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The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

‘What’s so great about The Bridge Foundation is that you don’t come and go, you’re in it for the long haul and that’s what makes the difference.’ Head teacher

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Welcome to our new-look Annual Report which will hopefully give you a clear and lively picture of everything that the Bridge Foundation is working on. This has been another year of significant progress – 217 clients seen in all services, 2175 sessions offered. In our Self-referral Services both the Children and Families Service and the Individual Counselling and Psychotherapy Service (ICPS) grew to the extent that fee-paying service users now account for over half of our total client numbers - a welcome security at a time when contracts and grants are at a premium. ICPS grew not only in terms of the number of clients who came to the service but also in the number of sessions offered - demonstrating the continuing relevance and importance of longer term psychotherapy. The number of schools with which we work in the Bridge in Schools Service also rose, and 2012-13 saw the culmination of a long bidding process to the Big Lottery, the outcome of which was the award of Stepping Up, a four year programme of work with children before, during and after the primary/secondary school transition. Led by the Bridge Foundation but involving a consortium with four other Bristol voluntary organisations, this is a practical example of the importance of partnership working. We continued to offer the free Inner City Parents Service whilst the generous offer from Aardman Animation of their cinema was perhaps the highlight of our Conference and Events programme. The Trustee Board has continued its due diligence on matters of governance. Policies are regularly reviewed and updated. In regard to public benefit Trustees consider that the combination of fee-paying and free services provided by the Bridge Foundation conform to the conditions and guidance offered by the Charity Commission. Trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks which the charity faces and have established systems for regular monitoring and reporting, so that necessary steps can be taken to lessen any risks. Treasurer and Chairman review financial performance monthly. To sustain finances in 2012-13 we are grateful to The Bonus Trust, The Bramble Trust, Bristol Brunel Lions, Inchrye Trust, Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, Lark Trust, Linnet Trust, Lynn Foundation, Portishead Nautical Trust, and other regular individual donors and contributors For all of the hard work and the successes of the year my congratulations and thanks go to the Director and Staff and I and all my fellow Trustees want to record our recognition of the huge amounts of time and effort that everyone has put into the year’s work.

WelcomeWelcomeWelcomeWelcome From Murray Stewart, Chair of TrusteesFrom Murray Stewart, Chair of TrusteesFrom Murray Stewart, Chair of TrusteesFrom Murray Stewart, Chair of Trustees

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

217 clients seen

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Word of Mouth

GP

Website

Other Organisation

School

Self Referral ServicesSelf Referral ServicesSelf Referral ServicesSelf Referral Services

Bridge Foundation clients include, children, young people, couples, parents and families as well as those seeking personal therapy. Our team of highly trained and experienced adult and child & adolescent psychodynamic therapists and counsellors provide a choice of counselling and psychotherapy to suit clients’ needs. We offer a choice of appointment times to be accessible for those with family, work and school commitments. There is a sliding scale of fees and full details can be found on the website.

In 2012/13 46 clients came to the Bridge Foundation for short term or longer term psychotherapy with the referrals increasing from the previous year.

Short term counselling is helpful for those who have a clear goal or who have not previously experienced talking therapy. Some Bridge Foundation clients have already received short term therapy and many are seeking the option of longer term psychodynamic therapy. This is effective for people suffering from depression and anxiety with complex social and personal circumstances. Outcomes have shown this leads to less repeat visits to GPs by some clients, reduced use of prescribed medication, improved relationships and for some a return to employment. Initially sessions were provided for up to two years; however, in response to need and feedback from clients, we now offer open-ended weekly therapy, as well as twice-weekly where appropriate.

In 2012/13, 60 families came to the Bridge Foundation concerned about a range of difficulties which included behavioural problems, depression, anxiety, self-harming behaviours, eating disorders, children/young people with ASD, family breakdown, bereavement, physical illness. Initially we offer two exploratory sessions, to gather a history and to decide together with the family what kind of therapy is needed. For example work with parents or individual child / adolescent or in some cases the whole family, according to need. Where individual children/adolescents are seen, our practice is to offer sessions to the parent/s/carer/s to support the child/young person’s therapy.

Clients choosing the Bridge can be assured that that we place high importance on confidentiality. Coming to an organisation with a clear code of professional conduct is reassuring for people and this makes the Bridge Foundation a safe place to come and talk.

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

32% Of people hear about us from their GP

‘The therapy sessions have become a very meaningful part of my life and they are helping me establish useful perspectives about my self and what is happening around me - I'm grateful for the opportunity.’ Client

How people hear about our services

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The Bridge in Schools Counselling service has continued to flourish over the last year. We have more than 10 years’ experience working in primary and secondary schools where we work with vulnerable children and young people whose emotional difficulties are affecting their ability to learn and develop. Our outcomes for this work are clearly measurable and schools are seeing the very real benefits to their pupils in working with us. We use a combination of bespoke and standard evaluation tools to demonstrate impact.

Children who have one-to-one counselling show significant improvement in their emotional wellbeing and peer relationships, with fewer behavioural difficulties. Teachers and parents report that improvements in these areas have a positive impact on children's classroom learning and also benefit the class and the school as a whole.

Demonstrating Impact in Our Bridge In Schools Counselling Service

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

‘In the past when things went wrong with friends L just shrugged it off, now he gets upset (tho doesn’t lash out) and takes himself aside to calm down. When asked, he is able to say he is angry and explain why. There have been no incidents of him losing his temper and fighting (like in the past).’ Parent

of children we worked with showed improved self confidence and behaviour in school 88%

‘I learned to be good sometimes in class, because I calm down. I am less angry. I’m more sad because I’m saying by by to R (counsellor).’ Child

‘I have learned not to bottle things up. I tell my mum and my friends.’ Child

‘frequency of outbursts gone down. Severity of outbursts has lessened. Much more likely to contain anger in class’. Teacher

‘X is calmer with less angry outbursts. He is less jumpy. He is more able to ask for things he wants and wait until he is given them.’ Teacher

713 child sessions delivered

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I get into the primary school at 8.30am and pop my head round the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator’s office to get updates on the children I will see that day and learn that I will need to make contact with a social worker who is now working with one of the children. Then I start to prepare the counselling room and put out the painting table cloth. Pillows are laid out on the floor for those children who prefer to play/work on the floor. I bring out the toys; dolls and equipment, games and an array of puppets. Paints and an assortment of paper and craft materials are put out, and gradually the room seems to come alive with creative potential for the day's work. I collect Jenny from her year 3 class. I have only just started working with Jenny and I notice that she seems less hesitant and more pleased to see me. When Jenny arrives in the room she exclaims excitedly "Harry Lion you are still here" as she picks up a puppet that she had used previously. Together we explore the theme of trust through play and art to help give Jenny words for her experiences. Many of the children I see, like Jenny, have experienced loss in many forms; restoring a sense of security in the world is an important but gradual part of the work. Before my next session, I meet with the head teacher and other staff to consider other vulnerable children and to think about appropriate support. It can be challenging to witness the extent of social issues that some of the children and their families are experiencing, but reassuring to be part of a team striving to make real difference in these children's lives. I make a quick phone call to a parent of a child in order to arrange an initial meeting to explore together the family situation. Working with families is a vital component of my therapeutic work with children. I generally see 3 or 4 children each day and after my last counselling session, I restore the room to it's original order and write up notes ready for supervision back at the Bridge Foundation later that week. . I have a final meeting with a teacher to get their insight regarding one of the children before I head off for home.

For confidentiality reasons, all names have been changed.

A Day in the Life of a School Counsellor

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

‘Their intervention has been sensitive but appropriate and enabled

staff at school to better understand the students in their classes. It

(counselling) is a discipline that all teachers can learn from’

Inner City Secondary School Inclusion Team

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This year we launched our innovative Stepping Up project for vulnerable young people in transition from primary to secondary school. We were successful in securing both recognition for our work and substantial funding from the Big Lottery’s Realising Ambition programme to deliver the project until summer 2016. We are the lead partner of a consortium of 5 local voluntary organisations and have appointed a part time project manager to oversee the grant and programme. Our partner organisations are the Bristol Drugs Project, Hartcliffe and Withywood Kickstart, the Creative Youth Network and Empire Amateur Boxing Club. Since transition into secondary school coincides with the onset of adolescence it can often be a difficult period for both young people and their parents. Stepping Up provides specialist support to vulnerable children and young people before, during and after the period of their transition from primary to secondary school. Stepping Up supports young people to gain greater self confidence, improve behaviour and school attendance and develop peer relationships. We have been working closely with Fairfield High School and their cluster of primary schools to identify vulnerable young people who need extra support during this time. With a range of services on offer, it means young people can be offered the right kind of support to meet their individual needs. In its first year of delivery, Stepping Up helped 20 young people through counselling and an environmental summer residency, and we are well on our way to meet our overall target of 337 by summer 2016. Emily Ryan, the Bridge Foundation counsellor at Fairfield School, said: ‘Evidence shows this is a crucial time for vulnerable children who are moving from primary into secondary school. I’ve seen some amazing turnarounds through this programme - it’s both targeted and flexible so really reaches young people that may not otherwise have received support.’ We are working closely with national Realising Ambition partners the Young Foundation and the Social Research Unit, to increase our understanding of the real impact the work has on children and families across Bristol and to feed this into a UK wide learning network of programme partners.

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

EMPIRE

Amateur

Boxing

Club

‘I met lots of people and it has made me more confident for when I go to secondary school’ young person

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The Inner City Parents service offers free counselling for parents, while keeping the whole family in mind. This provides a crucial service for families who do not meet the threshold of concern for a statutory service referral, who are best helped by early intervention and who are unable to afford fee paying services. Counselling is provided both at the Bridge main base in Cotham and in Easton Community Children’s Centre. Parents are encouraged to access the service for help by GPs, health visitors and other projects workers because of difficulties such as family conflict or unsatisfactory relationships, or because of concerns with a child such as behaviour problems. We evaluate the service by using a combination of bespoke and standard evaluation tools including the nationally recognised CORE evaluation system. Outcomes from this service relate to the improved emotional health of children and of parents, and improved relationships, communication and coping within the family. Over the year (and into 2012-13) key outcomes were improved emotional health of parents (73% of clients) and improved relationship between the child and parent (82% of clients).

Inner City Parents Service

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

(coming to the service has given me) ‘…a more relaxed and stable relationship with ‘wholer’ communication’ Service user

‘My hopes of managing my depression and becoming a fully functional parent to my children has definitely been fulfilled. Thank you for the superb counselling’ Service user

82% demonstrated an improved demonstrated an improved demonstrated an improved demonstrated an improved relationship between parent relationship between parent relationship between parent relationship between parent and child after counsellingand child after counsellingand child after counsellingand child after counselling

‘Able to deal with my feelings more successfully’ Service user

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Conferences and EventsConferences and EventsConferences and EventsConferences and Events

During the year April 2012 to March 2013, we ran three successful events – two events linking psychoanalytic thinking to the Arts and our Bob Gosling Memorial Conference, focussing on the understanding of social dynamics. In May we brought together Dr Sebastian Kraemer and Dr Emily Ryan to discuss the impact of economic and social policy on families and young people. This provocative debate was chaired by Jem Thomas of the University of the West of England and brought together a wide audience of professionals working in different contexts with children, young people and their families. The Bridge Foundation is always keen to explore these sort of topics as we are concerned with the external challenges placed on children and families as well as their internal challenges. Our next Bob Gosling Memorial Conference will be on the subject of climate change denial. In November we were delighted to be hosted by Aardman Animation in their magnificent private cinema to see and later discuss a screening of Las Acacias, a gentle and intriguing ‘road movie’ . All agreed this was an extremely enjoyable event in amazing surroundings, and greatly appreciated this opportunity Aardman gave us. Richard lll was the focus of our 8th annual Shakespeare conference in March, held jointly with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory (SATTF). Fascinating talks given by Margaret Rustin, former head of Child Psychotherapy at the Tavistock and Portman clinic, Michael Rustin, Professor of sociology at University of East London and Andrew Hilton, Founder and Artistic Director of SATTF and a patron of the Bridge Foundation led to lively and interesting discussions. The event was expertly chaired by Dr Mike Ruscoe, a former GP with an MA in Shakespearean theatre. The Bridge looks forward to continuing these joint events in 2014 with SATTF's production of As You Like It. Conferences and events will remain an important part of the Bridge Foundation and we have many exciting events planned for the coming year. Please see our website for details.

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

‘I was so glad to be a part of a psychodynamic discussion which really grappled with the gritty political issues facing our clients, and us as therapists’ Conference attendee

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Free services

Fee Paying

Services

Schools

Conferences

The Bridge Foundation incurred a small deficit in 2012-13, but funds carried forward to the 2013-14 year stood at £27,115. This reserve was consistent with Board policy that free (unrestricted) reserves should be maintained at a minimum level equating to at least three months of unrestricted expenditure. Principal sources of funding during the year included the major Stepping Up project (£40,583) and earned income of £71,545 through fee-paying counselling and psychotherapy services. Nevertheless this positive funding position was to an extent offset by an increase volatility in funding which affected both the mix of services we have been able to deliver and the continuity of service to particular client groups (parents in particular). Specific funding streams which in the year 2011-2012 had supported 92 clients and over 700 sessions were lost – a shortfall of some £60,000. We are grateful to Mike Ashley of Colin Coats and Partners, Accountants for pro bono undertaking of the annual audit and preparation of accounts.

Income

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

2175 sessions delivered

Contracts

Conferences

Fee paying services

Small Grants

Donations

Other income

Total = £186,000

Expenditure

Total = £198,000

FinancesFinancesFinancesFinances

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As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Bridge Foundation we are proud that over the years, we have built and maintained a reputation for high standards in our psychotherapy and counselling services. We have faced many changes and challenges both internally and externally, and currently we are negotiating the world of commissioning and the impact of a severe economic recession on services and on the emotional wellbeing of individuals and families. As I look forward to the year ahead, I would envisage that mental health services for children, young people, families and adults will be needed more than ever. It is positive that government recognises the importance of good mental health as outlined in the report No Health without Mental Health and is providing greater access to psychological support through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. However, the NHS is unable to meet the needs of everyone who needs counselling and therapy especially as referral thresholds are being raised. While people can now access short term Cognitive Behavioural Therapy counselling through IAPT services, our experience is that those individuals, children and families with deeper seated psychological difficulties need the opportunity for sustained longer term psychodynamic counselling and therapy.

In 2012/13 we provided counselling and psychotherapy for 217 individuals, children and families and parents. With the increasing demand for our Counselling in schools service, we appointed a manager to lead and develop this work. This means that we were able to reach many more vulnerable children and parents who may not have otherwise got the necessary help at such an early stage. We also supported the professional development, skills and training of other staff working in schools through professional supervision and workshops. A mark of the success of this service is that schools now make financial contributions as a matter of course. However, there is always a shortfall and we need to consistently focus on fundraising.

Over the year our expenditure exceeded our income. However, we have embraced this challenge positively by moving to working with a professional fundraiser to bring fresh ideas and new ways to generate funds. We expect to continue to develop the self referral fee –paying therapy services to make our Bridge in Schools counselling service more sustainable in the long term and to provide therapy for people who would otherwise be unable to pay the basic costs. Next year I will be able to report on our work to draw up a four year 2014-18 Strategic Plan to provide a framework for service provision.

We will maintain the highest standard of counselling and psychotherapy services. We are committed to demonstrating that we are providing the best possible services and to develop effective ways of measuring the impact of what we do and most importantly improving how we get views and feedback from our service users. At the core of the Bridge Foundation are our deeply committed, highly skilled and experienced staff— therapists, counsellors, volunteers, managers and administrators and Board of Trustees—and I thank them all for their hard work over the last year.

The Bridge Foundation Annual Report 2012/13

The Bridge Foundation 13 Sydenham Road Cotham Bristol BS6 5SH 0117 9424510 info@bridgefoundation.org.uk www.bridgefoundation.org.uk Registered Charity Number 1073759

Frances FoxFrances FoxFrances FoxFrances Fox Director of the Bridge FoundationDirector of the Bridge FoundationDirector of the Bridge FoundationDirector of the Bridge Foundation