Therapy has its own vocabulary. This short glossary explains the words and abbreviations you may hear from our team, in schools or in reports.
Key terms
- Attachment — the emotional bond between a child and their main caregivers, which shapes how safe and secure a child feels.
- Trauma — the lasting emotional impact of frightening, overwhelming or repeated distressing experiences.
- EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, a structured therapy that helps the brain process distressing memories; recommended by NICE for PTSD.
- Play therapy — a therapeutic approach that uses play as a child's natural way to communicate and heal.
- PACE — Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy; an attitude that helps adults connect with children who have experienced trauma.
- Therapeutic parenting — a nurturing, structured parenting style designed to build trust and security in children affected by trauma.
- SGO — Special Guardianship Order, a legal arrangement giving a carer (often a relative) parental responsibility for a child.
- FASD — Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, a range of difficulties caused by alcohol exposure before birth.
- DSL — Designated Safeguarding Lead, the person responsible for safeguarding in a setting.
- Regulation — a child's ability to manage their emotions, energy and behaviour.
- Co-regulation — a calm adult helping a child settle their feelings through connection and presence.
- Window of tolerance — the zone in which a person can cope and think clearly; outside it they may become overwhelmed or shut down.
- Dysregulation — being outside the window of tolerance, when feelings feel too big to manage.
- Safeguarding — the actions taken to protect children from harm.
- Integrative counselling — talking therapy that blends several approaches to suit the individual.
- Supervision — regular reflective sessions that support the wellbeing and practice of those working with children.
- CYP — Children and Young People.
- Resilience — the capacity to adapt and recover from difficulty.
Next step: explore the therapies we offer, or email hello@origamiwings.org.