Elaine Hutchinson

My therapeutic sessions are 40 minutes and I work the following days and hours (subject to availability).  I offer face to face sessions and Zoom teletherapy.

Mondays: 0730-1930

Tuesdays: 0730-1930

Wednesdays: 0730-1230

Hi, I'm Elaine. I'm a child & adolescent therapist and counsellor who supports children, teens & their families to manage big feelings, stressful situations and other life challenges. 

I work with children & young people aged 3-18 and their families. I support them with a wide range of issues from anxiety and worries about school, fostering and adoption, to trauma, bereavement, sexual abuse and domestic violence, covering pretty much everything you can think of in-between. 

 I'm a PTUK accredited play therapist and child and adolescent counsellor. I am the first certified TraumaPlay therapist in the UK and also draw on Neuro Dramatic Play and AutPlay in my work with clients.

I am a member of the Doctoral College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter, and I am currently completing my Doctor of Clinical Practice (Research).  My PhD thesis is looking at trauma and how individual neurobiology influences our experiences, responses and recovery from traumatic experiences.

The therapy I provide is client-led, with very few boundaries. Your child or teen can talk (or not) as the mood takes them in sessions.  They can also draw things, make clay art, play and build things, use construction kits & Lego and share their world in a sand tray. They can also use music, puppets, drama and performance to help them process their experiences. I can help your child or teen learn about their emotions, find ways to manage them positively and explore worrying issues and events.

With children, sessions tend to be grounded in therapeutic play and play therapy.  Older children and pre-teens tend to opt for a blend of play therapy and counselling.  Teens often prefer a more counselling-based approach, with more talking, although creative work is still involved.  Sessions can be flexible and accommodate how your child or teen needs to be in any given session, and I can use a wide range of therapeutic ways of working to support your child or teen.

I also can support families alongside the child or teen who is coming to see me for sessions.  If this is helpful for you, please ask, and we can discuss it further on an individual basis.  I also run Parents as Partners courses which support parents, carers and key workers with many aspects of parenting. If you would like to know more, please ask.

My specialist areas of training are trauma, PTSD, bereavement and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Often I work with Orca, the therapy dog, using animal-assisted therapy (AAT) if your child or teen would like that.

Generally, I will do an intake meeting with parents, carers or key adults ahead of meeting the client.  This meeting is usually over the phone or via Zoom, which gives plenty of opportunities for us to discuss anything essential and address any questions, worries or concerns ahead of the first session and plan hoped-for outcomes for therapy.

If it is helpful, we can have a quick 'intro' session via Zoom before you come to my room with your child or teen, so they have had the opportunity to meet me and see if therapy is for them.

I like to meet you all as you come to the first session either outside or in the main reception so you can meet 'me', and I can meet 'you' before we have to put on masks.

Depending on the age of your child or teen and how they feel about coming to therapy, the first session can be all of us together or just myself and the client, when (and if) they feel ready.

The session is a very light, easy, client-led session. It is all about getting to know each other a little and your child or teen feeling safe and familiar with me and my room.