neurodivergence combined with school difficulties

It ends with practical recommendations for communicating with your child, working with school or other professionals, and, where relevant, next steps for further assessment or therapeutic support.

Some families need more than one session. Ongoing Parent Consultancy can be arranged following an initial consultation for parents who benefit from periodic support while implementing strategies.

What approach does this consultancy use?

The work draws on therapeutic, systemic, and psychological perspectives, looking at the relationships and environments around a child rather than the child in isolation. That includes the child's emotional world, family relationships, parenting responses, communication patterns, school and education, SEND and neurodivergence, behaviour and emotional regulation, significant life experiences, and relationships between parents and professionals. The goal is not to find someone to blame. It is to understand what is happening, why, and what might help.

Who provides this service?

Kevin George is a BACP registered psychotherapist (reg. 00947448) and Senior Family Therapist with experience across private practice, education, and specialist SEND settings. His work spans therapeutic practice, family work, safeguarding, SEND, alternative provision, school based mental health, parental conflict, and multi agency working alongside schools, social workers, CAMHS, CAFCASS, guardians, local authorities, and other agencies. He has particular experience with young people who are difficult to engage through traditional approaches, including those who communicate distress through behaviour, withdrawal, or avoidance.

Who is this service for?

• Parents of children and teenagers

• Families experiencing conflict

• Parents concerned about school attendance

• Parents of children with SEND or neurodivergent traits

• Parents whose child refuses therapy or has disengaged from professional support

• Parents who want professional guidance before pursuing therapy

• Adults supporting a young person who is struggling

It's particularly suited to situations where the child is not currently willing to participate in therapy.

What this service is not

Therapeutic consultancy is not a replacement for emergency mental health support, crisis intervention, psychiatric assessment, or specialist safeguarding services, and it does not involve providing therapy to a child without appropriate consent and engagement. Where additional or specialist support is needed, this will be discussed directly with you alongside recommended next steps.

Fees at a glance

Service Duration Price Parent Consultation 60 minutes £150 Parent Strategy Consultation 90 minutes £225 Ongoing Parent Consultancy By arrangement Discussed after initial consultation

Available online and in person in London, subject to availability, and online to parents anywhere in the UK.