About the Institute

The Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy (IiST) is the home of clinical training within Childhood First. IiST brings together Childhood First’s long history of therapeutic care with academically rigorous and professionally accredited training. Our learning is rooted in the everyday life of our therapeutic communities and school, where relationships, shared experiences and thoughtful reflection create opportunities for children and young people to begin recovering from severe relational trauma.

Through Integrated Systemic Therapy (iST), we help practitioners look beneath behaviour and remain curious about what children may be communicating through their relationships, emotional responses and ways of engaging with the world. This understanding supports adults to respond with greater empathy, consistency and care.

Our training brings together theoretical learning, experiential learning and supervised practice. Because the training takes place within the living and learning environment, practitioners can connect new ideas directly with their experiences alongside children, families, colleagues and wider professional networks.

IiST is an integral part of Childhood First while also holding a distinct professional role as a training and research institute. This enables us to support the development of Childhood First employees and contribute to the wider fields of child psychotherapeutic counselling, psychotherapy and therapeutic care.

iST Institute objectives:

  1. To promote greater understanding of the impact of relational trauma on children and young people and to advocate for the thoughtful, compassionate and developmentally informed support they need.
  2. To provide high-quality psychotherapeutic education and training that equips practitioners to work therapeutically with children, young people, families and the wider systems surrounding them.
  3. To promote and undertake research into Integrated Systemic Therapy and other relational and psychotherapeutic approaches, strengthening the evidence base for work with children and young people who have experienced trauma.
  4. To continually develop and evaluate Integrated Systemic Therapy, ensuring that the model remains responsive to children’s lived experiences, informed by research and connected to the realities of therapeutic practice.

iST Institute History

  • Childhood First has more than 100 years of experience caring for children and young people. Throughout our history, we have continued to develop our understanding of how relationships and therapeutic environments can support recovery from trauma.
  • The Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy was established to provide a professional home for the clinical learning, research and therapeutic practice developed within Childhood First.
  • Since 1998, our psychotherapeutic training programmes have been accredited by Middlesex University. Our work-based pathway enables employees to progress from their introduction to iST through to advanced postgraduate and professional training.
  • IiST is a UKCP Organisational Member through the College for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapies. Our professional pathways enable eligible trainees to work towards accreditation and UKCP registration as Child Psychotherapeutic Counsellors and Child Psychotherapists.
  • The Institute continues to develop alongside Childhood First’s therapeutic communities and school. Learning from children, families and practitioners informs the continuing development of the iST model, while research and professional standards help strengthen the care we provide.

Academic and Clinical Accreditation

Our courses are academically accredited by Middlesex University, enabling successful students to gain recognised university credits alongside their professional training.

The Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy is a UKCP Organisational Member through the College for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapies (CCAP). 

Eligible trainees who successfully complete all requirements may apply for IiST accreditation and UKCP registration as a Child Psychotherapeutic Counsellor or Child Psychotherapist.