This Is My Place: Why Belonging Matters More Than Ever for Children and Young People’s Mental Health
- The Centre for Creative Therapeutic Practice
- Feb 9
- 4 min read
Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 invites us to reflect on a powerful theme: “This Is My Place.” At its heart, this theme encapsulates something deeply human; the need to belong, to feel held in mind, and to know there is a space where you are safe, seen and valued.
For children and young people, place is never just physical. It is relational. It is emotional. It is the felt sense that I matter here. When this sense of belonging is absent or disrupted, children and young people’s mental health is placed at risk.
At the core of our work is a heartfelt belief: No child should have to wait for support.
Belonging as a Protective Factor
Decades of research and everyday practice show us that relational safety is one of the strongest protective factors for children and young people’s mental health. When children and young people experience consistency, attunement and trust in their relationships, their nervous systems can settle. From this place of safety, they are better able to explore, learn, regulate emotions and begin to make sense of difficult experiences.
A sense of “place” may be found in a classroom corner, a nurture room, a pastoral space, a residential setting or in the presence of a trusted adult who takes time to listen. What matters most is not the label of the space, but the quality of the relationships within it. When children and young people feel they belong, anxiety can reduce, emotional expression becomes possible, behaviour can be understood as communication rather than crisis, and the foundations for healing and growth can begin to form.
A Crisis That Is Worsening Year on Year
Despite growing awareness of the importance of belonging and relational safety, children and young people’s mental health issues continue to rise year on year. Across schools, health services and care settings, professionals are witnessing rising levels of anxiety, emotional distress and self-harm, alongside increasing neurodivergent need that is often unmet. Waiting lists for specialist services continue to lengthen, while those working closest to children and young people are stretched beyond capacity.
For too many children and young people, support arrives far too late, or not at all. When distress is already being communicated through behaviour, emotions and relationships, long waits for support are not neutral experiences. They can deepen difficulties and reinforce a sense of being unseen or unsupported. Early intervention is no longer optional. No child should have to wait for support when they need it most.
Call to Action- We Need New and Innovative Solutions
The current system alone cannot meet the scale or urgency of need. While specialist therapeutic services remain essential, they are often inaccessible at the point when children and young people first begin to struggle. This means we must think differently about how support is delivered, and where it is located.
We need innovative, ethical and sustainable solutions that build therapeutic capacity within children and young people’s everyday environments. Solutions that equip existing staff with creative, relational tools, offer early, preventative Tier 2 support, and reduce reliance on overstretched external services. Most importantly, these approaches allow children and young people to receive support within the places where they already experience a sense of safety and belonging.
Building Therapeutic Support Where Children and Young People Already Belong
This belief sits at the heart of our CPCAB Level 6 Diploma in Creative Therapeutic Practice with Children & Young People because:
Not every setting can employ an art therapist.
Not every practitioner can commit to or afford MA-level training.
And no child should have to wait for support because of systemic barriers.
Our robust two-year, CPCAB-accredited diploma offers a realistic, high-quality pathway for professionals already working closely with children and young people to deliver timely, creative therapeutic support from within their own teams.
The training follows a hybrid structure, with the first year delivered fully online and the second year combining online learning with a placement supported by expert clinical supervision, included in course fees. Our course is designed for a range of professionals including: learning support assistants, counsellors, teachers, residential care staff.
By building therapeutic capacity within schools, nurseries, charities and residential settings, this diploma helps ensure children and young people can access support without being removed from their place of belonging. As applications open for the March 2026 cohort, we invite organisations and practitioners to consider how they can be part of a meaningful response to the children and young people’s mental health crisis — one that recognises urgency, values belonging, and holds firmly to the principle that no child should have to wait for support.
Find out more about the CPCAB Level 6 Diploma in Creative Therapeutic Practice for Children & Young People
or pop in to our open evening on February 11th from 6-7 - email hello@tcctp.org for joining instructions.
Every child and young person deserves to be able to say, with confidence and safety:
“This is my place, and I belong here.”
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