Meet Sarah

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Welcome to Liminal Space Psychology Service

In this initial space, before you explore the website, I invite you to take some time to breathe and connect with the present moment. In our busy lives we sometimes forget to take, even a few minutes to just stop and be...this is that space.
Enjoy.

To be in a liminal space means to be on the precipice of something new but not quite there yet.

This can be an uncertain space to be in, but also a space of growth, change and opportunity.

It can be a shared space of meaning making and collaboration - which is what Liminal Space Psychology Service hopes to provide.

Dr Sarah Sivers

Liminal Space Psychology Service

I (Dr Sarah Sivers) set up Liminal Space Psychology Service in May 2022 to offer therapeutic, trauma-informed and attachment focused wellbeing support for children and young people, their families and the professionals that work alongside them.

I am Child, Community and Educational Psychologist and registered with the Health Care Practitioners Council; I am also a chartered member of the British Psychological Society.

I am an accredited Video Interaction Guidance practitioner and I am training as a Therapeutic Play Practitioner. My work is informed by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches and I am guided by the values of Connection, Curiosity and Authenticity.

I am the co-creator (alongside Dr Nicole Schnackenberg) of the EP Reach-Out webinar series, which hosts a wide range of webinars with a focus on wellbeing, psychology and trauma-informed, attachment aware approaches. This website is the main platform for finding out about and registering for upcoming webinars and has links to the EP Reach-Out YouTube channel and other resources connected with the webinars we have hosted. Please visit the EP Reach-Out page.

I have had the pleasure of engaging in research, with colleagues from across the UK, to explore children and young people's views of Covid-19 and life in general. Listening to and working with children and young people is vitally important to ensuring the right resources and support is planned and developed for and with them. You can read about the ongoing Pupil Views research and the other wonderful projects I am involved in by visiting the Other Exciting Projects page.

I have also had the pleasure of contributing co-written chapters to two fantastic books - Children in Lockdown (2022) and Square Pegs (2023). I have also co-written two journal articles about the work I have been involved with.

I am currently planning and developing additional ways we can collaborate and work together - please explore the Coming soon: Ways we can collaborate page for more information. The first project to be piloted will be Wellbeing Retreat Days for teaching staff, pilot days in May and July 2023. Please scroll down to find out more.

Please enjoy exploring my website and connect with me on twitter or via liminal.psych@gmail.com to find out more about my projects and that of my wonderful colleagues.

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It has been a real pleasure to work alongside the Square Peg Team and contribute a chapter (co-written with Dr Maddi Popoola) to their fantastic book

Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in - guide for schools

"This book brings different perspectives and expertise together in one place, Square Pegs aims to help school leaders and staff support children (and their families) more effectively. The authors cover a wide variety of topics – including school attendance, building relationships, trauma-informed practice, and behaviour management. Featuring contributions from more than 50 individual authors, this is an accessible, dip-in, dip-out book – perfect for busy school leaders."

Our chapter Maslow, Relationships and Square Pegs, explores the importance of belonging, safety, emotional wellbeing and opportunity to school systems.

We continue to work with Square Peg & other colleagues to reduce barriers to attendance and explore innovation in education.

Square Peg book launch February 2023

Wellbeing Retreat Days for Teaching Staff

Dr Nicole Schnackenberg and I have developed and now piloted Wellbeing Retreat Days for teaching staff. We had such a joyous time welcoming Teaching staff to Labyrinth House over 2 days in May and July 2023. The feedback has been incredible and we look forward to offering more of these Wellbeing Retreat Days in the 2023-2024 academic year.

The Wellbeing Retreat Day project has been developed as a result of our interactions with teaching staff and awareness of the challenges (and joys) the role can bring. There has been concerning research outlining the way teaching staff are experiencing increased levels of stress and anxiety as a result of their work (Savill-Smith & Scanlan, 2022) and we feel it is important to find ways to address this. We believe that when the mental health of teaching staff is supported, this has a positive impact on the wellbeing of the pupils they work with (Glazzard and Rose, 2019).

Our Wellbeing Retreat Days are evidence-informed and draw on the ‘Six Ways to Wellbeing’ (Aked & Thompson, 2011; Basarkod et al. 2019). We incorporate our own training and interests, in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approaches, embodied therapeutic approaches (Yoga and mindfulness) and reflective practice, to offer psychological based and practical ways to promote wellbeing. There is also an exclusive online resources folder that can be accessed after the sessions and which will have new resources added regularly.

The aim of the Wellbeing Retreat Day is to offer a space for reflection, relaxation, connection and collaboration and the feedback we have received suggests we achieved this with the first 2 days. We are very grateful to those that helped us pilot this project .

Please register interest to join future Wellbeing Retreat Days via this form Wellbeing Retreat Day Form

Wellbeing Retreat Day Feedback

"It was a pleasure to share time with you both. It was a lovely day, and I cannot wait to put the activities into practice."

"I appreciated...Being in a place where everyone else has come from a similar background and we were able to learn from each other through the activities that were put in place."

"Venue was lovely, calm and relaxing."

"I felt welcomed and felt very comfortable."

"I enjoyed the content of the course and learning new skills,"

"It was informative and yet we all had lots of opportunities to contribute...Everyone seemed like-minded, which allowed me to feel relaxed and respected in what I had to say"

"The whole day was run smoothly and it was a great pleasure to take part."

Liminal Space