Psychology in Tusla
Psychologist in Tusla may be trained with different fields of applied psychology as clinical, counselling or educational psychology. They implement the full range of assessment and therapeutic skills with regards to developmental and mental health difficulties that may be used by psychologists in other context, but with a particular focus on the protection and safety for children. For children and young people who are in care of Tusla, psychologists use their skills within the agency’s care planning framework to support families, carers, educational services and social care teams, with a view to helping children and young people to feel secure in their care placements.
Working alongside their colleagues in social work services and in other therapeutic roles, psychologist assess how Tusla can best meet the needs of children and young people, and the needs of those caring for them. This can involve developing understanding of both current difficulties and past trauma, and also the impact of being placed in care. Psychologists frequently work to make sense of risk to children and young people ‘s safety and wellbeing and developing collaborative plans to address and manage those risks, often by seeking to maximise strength, ability and resilience. This is always done with a focus on the best interest of the child and making sense of presenting difficulties in terms of child’s real experiences. All psychologists in Tusla work using a trauma and attachment framework, meaning that difficulties are always understood in a non-blaming way as occurring in the context of the adverse experiences children and families have had within their relationship.
The overarching aim of psychologist working in Tusla is that young people receive a service from the agency that helps them feel more secure, more connected to others and to move towards a better quality of life. Psychologist always work to support children and young people to have better relationships with the most important people in their lives. This very frequently involves helping those important people to understand the children and young people better, by using psychological theory to help make sense of the way they feel, think and act, and by addressing the trauma -related barriers that are often in the way of people having the relationship they would like to have.