Kay is our Registered Manager, based in our Clyro office but working across all localities. She joined The Family Place in 2020, and worked as a Specialist Attachment Practitioner for our service for over three years. She became the Registered Manager in June 2023, and continues to offer assessments, therapy, consultations and training alongside her management role.
Kay has completed DDP Levels 1 and 2, and is currently completing her practicum. She is a Foundational Theraplay Practitioner. She is trained in the By Your Side model, NVR – Non Violent Resistance Therapy (Level 1) and BUSS – Building Underdeveloped Sensory Motor Systems (Level 1). Kay has completed Level 4 and Level 5 in Leadership and Management of Health and Social Care (City and Guilds Diploma).
Kay began her career in youth services, supplementary education and working with local charities, which gave her a good foundation in engaging creatively and flexibly with families in their own communities. After completing her MA in Social Work in 2013, Kay joined a child protection team to support children and families while managing high levels of risk within statutory frameworks. Kay particularly enjoyed her work around mental health, trauma and attachment, so since 2015 she has specialised in working therapeutically with care-experienced and adopted children and young people. Kay was also one of the Founding Trustees for The Family Place Foundation, helping to develop projects which supplement and extend the therapy The Family Place offers.
Kay has extensive experience of working with young people who have suffered abuse, neglect, loss and trauma, and strongly believes in the transformative power of relationships. She says she enjoys being part of the rebuilding and sense-making within families, helping children find belonging and connection again. Kay believes firmly in the importance of story-telling, play and playfulness for all children and adults, as well as finding moments of exploration, adventure and wonder in daily life.
Kay is a registered Social Worker with the Social Care Wales and Social Work England.