Supporting your child through PawSteps.
You don't need to be a therapist — you just need to be you.
PawSteps is a gentle workbook that walks your child through their therapy journey, one small "paw step" at a time. It helps them understand what therapy involves, build calming tools, work through difficult experiences with their therapist, and get back to the life they want.
Your role isn't to deliver therapy — it's to be a warm, steady presence: to take an interest, help them use their tools at home, and keep things safe. That support matters enormously, and this companion shows you how to give it without pressure.
Looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions are linked, and gently builds more helpful patterns — like untangling a knot.
Helps the brain file away frightening memories properly, using gentle side-to-side movements that copy what the brain naturally does during REM sleep.
Works through a hard memory in three careful stages so it feels like the past, not the present — always done with the therapist.
A personal collection of soothing things, one for each sense, that your child can reach for in a hard moment.
Simple, warm words help more than perfect ones. You won't always get it right, and that's completely okay.
Help them gather real objects for their box — a photo, a favourite mint, a fidget, something soft, a familiar scent. Keep it somewhere easy to reach so it's ready in a hard moment.
Learn their grounding techniques so you can gently prompt them — "shall we do 5-4-3-2-1?" — or simply breathe along with them.
Model it yourself. Using calming tools openly, in front of them, makes those tools normal and safe to use.
Hard days will come — they don't undo progress. On a wobbly day, your calm is the most powerful tool in the room.
Lower your voice, slow down, breathe. Feelings settle in the presence of a steady adult before words help.
"I can see this is really hard" comes before problem-solving. Feeling understood is what makes the next step possible.
The workbook has a setback plan and a safety plan they've made. Follow their own words — they know what has helped before.
If you are ever worried your child is not safe, act straight away. Trust your instincts and reach out — it is always the right thing to do.
Supporting a child through hard times is tiring, and you matter too — you can't pour from an empty cup.
Parenting feeds are full of quizzes, “plans” and apps that pressure you into paying — often by making an ordinary child sound like a problem. This short guide shows the eight tricks they use, with a quick game to practise spotting them.
PawSteps is a self-help resource to sit alongside professional therapeutic support. It does not replace assessment, diagnosis or treatment by a qualified practitioner, and it is not a crisis service.
Clinical content should be reviewed and adapted by a suitably qualified professional before use with a young person. Guidance on outcome measures and statutory processes reflects general information at the time of writing and should be verified against current sources and local policy.