Tried, Tested, Trusted
Below are organisations and individuals that members of First Do No Harm have used, or been supported by, either for themselves or their loved ones. Some also include a written testimony from FDNH members.
This page will be continually updated with new organisations and support services that are endorsed by FDNH members; if you have any organisations that you've used for support, and found them helpful, please get in touch.
Education & EHCPs
Send Family Instincts provide a range of support and services for all things EHCP and SEND. Their services include free resources, advocacy and low-cost memberships that give you access to EHCP draft templates, checks and email support to help you to navigate the SEND system and ensure that you, or your loved one, have access to an education that accommodates need.
‘Send Family Instincts have helped myself and my family in a number of ways. They are a lovely bunch of people who love what they do, and are much more affordable than solicitors and advocacy services!’ - FDNH member.
NFIS initially started out as a response to increasing awareness that difficulties arising in educational settings are inherent to the unmet needs of individuals within society, including trauma, bullying, mental health and neurodivergence. They provide a breadth of resources, support, and research for all things education, including advice on navigating the educational framework and services in place intended to provide the adjustments and support you or your child needs to access suitable education.
Jodie Smitten is a consultant and autism specialist who provides a range of support for families and children, including support sessions for parents, advocacy for autistic children and consultancy with schools. She also partners with other autistic-led organisations to provide workshops and courses for all to attend. By utilising her professional and lived experience, she aims to debunk the prevailing stereotypes of autistic individuals in the hopes that we can all be understood, supported, and accepted.
MindJam provide emotional support and guidance for children and adolescents through gaming and game design, with emphasis on low-demand, positive interactions and play with experienced and trained mentors on a one-to-one basis. Their provision can also be funded by Local Authorities as part of a young person’s EHCP. MindJam also offer counselling for parents of loved ones with complex needs, with the aim of enabling parents to look after their own mental health to be the best support for their loved ones.
‘MindJam have been vital in bringing my brother back into the world. Before MindJam, my brother was in complete burnout and out of formal education for almost 2 years. Their philosophy meant my brother is given time and a safe space to talk and process with a mentor that was just for him and, most importantly, do it whilst he is gaming! It is truly wonderful to hear him talking and laughing during his sessions, and now outside of them too.’ - FDNH member.
Therapy, Trauma Services and Support
Carolyn Spring provides training, resources, and signposting for anyone affected by or working with trauma. From a combined lived-experience and professional perspective, Carolyn seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of trauma and, most importantly, how we can recover from trauma in a society that seeks to pathologise suffering.
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‘Carolyn’s work has been utterly invaluable and has guided me through many sleepless nights racked with hopelessness and despair. She seeks to help others understand the complex impact of trauma, and why the narrative of ‘I am mad’ that is so often suggested within mental health services must be fundamentally rewritten to ‘I am just trying to survive’. Carolyn has been crucial in my untangling of a life that has been marinated in trauma. Her resources and training are for anyone; professionals, survivors or loved ones and, above all, it is human.’ - Seph, FDNH member.
Reads
Eliza Fricker is a mother, advocator, and author who poignantly illustrates navigating the education system and wider systems with a child who seemingly doesn’t ‘fit’.
Through the Glass Doors is an illustrated collaborative project, co-authored by 16 ex-patients who both witnessed and endured the reality of systemic failings, abuse and malpractice in hospitals owned by Huntercombe/Active Care Group.
**Content warning: Through the Glass Doors depicts experiences of abuse, neglect, physical and sexual assault.