Fresh Start recognises that some children/young people requiring Residential Care need thorough assessments to determine the cause/contributing factors of behaviours that make it difficult to place them. We, therefore, provide a Therapeutic Team including Psychologists and a Psychiatrist who can complete comprehensive assessments, in order to assist in identifying the most appropriate placements and treatment for children/young people entering Residential Care with Fresh Start. Following assessments, this service may be utilised to provide treatment/therapy in the short and long term. This may be direct work with young people or indirect work to support a staff team to assist with providing care and support to a child/young person.
Fresh Start is also able to provide more specific clinical supports such as Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Psychotherapists, if required.
Fresh Start recognises that working with children and young people in Residential Care can be traumatic and/or stressful at times. We, therefore, also provide a confidential Debriefing Service to all staff who feel they may benefit from it, following an incident or series of events that they find distressing or difficult to cope with. We are happy to discuss providing this service externally if desired. All Clinical Work is overseen by Dr Ben Charnaud, Consultant Psychiatrist and Christine Riggs, Clinical Coordinator.
Dr Ben Charnaud, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, MB., BSc., BCh., MRCPsych
Dr Ben Charnaud, qualified in 1972, has been a Consultant Psychiatrist for over 40 years. He has worked as a general Adult Psychiatrist, Rehabilitation Psychiatrist, Substance Misuse Psychiatrist, and in Psychotherapy. He has Specialist experience in all four categories. He has also trained as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and has worked in this field for the last 30 years, as well as in the field of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Dr Ben is on the Specialist Register in the UK for General Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, as well as the Specialist Register for the Republic of Ireland.
He has worked in Ireland over the last 10 years specialising in working with young people in residential settings and supporting and working with staff in developing therapeutic strategies to manage these settings. He works closely with staff teams in a group setting in order to achieve this and also works with the young people as appropriate.
He has a special interest in group work and in particular working with staff groups. In the UK he also provides support and treatment for Healthcare Professionals both GPs and specialists. He also provides interventions for Practices and organisations using a family therapy based model.
His background is in Psychiatry but also in Psychotherapy with a special interest in Attachment and early trauma, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, and he works as a Therapist as well as a Supervisor in these fields.
