NEWS & EVENTS
Why Relationships Matter in Therapeutic Residential Care
For children who have experienced trauma, instability or disrupted relationships, feeling safe with the adults around them can take time.
In therapeutic residential care, positive relationships are not simply an added benefit – they are often central to helping children feel secure, understood and supported.
Research suggests relationship-based and trauma-informed approaches can help create healing environments for children with complex needs. Research from Social Care Wales highlights the importance of therapeutic and relationship-led approaches in supporting children living in residential care.
At Wilderness Way, we believe that meaningful relationships help children feel seen, heard and valued. Through consistency, trust and genuine care, children can begin to develop confidence, resilience and healthier ways of relating to others.
What Is Therapeutic Residential Care?
Therapeutic residential care is a model of care designed around understanding children’s emotional experiences, relationships and behaviour through a trauma-informed lens.
Rather than focusing solely on behaviour management, therapeutic residential care aims to understand what may sit underneath behaviours and how supportive relationships can help children feel safe enough to heal and grow. Understanding what makes therapeutic care homes different can help explain how these environments are designed to support children through relationship-based and trauma-informed care.
Evidence reviewed by Social Care Wales suggests that therapeutic residential care can help promote healing environments for children with complex needs, regardless of the specific therapeutic model being used.
Across the UK, many therapeutic residential care approaches share common principles including:
- relationship-based practice
- emotional safety
- attachment-informed support
- consistency and routine
- trauma-informed care
A wider UK review of children’s residential care models by Cordis Bright also identified relationship-building, skilled staff teams and therapeutic environments as common themes associated with positive outcomes for children and young people.
Why Relationships Matter in Residential Childcare
Many children entering residential childcare have experienced significant disruption in their lives. This can affect how safe they feel around adults and how they respond to support.
Relationship-based care recognises that trust is often built gradually through consistent, everyday interactions.
Simple moments – sharing meals, celebrating achievements, spending time outdoors, or simply being present during difficult moments – can all contribute to helping children feel safer and more supported.
Research from the University of Birmingham highlighted the importance of “holding relationships”, where professionals build trust through reliability, emotional consistency and meaningful day-to-day support.
For many children, these relationships can become an important foundation for emotional growth and stability.
Looking Beyond Behaviour
Children who have experienced trauma do not always communicate distress directly.
Trauma-informed practice encourages adults to look beyond behaviour and consider the experiences, emotions and unmet needs that may sit underneath it.
Therapeutic residential care approaches are designed to help adults better understand behaviours in context and respond calmly, consistently and supportively.
Research suggests that trauma-informed and relationship-based approaches may help children feel understood rather than judged, while supporting emotional regulation and resilience over time. Findings from Cordis Bright’s review of children’s residential care models support the importance of therapeutic and relationship-led environments within residential childcare.
The Importance of Stability and Consistency
Consistency is particularly important for children who may have experienced unpredictability or repeated placement disruption.
Stable routines, trusted adults, and clear boundaries can help create emotional safety and reduce anxiety.
A recent study published by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) highlighted the importance of stable, therapeutic environments for children with complex experiences and unmet needs.
While every child’s journey is different, stability and continuity remain central to therapeutic residential care.
Creating Positive Experiences and Opportunities
Relationships are often strengthened through shared experiences.
Outdoor activities, learning new skills, celebrating milestones and spending positive time together can help children develop confidence, resilience and trust while building healthy relationships with peers and adults.
At Wilderness Way, outdoor learning forms an important part of helping children build self-belief, teamwork and emotional confidence within supportive and nurturing environments.
The Long-Term Importance of Relationship-Based Care
Positive relationships can have a lasting impact on a child’s future.
Research into children’s residential care increasingly highlights the importance of therapeutic, trauma-informed and relationship-led environments in supporting positive experiences and emotional wellbeing for children with complex needs. Evidence summaries published by Social Care Wales reinforce the importance of safe and supportive care environments.
When children experience safe and supportive relationships, they may be better able to:
- build emotional resilience
- improve engagement with education
- develop self-confidence
- form healthier relationships
- develop positive coping strategies
While no single approach is right for every child, relationship-based therapeutic residential care can help provide children with the stability, understanding and support needed to move forward positively.
Sources and Further Reading
Cordis Bright (2018) Models of Children’s Residential Care. Available at: Cordis Bright – Models of Children’s Residential Care
Ferguson, H., Warwick, L., Disney, T. et al. (2020) ‘Relationship-based practice and the creation of therapeutic change in long-term work: social work as a holding relationship’, Social Work Education. Available at: University of Birmingham Research
Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) (2024) The Care Trajectories and Nature of Care Received by Children Aged 5–11 Who Are in Need of Therapeutic Residential Care. Available at:SCRA Research Report
Social Care Wales (2024) Supporting Positive Outcomes in Children’s Residential Care: An Evidence Summary. Available at: Social Care Wales Evidence Summary