Luke has an MA in Educational Psychotherapy from the Caspari Foundation and is a qualified Educational Psychotherapist (UKCP reg.). The principle focus of his career to date has been to use the attachment framework to develop therapeutic practices and thinking in schools, to support the school community at large to overcome emotional barriers, build a sense of belonging and connection and help foster confidence in the value of the individual’s own voice to make positive change.

He has worked as an Educational Psychotherapist and Therapist in both primary and secondary phases, in mainstream and alternative education, seeing pupils in both 1.1 and group settings.

Luke first began working in school over fifteen years ago, initially as a Teaching Assistant and then Learning Mentor and now as a psychodynamic therapist.

Luke is a primary school governor with a lead in Mental Health. He has also developed a specialism in reflective practice, helping staff to deepen their consideration around their work in schools, to better understand both their pupils and their own response to the work environment. This work is attachment aware and trauma responsive. He has worked to build staff confidence in supporting mental health by increasing resilience and personal self-reflection.

He runs reflective groups for housing staff supporting vulnerable young people. He has also led therapeutic groups with young people in primary and secondary schools, notably as facilitator and trainer of a three year art and story-based therapy project.

Luke is a trained supervisor of therapists. His recent lectures to trainees at the Caspari Foundation have been on the safe practice of online therapy, the use of metaphor in therapy and in supporting young people to reflect on the emotions behind their learning experience.

Luke’s approach to all his work is underpinned by an understanding of the primacy of relationship in emotional development and of the pivotal role of attunement, intersubjectivity and containment in growing confidence through fostering innate resources of intuition, authenticity and inner wisdom. Luke has extensive experience in empowering young people to form more secure, trusting, emotionally understanding and authentic relationships, to themselves as individuals, to their families and friends and to the community at large. Similarly, he has also provided reflective supportive spaces for parents and carers. He believes in the power of relationship and is aware that relationship is the necessary vehicle for adaption and recovery from relational trauma and loss.

Luke has much experience of working alongside those who have experienced attachment disruptions through adverse childhood experiences and other relational traumas and losses. He uses PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) as a way of being and is a valued member of both the Therapy and Education teams here at TouchBase. He currently offers Seguridad and dyadic developmental practice in therapeutic parenting (DDP) here at TouchBase. If you would like to work with Luke please contact info@touchbase.org.uk