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Creating Therapeutic Environments for Traumatized Children: Lessons from the Cotswold Community and Beyond

What does it truly take to create healing environments for our most vulnerable children? In this thought-provoking conversation with John Whitwell, former principal of the pioneering Cotswold Community and director of the UK's first therapeutic foster care program, we explore the essential ingredients of therapeutic care across different settings.

John takes us through the remarkable transformation of the Cotswold Community from a punitive approved school to a therapeutic community for emotionally unintegrated boys. With unflinching honesty, he describes the challenges of this radical shift – the resistance from staff, the initial chaos, and the years required to establish a truly therapeutic culture. Central to this success was a clear primary task that united everyone from maintenance staff to therapists: helping emotionally unintegrated children heal and grow.

The conversation delves into crucial therapeutic principles that remain relevant decades later. John explains how Barbara Docker-Drysdale's approach to understanding behaviour as communication revolutionized their work with traumatized children. Rather than focusing on controlling behaviour, staff learned to look for the communication breakdown behind acting out and to connect with children's inner worlds through symbolic play.

Perhaps most compelling is John's gardening metaphor for therapeutic care: "We're emotional gardeners creating conditions for children to grow." This perspective recognizes that growth potential exists within each child; our job is creating the right environment for that potential to flourish. It's a powerful counterpoint to outcome-focused approaches that fail to appreciate the importance of process.

Whether you work in residential care, foster care, or any setting supporting traumatized young people, John's hard-won wisdom offers valuable guidance. His reflections remind us that meaningful healing work requires aligned teams, regular consultation, ongoing training, and the patience to create conditions where growth can naturally emerge. Subscribe now to hear more conversations with pioneers in therapeutic care on the Secure Start podcast.

John’s Bio

John was formerly a UKCP registered Psychotherapist and a full member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF).

John was also the Chair of Trustees of the Gloucestershire Counselling Service and Trustee of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust and the Mulberry Bush Organisation.

Between 1985 and 1999 John was the Principal of the Cotswold Community a pioneering therapeutic community for emotionally unintegrated boys.

Thereafter, between  1999 and 2014 John was the Managing Director of Integrated Services Programme (ISP), the first therapeutic foster care programme in the UK.

I am very much interested in John’s views from working across these different types of out of home care. I hope you will enjoy our conversation too. 

John's Website: https://www.johnwhitwell.co.uk/

Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.

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Family Preservation Through Trauma Informed Practice

What does it take to safely reunify over 1,200 children with their families? Sally Rhodes, founder of Connecting Families, takes us behind the scenes of her remarkable 20-year journey building South Australia's largest family reunification service.

The conversation opens with a powerful reflection that frames everything that follows: "The decisions that we make, the things that we write, the recommendations that we make about families have long-lasting impact." This awareness shapes Sally's approach to the complex world of child protection and family preservation.

Sally's path to this work began in childhood, influenced by her father's stance against injustice and early exposure to children living in institutional care. From her first position in residential care in 1985 to establishing Connecting Families in 2004, she has maintained a consistent vision – children belong with their families whenever safely possible.

At the heart of successful reunification work lies a willingness to challenge conventional approaches. Through her Churchill Fellowship studying the Resolutions Approach in the UK, Sally developed expertise in working with families where traditional demands for "admissions" create barriers to progress. She offers compelling insights into how shame operates as a powerful impediment to change and how practitioners can create conditions where genuine safety planning becomes possible without forcing disclosures that trigger profound shame responses.

The conversation also reveals how effective teams mirror the very therapeutic relationships they aim to build with families. Just as families need psychological safety to be vulnerable and make changes, practitioners require teams where diverse perspectives are valued while maintaining aligned values and approaches. This balance creates the collective wisdom and voice that has been crucial to Connecting Families' enduring success.

Ready to rethink your approach to family work? Listen now and discover why a focus on engagement rather than admission might be the key to better outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

Sally's Bio:

Sally has a Master of Social Work, and a Graduate Diploma in Family Therapy.

Sally, commenced working in residential care in 1985, then followed her passion for strengthening families through working intensively in family preservation services.  

In 2004 Sally established Connecting Families, a therapeutic Reunification and Family Preservation service, which has grown to 17 practitioners. 

Sally is trained in Narrative Therapy, Marte Meo, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics ,and Signs of Safety.

Sally was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to work in the UK with the Resolutions Approach - Working with Denied Child Abuse.  

Connecting Families is now the largest Reunification Service is South Australia and, together the team has safely reunified over 1200 children, and prevented the removal of many more.  

Sally provides training and consultation to Government and Non-Government organisations and remains a strong advocate for vulnerable families. Sally has been integral in leading the development of a Partnering for Safety approach to child protection through training and consulting, and is passionate about family led decision making and bringing the child’s voice into child protection work. 
 
 

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Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless other

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What if everything we thought we knew about helping traumatised children was backwards? In this profound conversation, Adela Holmes reveals the revolutionary approach that transformed lives at Hurstbridge Farm Therapeutic Residential Care Pilot in Victoria.

At the heart of effective therapeutic care lies what Holmes calls "relentless kindness" – an unwavering commitment to relationship-based approaches that prioritise connection over control. Drawing from neurobiology and decades of practice wisdom, she explains why traditional behavioural management techniques often fail our most vulnerable children.

"Before they can make any lasting change in their behaviour, they need to feel safe and loved," Holmes quotes from Bruce Perry's seminal work. She shares compelling stories that illustrate this principle in action – like the 10-year-old boy who initially resisted constant adult supervision but later panicked when he woke up alone, desperately seeking an adult presence he'd come to rely on.

The Hurstbridge model, grounded in neuroscience and relationship-based care, focuses on meeting children where they are developmentally rather than where society expects them to be. Holmes explains why going "to the lowest part of the brain implicated" is essential for creating meaningful change. This means providing countless repetitions of corrective experiences within safe, consistent relationships.

Despite facing criticism and doubt, Holmes persevered with her approach. The results speak volumes – young people who experienced multiple placement breakdowns finding stability, developing trusting relationships, and eventually creating fulfilling lives. One poignant example: a former resident who recently married and shared the news with staff who had cared for him years earlier.

For anyone working with traumatised children – whether in residential care, foster care, or therapeutic settings – this episode offers invaluable insights into creating environments where healing can truly happen. Listen now to discover how relationship-based approaches, informed by neurobiology, can transform the lives of our most vulnerable children.

Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.

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Dr. Jenna Bollinger takes us on a revealing journey into the heart of what makes residential care truly effective for vulnerable children and young people. Drawing from her doctoral research on stability in out-of-home care, she challenges conventional wisdom and offers a fresh perspective on how we measure success in these settings.

The podcast opens with a powerful revelation: stability isn't simply about remaining in one placement for a long time. As Dr Bollinger explains, "If I was just told I have to leave my house today for no reason and I don't know where I'm going, I could be in my next house for 12 months, but I don't know how secure I would feel." This insight forms the foundation of her research, which discovered that meaningful relationships are what truly create stability for young people in care.

One of the most touching moments comes when Dr Bollinger shares a story about interviewing a young man who had been in residential care. When she suggested that staff caring about him made a difference, he firmly corrected her: "No, I felt loved." This profound statement highlights what makes residential care work—genuine connections that extend beyond professional boundaries, with former residents maintaining relationships with staff long after leaving care.

Dr Bollinger introduces her "Secure House" model, a practical framework for creating stability in residential settings. Built on a foundation of safety, with walls representing consistent staff relationships, and a ceiling of genuine care, this model provides organizations with clear guidance on what elements must be in place for young people to thrive. She emphasizes that while change is inevitable in these settings, how it's managed makes all the difference.

The conversation also explores how organizations themselves can become traumatized when working with trauma-affected children, and how reflective practice—particularly at leadership levels—can help create healthier workplaces where staff feel heard and valued. 

Wondering how to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable children in our community? Listen now to discover practical insights from someone who's dedicated her career to creating healing environments for young people recovering from trauma and disrupted attachments.

Jenna’s Bio 

Jenna has a Masters Degree in Forensic Psychology from the University of New South Wales, and a PhD from Monash University, where she investigated the experience of, and capacity for stability in, residential out of home care. 

Jenna has worked in out of home care in different capacities since 2012 and is currently the Director of Psychology and Clinical Services for Knightlamp, which consults on assessment and implementation of therapeutic programs in out of home care across Australia. 

Jenna also conducts a variety of assessments, including therapeutic assessments for out of home care, forensic assessments and parenting capacity assessments in the context of the child protection system. 

We hope you enjoy our conversation.

Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.

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What makes therapeutic care truly effective? Simon Benjamin takes us on a journey through his remarkable career—from cleaning houses as a support worker to leading the Lighthouse Foundation as CEO—to reveal the essential ingredients of healing environments for vulnerable children and young people.

Drawing from his immersive experiences at the Mulberry Bush School in the UK and the Lighthouse Foundation in Australia, Simon articulates a profound truth often overlooked in our sector: therapeutic practice must permeate every level of an organisation to be effective. When leadership teams maintain their own reflective spaces, they model the vulnerability and trust-building that forms the foundation of healing relationships with clients.

"The alignment has got to be through the whole system, from top to bottom," Simon explains, offering a compelling metaphor for why comprehensive support structures matter. Working in child protection is like navigating rough terrain—without proper "suspension" systems like reflective practice and ongoing training, staff get "bashed up" and eventually leave, their potential for creating meaningful change lost in the process.

Most powerfully, Simon challenges organisations to examine whether their therapeutic approaches actually reach a "therapeutic level" where healing begins. Just as medication must reach a certain concentration in the bloodstream to combat disease, therapeutic care must provide enough positive experiences to create real change in people's lives. This requires more than simply being "trauma-informed"—it demands consistent, thoughtful practice embedded in organisational culture.

For leaders considering implementing therapeutic approaches, Simon's advice is clear: genuine leadership buy-in is essential, and the change process itself should model the therapeutic principles being introduced. By engaging the entire organisation in this journey, leaders create alignment that supports lasting transformation for both staff and clients.

Whether you're a frontline worker, manager, or executive in social care, this conversation offers practical wisdom for creating environments where vulnerability becomes strength and healing becomes possible. Join us as we explore how reflective practice at every level creates organisations capable of truly transformative work.
Simon’s Bio

For two decades, Simon experienced a wide range of care models in disability, mental health, special education, out-of-home care and Aboriginal childcare services. 

This included caring for deeply traumatised children in both community-based and state-run residential care homes.

More than 10 years of this time was spent immersed in the well-established therapeutic milieu workplaces of The Mulberry Bush School in the United Kingdom, and Lighthouse Foundation in Australia, having been CEO for more than five years at the latter. 

Simon now draws on this rich career experience, together with the latest research and evidence-based approaches, to empower organisational leaders, teams and frontline workers to better manage their own wellbeing and deliver optimal outcomes.

While his work supports a broad range of clients, Simon specialises in Out of Home Care, Mental Health, Homelessness sectors.

Simon’s vision is to see people, organisations and the human services sector deliver the care that vulnerable people need to enable them to reach their potential.

Simon's Website: https://blueskies.net.au/


Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In

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What happens when leadership falters in high-stakes environments? Children and families suffer. After managing social services during Northern Ireland's most volatile political period, Lynne Peyton discovered that exceptional leadership isn't just desirable—it's essential for transforming lives.

"Culture flows downhill," Lynne explains, revealing why her CORE leadership model targets organisations from the top down. Drawing from experiences where staff navigated dangerous conditions to support vulnerable families, she shares powerful insights about creating environments where practitioners can thrive despite challenges. The ripple effect is undeniable: confident staff create empowered clients.

Lynne's journey from aspiring language teacher to social worker began when she encountered people struggling with homelessness and addiction. "I've been fascinated by people's stories ever since," she reflects. This curiosity fueled her progression through leadership roles during tumultuous times, where creative community partnerships became essential for effective service delivery.

The CORE model—Communication, Optimisation, Relationships, and Evaluation—provides a framework for sustainable leadership development. Rather than focusing solely on communication as speaking well, Lynne emphasises listening and asking powerful questions. She reframes work-life balance as "life-work integration," acknowledging that sometimes work demands everything, while at other times family needs take priority.

Perhaps most provocatively, Lynne challenges the effectiveness of internal leadership development programs. "Middle managers can't coach senior leaders," she observes, explaining why external perspective is crucial for executive growth. Her independent stance allows leaders to be vulnerable in ways impossible with internal staff.

Ready to transform your leadership approach? Explore Lynne's free resources at lynnpeyton.com, where her Leadership Library offers practical tools for everything from difficult conversations to conflict resolution. Because when leaders thrive, everyone they serve benefits.

 Bio

Born and educated in Belfast Northern Ireland, Lynne’s spirit for adventure was fostered in the Officers’ Training Corps where she participated in a  wide range of adventure training and leadership activities, including a transfer to the Virginia National Guard during a temporary social work position in a family crisis centre in Richmond in 1980. She also gained her Private Pilot license during that time.

A qualified Social Worker, Lynne is a former senior manager in Health and Social Services, having held both operational and strategic management responsibilities for mental health and services for children and families. She was the director of a not-for-profit children’s charity for a number of years. She is also a master practitioner in NLP and neuro strategies, which she believes are essential to building rapport and great communication. 

Since establishing her consultancy almost 20 years ago, Lynne has been passionate about helping organisations working with vulnerable children to get better results. Her CORE Leadership Programme (Communication, Optimisation; Relationships, Evaluation) simultaneously targets executive teams as well as managers at all levels in organisations to bring about changes in attitude, culture, confidence, performance and outcomes.  

In the words of one CEO,  ‘Lynne has an amazing ability tounlock individual potential and bring out the best in people and inorganisations’.

Key areas include: 

• Strategic development 
• Building effective top teams 
• Coaching and mentoring senior managers
• Mediation

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When Graeme Kerridge first stepped into the Cotswold Community in 1977, he encountered a revolutionary approach to caring for deeply troubled young people. What he learned there would shape his understanding of human potential and systems thinking for decades to come.

The Cotswold Community was no ordinary residential care setting. Under Richard Balbirnie's visionary leadership, this former approved school was transforming into a therapeutic community based on the principles of Donald Winnicott and Barbara Dockar-Drysdale. Without locks, bars, or restraints, staff worked with boys who were often one step away from secure institutions, creating a holding environment where healing could begin.

Graeme shares the story of a 13-year-old who stole soft toys from a childcare center—a poignant revelation of his emotional deprivation. Remarkably, this same young man contacted Graeme 39 years later. Despite a rough start after leaving the community, he had maintained a stable 20-year relationship, raised university-educated sons, and broken his family's intergenerational cycle of dysfunction.

What made the Cotswold approach so effective? A commitment to being a true learning institution where staff constantly reflected on their practice. A systems perspective that recognized how every element of care connected. A careful triaging process that assessed whether they could truly help each child without draining staff resources. These principles followed Graeme throughout his subsequent career in healthcare management and international health development.

Our conversation raises important questions about Australia's current approach to troubled youth. While residential care has evolved toward smaller community houses, we lack comprehensive therapeutic communities like those that continue to operate in the UK. The economic and human case for investment is compelling—just as Graeme witnessed in international health programs where every dollar invested returned $42 to society.

Listen and discover how the right therapeutic environment can nurture growth in even our most hurt young people, with benefits that extend for generations.

Graeme’s Bio

Graeme is an international health development consultant who has worked in over 25 countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and in the countries of the former Soviet Union. He has particularly focused on assignments supporting grants from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). In addition to working as a consultant and technical team leader on assignments funded by USAID, AusAID (DFAT), GIZ and other donors, for several years he was a technical manager on a major USAID project based in Washington DC where he managed and oversaw multiple teams of consultants supporting Global Fund grants around the world. 

Prior to his international development career, Graeme worked for 18 years in health care management in several states of Australia. He started his professional career, however, working for several years in the late 1970s at The Cotswold Community, an experimental therapeutic community for maladjusted children in Wiltshire, UK.  While he did not continue working in that field after returning to Australia, he often reflects on his learnings from that period in pursuing a career in the management of caring organisations.

I found Graeme's reflections fascinating. I hope you do too.

Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those

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Adela Holmes brings over five decades of wisdom to this compelling conversation about healing our most vulnerable children. With a career spanning 52 years in child protection and therapeutic care, Adela shares the remarkable journey that led her from folk singing in coffee lounges to designing groundbreaking therapeutic programs for traumatized young people.

Discover the story behind Hurstbridge Farm, a pioneering therapeutic residential care program that transformed outcomes for children who had experienced complex trauma. When traditional systems were failing these young people—often criminalizing their trauma responses—Adela helped create a relationship-based model that changed their life trajectories. The results speak volumes: while similar children in traditional care settings plateaued or deteriorated, 65-75% of young people at Hurstbridge showed significant improvement.

What made the difference? Not the farm setting itself, as many assume, but the consistent, calm presence of adults who understood trauma and provided psychological containment. "People think that it's the farm environment that is the key, but it's not. It's relationships," Adela explains. Through powerful stories and examples, she illustrates how seemingly small moments—like a formerly street-entrenched boy asking her to walk with him to retrieve a birthday present—represent monumental shifts in a child's capacity to trust and connect.

Adela's passion remains undiminished after more than five decades, driven by seeing the profound difference therapeutic care makes. Her message to policy makers is clear and urgent: "Don't fiddle with what does work. Add to what does work... Spend the money now, because in 10 years' time is when the judgment will come." For anyone working with vulnerable children or interested in how we can better support them, this conversation offers both practical wisdom and renewed hope that healing is possible through the power of therapeutic relationships.

Bio:

Adela has a career spanning 52-years, during which she has worked in the child protection, child & family welfare & out of home care fields for both the Victorian state government and the non-government sector. 

 Adela has a well-established track record in designing, developing and delivering complex trauma grounded therapeutic care services for the most complex and challenging children and adolescents, and an expertise for working successfully with and supporting others to work with these children and adolescents. 

During her career Adela has designed and been involved in the ‘start up’ leadership and management of significant therapeutic service initiatives funded by the Victorian state government. These include the ‘Take Two” Intensive Therapeutic Service and the Victorian government’s successful pilot therapeutic residential care program, Hurstbridge Farm. 

12 other pilot programs were developed using the same model and, in 2011, all 13 were evaluated as being highly effective in producing positive life outcomes. 

Adela has been specialising as a trainer in the utilisation of complex trauma frameworks since 2000 and during this time has consolidated an extensive knowledge base and expertise in trauma & attachment informed therapeutic practice, both as a practitioner and a trainer of these skills. 

Adela also specialises in the facilitation of Reflective Practice Groups and, in her consultancy work, Adela delivers to such groups as a visiting consultant on a regular basis.

In October 2024 Adela was awarded the inaugural Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare Industry Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Out of Home Care. 

Adela has no intention of retiring

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Shame isn't just a fleeting emotion—it's a complex process that profoundly shapes our lives from childhood through adulthood. In this eye-opening conversation, psychosexual therapist and PhD researcher Lisa Etherson introduces her groundbreaking Shame Containment Theory, revealing how our earliest attachment experiences create enduring sensitivities that influence everything from our relationships to our work choices.

Drawing from both clinical experience and rigorous research, Lisa explains how shame functions as part of our attachment system, designed to keep us connected to others and functioning in society. She breaks down the five components of her theory: attachment injuries, shame response, contained shame (including shame scripts), shame containment strategies, and uncontained shame. This framework helps us understand why seemingly innocuous childhood experiences—like a distracted parent or an unavailable caregiver—can create lasting patterns that we carry into adulthood.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn when examining Netflix's controversial series "Adolescence," exploring how intergenerational shame passes from fathers to sons, and how violence often serves as a re-containment strategy when masculinity itself becomes a source of shame. Lisa challenges the notion that external factors like social media are the primary drivers of concerning behavior in young people, suggesting instead that we need to look more deeply at attachment and shame.

Whether you're a mental health professional, parent, or someone curious about your own patterns, this episode offers transformative insights into changing your relationship with shame. Lisa's perspective helps us see that shame isn't something to eliminate but to understand—a necessary emotion that, when properly contained, allows us to live connected, authentic lives.

Connect with Lisa through LinkedIn or explore her recently published academic article on Shame Containment Theory. Her children's book "Jake and His Shame Armor" will be available this summer, offering a tool for adults to help children understand and navigate shame in healthy ways.

Lisa is a qualified psychosexual therapist with over a decade of experience in private practice. Currently, she is also a PhD researcher. Her research focuses on developmental shame, and compulsive sexual behaviour in adult men, leading to the development of her innovative Shame Containment Theory (SCT). Her clinical work and research have cultivated a strong interest in the impact of childhood experiences on adult behaviour. Lisa is the author of Jake and his Shame Armour, a children’s book about shame.

You can find our more about Lisa's work here.

You can connect with Lisa on LinkedIn here.

Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.

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Join me for a highly engaging and thought provoking conversation with Catherine (Cath) Knibbs, as we discuss the scope of harms children and young people may experience when online, Cath's reaction to the Netflix series, Adolescence, and Cath's question to me without notice about how we are failing boys in  contemporary western society and discourse.  I hope you like it!

About Cath:

Cath is a Researcher, Psychotherapist, Author, Speaker, and Doctoral candidate looking at the real harm children suffer in a world of technology, which is advancing quicker than many adults can keep up with.
 
Cath has a background in Engineering in the Army, IT, and Computer Tech of over 25 years, and over a decade of working with children and adults directly around issues relating to the internet, from Bullying to Porn viewing, from cybercrime to cybersecurity and more.
 
Cath writes about issues such as the impact of tech on the developing child, the impact of cyber trauma and the issues of immersive technology on eyes, brains, and bodies.
 
Cath runs a company educating professionals about child safeguarding around tech and digital spaces, and she teaches therapists how to be 'safe AND secure' when using tech to ensure they protect their clients.

For more information about Cath visit her website.

Disclaimer

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.

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