0:10 TESSA Pathways is a project aimed at adoptive families
0:13 and we look to increase their knowledge of early trauma
0:16 and how that impacts on their children's ability
0:18 to form relationships within the family.
0:21 So the project started back in 2019
0:25 and we were aiming to fill a gap
0:28 that adoptive parents felt that they had
0:30 and which was not enough information
0:32 being given at an early stage in the adoptive placement
0:35 about how difficult some challenges that they face can be.
0:38 The main benefit of the project is
0:40 that parents have a deeper understanding
0:42 of what might be going on for their children
0:44 and so they can respond to them in a different way
0:47 and they feel empowered to do that,
0:48 and they feel empowered to talk to other professionals
0:50 about what their children need to help them feel safe and healthy.
0:54 I'm proud of every adoptive family that comes to the project.
0:57 It's not an easy thing to reach out and say
0:59 that you're struggling and feel that you can’t cope in your family home.
1:02 And I'm also incredibly proud of every single member of staff
1:05 that works on the project.
1:07 They are dedicated and they are committed.
1:10 Before we were working with the TESSA Pathways programme
1:14 our little boy found it really difficult to go to school,
1:17 so it's likely that we would be a family
1:19 where we had a child who was refusing to go to school,
1:23 who was quite aggressive and very anxious
1:27 and we would be nowhere near as happy
1:30 a family as we are now.
1:32 It's a fantastic project.
1:34 It's like a big, warm, fluffy blanket of support that surrounds you.
1:38 And I would say to any adoptive parent out there,
1:42 don't hesitate to engage with the project.