Founders
Jan Banks
Julia Bird
MSc Gestalt Psychotherapy GPTI; BEd (Hons); Cert and Dip in Counselling; UKCP registered.
Julia is a founding director of Thrive whose passion is understanding how training teachers in emotional development impacts on the behaviour and learning of children and young people. A former teacher, LEA and OFSTED inspector, her experience includes working with LEAs and schools to help them understand how children develop emotionally and socially. She has supported adults in schools and other organisations using Thrive, to trial the materials and to amend them based on information gained directly from users.
Julia was also a psychotherapist who worked with adults, children and young people, and is the co-author of ‘Promoting the Emotional Health and Well-being in Secure Units’ and ‘Promoting Emotional and Social Development in Schools’, as well as the co- creator of various resources addressing emotional health, inclusion, behaviour and the curriculum.
Lynne Gerlach
M.Sc. Integrative Psychotherapy; Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy (Metanoia); Integrative Psychotherapy; B.Ed (Hons); MBACP; Accredited team member for OFSTED Inspection of schools.
Lynne has been trained by Cruse in bereavement counselling, by the Terrence Higgins Trust in counselling for HIV/AIDS and by BACUP for counselling for cancer. She was a teacher, advisor and LEA inspector in education; a UK ‘expert’ on citizenship to the Council of Europe and a consultant evaluator for DfEE projects on truancy and disaffection. Lynne has been a consultant associate of the International School Effectiveness and Improvement Centre (ISEIC) Institute of Education, University of London and the Centre for Education Leadership and School Improvement (CELSI). She is a partner in Sowelu Associates and co-director of the UK’s first MA degree in ‘Emotional Literacy for Children’. She was co-director of the MA Integrative Psychotherapy at the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE) from 2007-2009 and also contributes to the training of child pyschotherapists.
Lynne has published a number of articles and contributed to books on topics including the promotion of emotional and social development in schools, human rights education, anti-racist/anti- discriminatory practice and working with marginalised and disenfranchised groups.
Roe Lovelock
BA (Hons); CQSW; AASW; APT; MA Social Work Education and Training.
Roe tutors and practice teaches social work students who are studying for their Diploma in Social Work at Brunel, Kingston and Royal Holloway Universities. In conjunction with Jan Banks, as ‘Consultants in Social Work’, she has developed courses for parents of adopted children and foster carers that consider ways of helping traumatised and troubled children at home and in school. Roe has also developed other courses and provided training focused on issues such as loss and bereavement, therapeutic approaches to challenging behaviours and counselling across a range of client groups.
Case studies
While it is important to understand the model behind The Thrive Approach, what really matters is the impact that it can have in practice for the development of an individual child or young person.
View case studiesNext steps
If you would like to discuss more about Thrive and what opportunities are currently available in your area, please click the link below or call the Thrive team direct on +64 (0) 21450985.
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