Brooks After Care Brooks after care in Ilkeston and Belper Brooks After Care Care provides continued therapeutic care and out-reach support for the transition period between the young person leaving care to living independently. Leaving care to living independently is the most vulnerable time for the young person. It's success or failure can depend on the type and level of of after-care provision.
Who are we? The directors of Brooks After Care have a combined 20 years of experience working with Social Services, Probation Service, Residential and foster care and Counselling/ Psychotherapy. Alison Brooks, Director of Therapeutic Services for Brooks After Care has been in private psychotherapy practice for 11 years. She works with young persons and adults specialising in childhood issues- abuse/ trauma together with depression/ anxiety/ phobias/ bereavement. Prior to being in private practice she worked for 8 years in Child Protection with Nottinghamshire Social Services and prior to that, 4 years with Derbyshire Probation Services working with adult and young offenders.
Our Aims: To liaise closely with the young person's carers/ placement and multi-disciplinary team in the weeks prior to leaving care. The transition from care to independent living is undertaken in a planned phased manner and a relationship is built with the young person so that they are reassured there will be a consistency of after care both emotionally (therapeutically) and practical. During that transition period an assessment of the young person's individual needs to be undertaken by Continuum Care and provided to the local authority or referring agency. To reduce the risk of the independent placement breaking down during the first year of independent living when the young person is at their most vulnerable point. To provide the young person with individual counselling or family therapy/ mediation to sustain or build upon family support where appropriate. For the first 3 weeks of living independently therapeutic support would be on a weekly basis. To be reviewed after a 3 month period moving if agreed to fortnightly thereafter. To provide the young person with weekly outreach support with 3 monthly reviews. Both therapeutic and outreach support to continue for a minimum of 6 months to be reviewed after 12 months. An extension of Brooks After Care service can be planned if required following final review meeting at the end of 12 months. 3-monthly reviews to assess the young persons progress and adaptation to living independently. Reports provided as reviews.
