Colchester therapist opens new psychotherapy sensory room at North Hill site

A THERAPIST has opened a new psychotherapy sensory room in Colchester.

Colchester Children’s Counselling, number 60 on North Hill, has been running for a year and a half.

Essex University graduate Amanda Hitchin, 36, focuses on making counselling accessible to young people.

Her psychotherapy sensory room offers slightly adapted toys, such as a hurricane tube, a calm bubble tube, and padded floor mats.

She said the room has various arts and crafts materials, allowing the space to be a "sensory exploration" but "creative and calming at the same time".

Sensory- The new psychotherapy sensory room is designed with young people with sensory needs in mind. (Image: Amanda Hitchin)

Amanda worked within the education sector for 16 years before she used the pandemic as an opportunity to go back to university.

She said: “I saw so many young people really slip through the net when it came to mental health.

“There just seemed to be a real gap at the time, with so many young people being excluded and not knowing where to turn.

“Behaviour and mental health quite often overlap.

“I just felt like I wanted to know more, and I was very passionate about helping young people who were deprived.”

Amanda graduated from Essex University the week she opened the doors to her practice.

She quickly moved from one room to two, which she turned into a relaxed waiting area for the parents so they could be on site.

Relax- Amanda's rooms are comfortable, with a waiting room for the parents so the children know they are close by. (Image: Amanda Hitchin)

“The children can feel safe knowing they’re close by, but it gives them some privacy and time to themselves too,” she said.

In the first few months, she was nominated at the Colchester Business Awards.

She was also headhunted by the Transforming Autism Project, and now works with the charity and sees a couple of clients a week, alongside running her practice.

She said: “It allows me to build and strengthen the skills these young people have, sometimes the really positive aspects of autism.

“It’s something I’m very passionate about.”