Ramsgate Sands Psychotherapy

05/01/2026

For the bravest children that you will never meet in the playground….

While everyone celebrates their kids heading back to school, sharing pictures of their first week (which is lovely to see), this week I’m holding space for the THOUSANDS of children and teens who can’t walk through those doors.

Let’s hold space this week for…

•The child who can’t attend because anxiety twists their stomach and makes them feel sick, manifesting physically and mentally through panic attacks, insomnia, and sheer dread of school.

•The child overwhelmed by sensory overload, the every bell, shout, crowded corridor, and bright light sending their body into fight or flight

•The child screaming at the school gate, arms clinging to their parent, terrified and desperate to stay home

•The child stuck in limbo with an inappropriate school in their EHCP, waiting over a year while appeals drag on.

•The child desperate to be in school but kept home by unknown SEN/EBSA, longing to be with friends

•The child permanently excluded for behaviours that were really signs of unmet need, punished for being themselves.

•The child waiting years for an assessment before school will acknowledge their needs (unlawful).

•The child masking all day, only to collapse into meltdowns when they get home.

•To the teens longing for connection and learning, blocked by invisible barriers they can’t quiteexplain.

•To the teens left without any school, simply because no setting can support them properly.

•To the Teens with severely low attendance due to poor mental health, navigating pain no one can see.

•To the parents/ carers who have lost jobs, giving everything to support their children through this

•To the parents and carers who turned to home education, feeling it was the only way to protect their child and prevent them from being penalised.

•To the Parents accused of “mollycoddling” for protecting the one they love.

• To the kids who are unable to attend school due to major health issues

These persistently absent children and teens are also incredibly brave and they are deserving of everything! I’ve witnessed this both professionally, and with my own child.

Bridget Phillipson, regarding your attendance comments, perhaps try sitting with the parents living this reality before you dare to pass judgment!

Leigh
X

16/11/2025

30/09/2025

❓ Wondering whether you or your child might be neurodivergent
❓ Feeling overwhelmed and unsure what the next step is
❓ Looking for answers, support, or just someone who gets it

Come and join our FREE "Coffee & Cake' session. Our Clinical Psychologist, Nadine, will be giving a talk on emotional regulation, something so many parents ask us about.

We’ll open up the floor for a relaxed Q&A, ask questions, share your experience, or just listen in.

Saturday 18th October | 10:30 - 11:30am
📍 Marlowe Innovation Centre, Ramsgate, CT12 6FA

Spaces will be limited so call 01843 663116 to reserve your spot.

&A

25/09/2025

Just quickly popping in to say that President Trump said today that taking paracetamol in pregnancy and vaccines cause autism.

This is misinformation. There are studies of millions of births which show that this is not the case.

Yes, there has a been a huge rise in autism diagnoses over the last 45 years. That's because the diagnostic criteria have radically changed. It used to be a rare diagnosis only given to children with severe learning disabilities, it's now quite a common diagnosis given to many people with and without learning disabilities. The people who are being diagnosed with autism today would, for the most part, not have met diagnostic criteria in the 1980s.

Autism is a umbrella term which includes a very wide range of people. Scientists agree that there will never be a single cause identified because autistic people are so different to each other.

It's fear-mongering to start blaming paracetamol and vaccines.

26/02/2025

It's ok to do the things that make your life easier.

24/05/2024

06/12/2023

💛💛

22/07/2023

So true 💛

24/04/2023

Fantastic new advert from Dove, that hits on a personal and professional level.

I've been lucky to work with so many amazing teenagers, many of which have been impacted by the unrealistic standards set on social media. I'm a big believer of the importance of having conversations around this, at school and home, to help these incredible individuals learn that they are more than enough, just the way they are 💛💛

New research by the Dove Self-Esteem Project found that social media is harming the mental health of 3 in 5 kids. Join us, along with Common Sense Media and ...

08/04/2023

I am loving the fact that Eastenders are now doing a storyline about the harm undiagnosed neurodiverse conditions can cause for kids at school, as well as the damage that can be done by teachers having limited understanding of how ASD/ADHD can present. Diagnosis isn't for everyone, but the difference I've seen it have on both adolescent and adult lives, has been life changing.

If you are interested in this subject, keep an eye out for a link I'm going to post, to an article I wrote about recognising undiagnosed neurodiversity in psychotherapy :)

20/03/2023

💯