About the
Solihull Approach
Introduction
The Solihull Approach is about emotional health and wellbeing for all children, their parents, carers and grandparents. We are passionate about sensitive relationships, early years support and understanding brain development to help nurture kind, emotionally aware children as they grow.
Solihull Approach brings together a core team of NHS clinical psychologists, child psychotherapists, health professionals, and child and family practitioners, together with schools and parents to develop training to support people who work with children in ANY setting as well as for ALL parents who want to support and nurture emotional health.
We focus on relationships because they shape who we are and are key to our development as human beings. Our training encourages reflective thinking with frameworks, tools and ideas that are proven to be transformative.
‘The Solihull Approach speaks to what it means to be a human being; understanding what supports us in our development and what hinders us. It reminds us of the importance of relationships.’
Dr Hazel Douglas, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Child Psychotherapist, Director of the Solihull Approach
The Solihull Approach theoretical model
The Solihull Approach theoretical model emerged from practice and facilitates an understanding of emotional health and wellbeing, as well as mental health. It can be applied to working with families, individuals, groups, a community, or with a large population from a public health perspective. The three concepts of containment, reciprocity, and behaviour management facilitate an understanding of the relationship and how to apply this in different contexts.
Research informed, and evidence based
The Solihull Approach has a significant evidence base, both quantitative and qualitative, showing the improvements in the parent-child relationship, child prosocial behaviour, behaviour difficulties, parental anxiety and stress, and practitioner satisfaction.
The impact of Understanding your child, our most established and reputed course designed for parents, was assessed by a randomised control trial in 2019 and has been recognised by the Early Intervention Foundation as having a strong evidence base. It was also the first to receive the Government’s CanParent award, the only UK accreditation scheme for parent courses.Â
Training
All Solihull Approach training supports the application of our theoretical model alongside an understanding of brain development. From an early support offer developed for Health visitors, evidence-based training is now delivered across disciplines in the UK and around the world. We support practitioners and parents across a parenting journey from bump to adolescence and an understanding of adult parental mental health.
Our history
