What Is The Difference Between Foster Care And Therapeutic Care?

By Author: Horizon Fostering Services
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Do you know the different types of foster care services? Learn about therapeutic care and how different it is from other forms of foster care.

Different types of foster care have different demands. Therapeutic foster care is one of the main types of foster care in the UK.

What is Therapeutic Foster Care?

Specialised foster care offers support to children and young people who are vulnerable because of severe life disruptions. These disruptions could be caused by trauma or abuse.

When a child is placed in therapeutic foster care, the foster caregiver should be sensitive to the child's needs. The child may have experienced problems before being placed in care; therefore, the Foster Care Agency should work closely with other parties involved in the child's life to ensure proper care and support for the child.

How Different is Therapeutic Care from Other Types?
Even though the core mandate of all foster carers is to provide care for vulnerable children, therapeutic foster carers have extra responsibilities.

Extra training
To become a therapeutic foster carer, you will ...
... need extra training. This training will help you handle the vulnerability of the children placed under your care. The training covers various aspects of vulnerability in children and how to deal with them.

In addition to the initial training, you will also receive regular support from the foster care agency that you sign up with.

Extra allowance
In the UK Fostering, therapeutic foster carers receive an extra allowance for the extra responsibilities that they have. The amount varies depending on the foster care agency.

More opportunities
There is always a demand for foster carers in the UK. But if you are looking at fostering as a career, therapeutic foster care has more opportunities compared to other types of foster care.

Getting started
When you decide to start fostering, you should always remember the basic principles of fostering as related by the secure base model (University of East Anglia)
1. Availability – you must be there for the child
2. Sensitivity – you must be helpful to the child to manage their feelings
3. Acceptance – you should help the child with their self-esteem
4. Cooperation – you must work with other parties to help the child’s development
5. Family membership – you must make the child feel like they belong to a family.

Contact us today if you are ready to become a therapeutic foster carer or you simply want to know more about this type of foster care.

Horizon Fostering is one of the leading independent Ofsted-approved and registered fostering agencies in the UK. We are specialising in placing foster carers with children who need their support. Our services include assessment of suitability and capacity, initial training, ongoing support, information on local activities and events, and monthly visits from our community office team members. Visit our website for more details on our services at https://horizonfostering.co.uk/