ABOUT CHILDREN HEARD

We are two child counselling psychologists, living in the UK and Norway, who share a passion for promoting children's voices - for ensuring they have plenty of opportunities for having their ideas, feelings and experiences genuinely heard - at home, at school, and at a wider societal level. We initially created Children Heard at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, to provide a space for children to share their views and experiences and to campaign for the importance of hearing what they have to say.

We believe that promoting children's ideas and perspectives during significant events such as the pandemic is not only important for children's well-being but is also important for society as a whole when living through a time of crisis and making important decisions in moving forward.

Longer term, we have many ideas for providing innovative and creative platforms for children to share their views about important events and situations. We are particularly passionate about promoting the voices of children under 12. We have noticed that this is an age group that is often 'left out' in terms of participation work and research, yet undoubtedly their thoughts, feelings and experiences can meaningfully contribute to the world around them.

We are really keen to work in partnership with children and families to build on our ideas and create tools for listening to children. If your family would be interested in this, we would love to hear from you so please get in touch.

With best wishes,

Dr. May Lene Karlsen (Norway) and Dr. Gail Sinitsky (UK)

Dr. May Lene Karlsen, Counselling & Community Psychologist, Norway

May completed her doctorate in Counselling Psychology in 2010 and now works as a community psychologist in Norway. She has worked with children and families in different roles and has realised that many of the difficulties children face must be solved in the community rather than by children and families alone. She believes that society is suffering from a shortage of children’s voices – something special happens to decision-making processes when children are offered a seat around the table.

In addition to the therapeutic work more typically associated with psychologists, May has worked as a university lecturer, supervisor, clinical lead and service developer. Given some free time, she loves going to the café, alone or with others, to enjoy the buzz of community life over a delicious cup of cappuccino.

Dr. Gail Sinitsky, Counselling Psychologist, UK

Gail is passionate about promoting children's mental health and social-emotional well-being. Having completed her Doctorate in Counselling Psychology in 2011, she has since been providing therapy to children and families in schools and in NHS CAMHS clinics. She has also recently launched a social enterprise, Young & Mighty, providing workshops and tools to strengthen children's mental health.

Gail takes an overarching systemic, narrative and relational approach to her work, and is committed to working in partnership with children. It is important to her that children's voices are heard and promoted, in their relationships and in society as a whole.