QbCheck ADHD Assessments Now Available (Adults and Children)
About Us
ABC Children's Therapy
Amanda Budden created ABC after recognising many of the teenagers she'd been working with may not have had the mental health struggles they were facing if they'd received professional support earlier. We rarely forget difficulties in childhood and this can result in increasing problems if we don't receive help. Many of us, even as adults can remember adverse childhood experiences such as school-related trauma, bullying, abuse, bereavement etc, and recognise how they continue to effect us. Sometimes we spend our lifetimes in therapy trying to repair trauma. ABC currently consists of two practising counsellors/psychotherapists and a SEN Advocate. We specialise in working with children and young people from the ages 4-25 years.
Meet the Therapists
Amanda Budden
Amanda Budden is a qualified, APA accredited Psychotherapist, Children's Counsellor, Child/Parent Attachment Play Therapist, Aware Parenting Trainer, Brainspotting, and certified Autplay provider with over 4000 therapy hours of experience of working with neurodivergent children and young people.
For the last 6 years Amanda has developed specific expertise in working with neurodivergent children. Being neurodivergent herself, gives greater depth and understanding of difference. For example, gaming is often a regular part of the therapy.
She's integratively trained, which means whatever therapy model she works with, is underpinned with non-judgement, empathy and unconditional positive regard for my clients, and the most important aspect of her work is a solid, therapeutic relationship.
As an accredited, registered member of APA Amanda works in accordance with their Ethical Framework (a commitment to clients to work to professional standards and build ethical relationships). A mandatory part of this framework is that all therapists are supervised by a Senior Accredited Psychotherapist , which means (that while a client's personal details are never revealed) she has regular access to another opinion if needed. She is insured and has a current DBS Certificate.
Amanda's education is at HND level, in addition to holding certification for both ADOS-2 (Autism Assessments) and QbCheck (ADHD Assessments).
On a more personal level she is a neurodivergent (diagnosed ADHD) wife and a mum to a 10 year old, ADHD'er. She is also potty about animals, Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox and Star Wars - and is a self-confessed geek.
ellie smith
Ellie is a qualified Counsellor (FdSc) and has 10 years of experience advocating for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) . She IPSEA trained and is able to help with ensuring your children have the support they need in-school, as well as when applying for Educational Health Care Plans (EHCP).
Part of Ellie's job is to check draft EHCPs, attends Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings and EHCP tribunals, and handle the day-to-day paperwork and admin surrounding things like annual reviews, attendance difficulties, inadequate provisions and anything to do with the SEN process. She also has the advantage of being familiar with many of the specialist provisions in Somerset and the LA Inclusion Team. Although she has advocated for families all over the UK. (Please note that this is a support service and not intended to replace qualified legal advice).
Ellie is insured, holds a current DBS Certificate and is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She works in accordance with their ethical framework and is passionate about supporting children with SEN.
On a personal note, Ellie is neurodivergent and a Mum of two. One of her children is autistic (with a PDA profile),
leah small
Leah is a qualified counsellor/psychotherapist (BSc. Hons) and holds a diploma in counselling children and young people . As a mother of three neurodivergent children she is passionate about working with and supporting families similar to her own.
Working in a child-led/centred way means the client is always in-charge of their sessions and Leah uses an integrative approach so that she can be flexible with the interventions she uses . This means she is able to help even the most resistant child to engage with the therapy process by joining in with their interests - whether it's Sand, Arts and Crafts, Minecraft or Barbie!
Leah is insured and holds a current DBS certificate for working with children and young people. She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and is committed to continuous professional development in line with the ethical requirements of her profession. She also receives regular supervision and guidance from a senior accredited therapist, this is an ethical requirement according to her membership, and she constantly strives to do the best for every client that she works with.
On a more intimate level, Leah is a single mum to 25-year-old son who has a diagnosis of ADHD and 16-year-old son who has a diagnosis of Autism and PDA, and 13-year-old daughter who is currently going through assessment for ADD and Autism. This has given her a huge amount of lived experience with neurodiversity, and the ability to be genuinely empathic with parents who may be struggling with their child's challenging behaviour. Leah enjoys reading, baking, family game nights and retail therapy!!!
