Case Study – Being Listened To
Support delivered by Fortalice as part of the IThrive 11 – 19 yrs. (25yrs with SEND)
Declan was referred into the service by Children’s Social Care. Declan is the only child living in the home after his Brother was adopted, referred to us following incidents of domestic abuse between his parents and more recently Mums most recent partner. There were concerns of emotional abuse by Mum. Declan has witnessed physical and emotional abuse towards his Mother and he has also been subject to abuse himself. Declan is starting to show some of the behaviours witnessed at home, for example Declan will often punch the walls in his bedroom. An initial assessment was completed with Declan in school to identify his needs and areas to work on. It was identified that Declan needed support in recognising and managing strong feelings including anger and safety planning. During the assessment Declan appeared emotional when talking about his lived experiences of domestic abuse and the breakdown of his family relationships. Declan recognised that his parents relationship was unhealthy and feels safer now they are no longer together as he doesn’t witness the fighting and arguments at home. However, he shared he still feels worried about the possibility of the relationship resuming or his Dad turning up at the property. Six support and guidance sessions were offered, however, a further two sessions were offered due to unforeseen circumstances relating to the family and the potential of Declan being removed from the family due to concerns regarding neglect. The sessions included work around feelings and emotions, managing feelings. Declan drew his own personal safety plan and coded pictures as safe information for him to keep in his bedroom. Midway through the sessions Declan was made aware that his social worker had concerns regarding neglect and the family would be going to court, this impacted Declan emotionally due to fear of being taken away from his Mum. Declan struggled to understand why this decision was made as he shared he felt happy, safe and well cared for at home. Declan completed work on how to understand his feelings and how to manage them. Declan also shared his thoughts, wishes and feelings on the situation with me and consented for this information to be shared with professionals as a way of identifying Declan’s voice. Declan now has more positive ways of coping with strong feelings and emotions. – Declan felt happier knowing his thoughts, wishes and feelings were being shared with professionals and being considered during the decision-making process
