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Taking Psychology
Beyond the Clinic

I'm Zara O'Brien — psychotherapist, parent carer, and founder of The Children's Psychology Hub. Everything here exists because mental wellbeing belongs in everyday life, not just clinics.

It takes a village. I'm building one.

Who are you here for?

I'm here for my child

for the child who is struggling. Ongoing, relational, clinical. The presenting problem might be anxiety, SEND, medical trauma, self-esteem. It's about the child's inner world.

Every part of this site is built around a child at the centre. Find your door into the village.

I'm here for my family

for the family navigating something specific together. Time-limited, practical, transition-focused. The trigger is an event or experience, not a clinical presentation.

I want to understand children better

Resources, workshops, and tools that take clinical knowledge out of the clinic — for parents, carers, and professionals alike. Accessible, affordable, and built to actually be used.

I work with children

Family coaching and joint support — practical, collaborative, and built around a shared toolkit you take away with you.

I run an organisation or venue

Sector-specific consultancy and Village Approved accreditation for spaces that want to be genuinely safe and welcoming for every family.

Talking Therapy for Children & Young People

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FOR CHILDREN & TEENS

A safe, consistent space for your child — child-led, creative where needed, and always attentive to the whole child, not just the presenting problem.

THE PRACTICE

Clinical support for every child in your life

Sometimes a resource isn't enough. Sometimes what's needed is a safe space, a skilled ear, and someone who holds the whole picture in mind — not just the presenting problem, but the whole child and the whole world around them. Medical complexity and SEND always welcomed.

What a child carries, they shouldn't carry alone.

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FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Therapy for Children & Young People

A safe, consistent, child-led space. Creative where needed. Always attentive to the whole child — their identity, their relationships, their world.

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Anxiety, big feelings & emotional regulation

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Medical trauma & complex health journeys

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SEND, identity & self-esteem

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Bereavement, loss & change

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Friendship, school & social challenges

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FOR FAMILIES

Family Coaching & Support

When something changes — for a child or for the whole family — the ripple effects can be bigger than anyone expected. Family coaching offers a structured, practical space to navigate specific life transitions and experiences together, building the understanding and tools to move through them well.

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Bereavement and loss

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New baby or sibling

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Moving home or school

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Parental separation or family change

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Medical diagnosis — for a child or family member

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Medical diagnosis — for a child or family member

From the Clinic to the Kitchen Table and Classroom...

THE CHILDREN'S PSYCHOLOGY HUB

Clinical knowledge — for everyone in the village

Psychology shouldn't require a clinical budget. The Hub is a growing library of resources, workshops, and toolkits — designed by a clinician, built for real life. For parents at the kitchen table. For teachers in the classroom. For coaches on the pitch.

Panic Mountain
Anger Volcano
My Worry Space
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Things That Bug Me
My Iceberg
Discovery Diner
My Anger Adventure
Who I Am Below The Surface
Changing Chameleon

Child-Led Mental Wellbeing For Schools and Practitioners

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The Greenhouse
Support Planning Toolkit

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Flourish Plan Worksheet

Moving from "What do I do?" to a plan of action...

Services

CHILD-IINFORMED PRACTICE

Equipping every adult in a child's world

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TRAINING & CREDENTIAL

Child-Informed Practitioner

Online training that equips the adults children spend the most time with — the psychoeducation, understanding, and practical tools to support children's mental wellbeing with confidence. Leads to the Child-Informed Practitioner credential.

A child's mental health isn't shaped only in clinics. It's shaped on the pitch, in the pool, at the barber's chair, and in every community space they pass through. Child-Informed Practice gives every adult who works with children — whatever their setting — the psychoeducation, understanding, and tools to show up differently.

The same knowledge.

Delivered where it's needed most

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ONGOING DEVELOPMENT

Reflective Practice Groups

Monthly online groups for activity providers and community professionals — the space to bring real situations, think clinically, and keep developing. For those who work with children but don't have access to professional supervision.

A regular, supported space to sit with the complexity of working with children — and leave with more clarity, more confidence, and more tools than you arrived with.

Inclusion doesn't happen in a clinic. It happens on the high street...

VILLAGE APPROVED

Psychological safety is the foundation of genuine inclusion

True inclusion isn't a checklist — it's an intentional design. I work with organisations and venues to understand how their space, their staff, and their experience design affects every child who comes through their doors. Whether you're a restaurant navigating ARFID, a holiday park redesigning your family experience, or an NHS team building better pathways — this is where it starts.

SECTOR-SPEIFIC CONSULTANCY

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Child-Informed Spaces

Bespoke consultancy and training for organisations ready to understand how their environment, their team, and their experience design shapes the children in their care.

Think ARFID-informed menus. Sensory visitor journey audits. Regulation stations. Staff communication training. Environment redesign through a clinical lens.

SECTOR-SPEIFIC CONSULTANCY

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Child-Informed Spaces

Bespoke consultancy and training for organisations ready to understand how their environment, their team, and their experience design shapes the children in their care.

Think ARFID-informed menus. Sensory visitor journey audits. Regulation stations. Staff communication training. Environment redesign through a clinical lens.

ACCREDITATION

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Village Approved Accreditation

The destination for organisations ready to commit to becoming genuinely child-safe, family-welcoming spaces. We audit your environment, train your team, refine your policies, and map the full visitor journey — from car park to exit — to earn the Village Approved mark.

Village Approved organisations display the mark with pride — and their families arrive with confidence.

Think ARFID-informed menus. Sensory visitor journey audits. Regulation stations. Staff communication training. Environment redesign through a clinical lens.

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FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER 

Join my village.
It’s free, always.

Every month  I share  free resources, honest thoughts , reflective questions, and content that makes you feel less alone in this work and parenting world!

Free resources you can use straight away

Thought leadership that challenges how you think

Reflective questions for parents and professionals alike

Guest articles from across the children’s world

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