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Connect Service Suffolk
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The Connect Service in Suffolk provides specialist psychotherapy services for young people up to the age of 18 in Suffolk. The service is for young people who are adopted, looked after or in Special Guardianship, Child Arrangement or Kinship Care arrangements. The service also supports carers and families.
- Service Manager Lead: Agi Husczca – Acting Clinical Team Manager for Connect and Specialist Services Manager within Suffolk CFYP
- Service Contact: For general enquiries contact us through our administrator on 01473 237070 or 01473 237034 or for referral please contact the Emotional Wellbeing Hub on 0345 600 2090.
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Address:
Children's Treatment Centre, Bungalow 6, Walker Close, Ipswich, IP3 8LY
- Service hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00 until 17:00 (excluding bank holidays).
- What this service offers
- Access this service
- Visiting and onsite facilities
- How this service support carers including friends and family
- Urgent help
What this service offers
At Connect, we offer psychiatric and psychological assessments and consultations, evidence-based interventions for childhood trauma such as creative, play and art therapy interventions, relational and attachment based psychotherapies. We support young people where concerns tend to be around attachment difficulties, developmental trauma, loss and other complex developmental, social and emotional difficulties and acute mental health difficulties.
We may work with the individual child or we may suggest work with the carer present, or relationship and family therapy support.
We have a Systemic Clinic for families referred to us by the Suffolk County Council Permanence Team or the Suffolk Therapeutic Fostering Team. We also offer “Changing Circles” – a set of psycho-educational workshops for special guardians, adoptive parents and foster carers,to support carers with complex parenting issues.
We work mainly from Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich for all of Suffolk, except children in Lowestoft and Waveney. Children in care and families who live in this part of Suffolk can access the Norfolk Looked After and Adopted Children team. The Connect Service is not available to children based in Thetford, however these young people may still be able access other mental health services.
We provide training and education to foster carers, adoptive parents, residential workers, and other professionals.
We also offer regular consultations to Local Authority Children's Homes.
Young people placed in Suffolk from out of area are also able to use the Connect Service but this is then chargeable to the placing authority.
Access this service
If you have concerns that a Looked After or Adopted Child may need our support please make use of our consultation sessions which can take place in either a face to face format in South Bury or Ipswich, or in a Virtual format over Microsoft Teams. These are available by appointment. Please contact our team administrator for more information.
These sessions are usually attended by professionals and / or by foster carers or adoptive parents together with a social worker and give the opportunity to discuss and think through the young person’s needs in detail. Please note that these consultations can be provided using virtual platforms.
Consultation sessions
- Consultation sessions for West Suffolk take place at West Suffolk House in Bury. Regular days and times are on hold for now but can be arranged via our team administrator.
- Consulation sessions for East Suffolk take place at Landmark House in Ipswich. Regular days and times are on hold for now but can be arranged via our team administrator.
The referrer and GP receive a letter confirming that we have accepted the referral, and this letter explains the next step. For example; that we will contact you about an assessment. If you believe that a useful first step would be an assessment of the child or young person, rather than a Consultation, you can submit a referral form with your request. Once your referral to Connect is accepted you can expect us to quickly discuss the case details in our full team meetings and work out a course of action.
We continually review our referrals and allocate consultations, assessments and interventions when a suitable practitioner is available. If you are concerned that you haven't heard from us please do make contact and ask our administrator about progress.
When we offer you a meeting or series of meetings we may ask you to come in different combinations with the young person and sometimes not. We will ask for your consent around where we can share information, and we will discuss consent to treatment and confidentiality.
From there we will talk with you and work out the best way forward to support your child
Referrals to us here at Connect are made in the same way as any other mental health referrals, which is through the Emotional Wellbeing Hub.
Visiting and onsite facilities
The Connect Service work in a variety of our buildings many of which have dedicated parking including disabled parking and the buildings are disabled accessible. For certainty and if you have queries please contact the team administrator who can advise you further.
How this service support carers including friends and family
Connect provides training, support and education to foster carers, special guardians, adoptive parents, residential workers, and other professionals. The Connect team works closely with Suffolk’s Therapeutic Fostering Team within Suffolk County Council (SCC) who specialise in providing expert support and training opportunities to foster carers employed by SCC.
Urgent help
The Connect Service offers a duty system during operational hours. Please contact the team administrator on 01473 237070 and a member of the team will endeavour to return your call. Outside of operational hours Call 111 and select the mental health option to speak to our 24 hour mental health crisis line. If you have a medical or life-threatening emergency please call 999.
For more information, see Help in a Crisis.