Watch Intro Video

Discover our model for decoding difficult behaviour

And work out how and where to introduce change - no more arguments or uncertainty!

Buy £25.00

Feedback from parents on our courses

Feedback on Crack the Code

Parent of 4 year old

Very interesting and engaging. Welcoming and approachable style. I loved the film clips, they were excellent, really resonated.

I think that live sessions are really beneficial as it helps people commit to the sessions and gradually put in place their new tools for resilience and survival.

Feedback on Crack the Code

Carmen Pagnor, mother of 6 year old

Well paced, non judgemental and practical.

Iceberg is really easy to understand and picture.

Feedback on Crack the Code

Mother of teenage girls

Inspiring, enlightening and engaging.

The iceberg was brilliant. One the one hand it did make the behaviour seem huge and overwhelming but it also did justice to the hidden depths of behaviour.

Feedback on training with team of therapeutic carers working with children with trauma and attachment difficulties

Therapeutic Carer

It has been helpful to understand my own triggers, have group discussions and active learning, recapping on known knowledge and learning how different parts of the brain work.

The amount of examples is helpful as this allows me to remember and understand.

Every session has been pitched well and I have remembered so much more than previous trainings. Many of the exercises will be useful. Thank you for allowing our stories too!

Feedback from Pocket Family Psychologist family sessions with Dr Andrea Shortland

Parent of teenager

Thank you for everything you did for us both.

I was really struggling to know what to do to help, it was heartbreaking to watch her sink into such a terrifying place but you calmly managed to pick her up and let her see the way out of the depths that she was in.

I am used to coping with what life throws at me but I was completely unable to see a way to help her and terrified about what could happen. You are brilliant at your job, I will always be very grateful to you.

She is much better now and improving all the time, there have been moments when I have suggested that she may want to see you but they are infrequent now. She has done really well and is happy and her teachers predict that she will get good grades at her GCSEs.

Feedback from Pocket Family Psychologist family work with Dr Andrea Shortland

Parent of toddlers

We were able to gain the skills and confidence we wanted and needed to strengthen our family. Of course, your practical advice and ability to decipher the children’s behaviours and providing us with strategies for managing all our trigger points meant that every session was valuable and practical too. Now, our children are thriving at this stage of their little lives because we have taken the time we needed to understand, accept and develop to be the best parents we can.

Reviews

What people who have taken Crack the Code have to say

5 star rating

Inspiring, enlightening, challenging.

Anoushka Giltsoff

I did enjoy this course. I felt you were really good at making me, the parent feel your empathy and understanding. You made me feel heard. An important lear...

Read More

I did enjoy this course. I felt you were really good at making me, the parent feel your empathy and understanding. You made me feel heard. An important learning experience!

Read Less
5 star rating

Really helpful

carmen pagnor

Well paced, non judgmental and practical. Being split into chapters for a replay is helpful to revisit the content

Well paced, non judgmental and practical. Being split into chapters for a replay is helpful to revisit the content

Read Less
4 star rating

Interesting

Samantha Essex

It was very easy to follow. Not preachy

It was very easy to follow. Not preachy

Read Less

A self-paced masterclass (series of mini-presentations) for parents, carers and teachers

This is for you if you have ever:

  • Felt helpless to stop your child's difficult behaviours

  • Got stuck in good-cop-bad-cop with your partner or teacher

  • Thought: I sound exactly like my mother/father

  • Found yourself in groundhog day, repeating the same battles over and over again

  • Felt fed up with nagging and shouting all the time

  • Worried you are making a problem worse

Connect with your child without the struggle

Decoding your child's behaviour means:

  • getting in underneath the behaviour to understand it properly

  • your child feels understood, relaxed and confident

  • you feel confident and back in the driving seat of your family

  • bedtimes, mealtimes, teaching and funtimes reclaimed

Parent/Teacher Masterclass

1.5 masterclass (broken into series of mini-presentations) with clinical psychologist

We present our model to understand behaviours and share our favourite and proven tools, techniques and strategies for change.

Watch our mini-presentations in your own time (within 40 days of purchase).

Get a discount code to book a family consultation with a psychologist after the course if needed.

Get a copy of our manual and quick reference guide to keep.

Book your place

Bonus material

We want to make sure you have all you need to crack the code for years to come

  • Manual

    Download our Crack the Code manual and workbook. This contains our model and hints and tips to ensure you have what you need to manage difficult behaviour for years to come.

  • Tools and strategies

    You will learn about practical strategies that you can take away and use straight away with your child.

  • Family consultation discount

    Get 20% off a family consultation with a psychologist - this will cover the cost of Crack the Code (and then some)!

Your Clinical Psychologists - Dr Louisa Stokou & Dr Andrea Shortland

Our programmes are designed and facilitated by our highly experienced Clinical Psychologists Chartered by the British Psychological Society and registered with the HCPC

Clinical Psychologist

Louisa Stokou

Dr Louisa Stokou has worked extensively with children, teenagers and parents in the NHS, Social Care, private practice and for the Family Courts. Louisa brings a high level of expertise to her parenting work. She is trained in attachment-based parenting interventions and parenting programmes including Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), Theraplay, The Incredible Years and mentalisation-based family interventions. Louisa's compassionate, playful and friendly but straightforward approach to her work quickly puts children and parents at ease.

Clinical Psychologist

Andrea Shortland

Dr Andrea Shortland is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist chartered with the British Psychological Society and registered with the Health & Care Professions Council. Andrea has worked with children and families for over 20 years and also supervises and trains other psychologists and therapists. She has worked with the media and was an onscreen psychologist for 'WifeSwap the Aftermath'.

Andrea is known for her innovative thinking and compassionate, friendly and fun approach to therapy. Andrea specialises in the assessment and treatment of trauma, anxiety and attachment difficulties in children, adults and families. She combines latest approaches such as ACT and Compassion Focused Therapy with EMDR, CBT, attachment therapies and systemic approaches.

Crack the Code: Managing difficult child behaviour

We are all about bringing the latest psychological ideas and treatments to families in a way that is engaging, accessible and affordable. We want everyday families to be able to easily access high quality psychological support to prevent things becoming more serious. Our programme is:

  • Based on research from developmental child psychology, neuropsychology and latest evidenced-based therapeutic interventions

  • Gives you the knowledge and understanding you need to manage difficult behaviours

  • Gives you the tools and strategies to manage difficult behaviours

  • Fun and engaging - we like to keep a little humour even when discussing serious problems

  • Cost effective, giving you the help when you need it

  • Works in partnership with your expertise and skills as a parent

FAQ

  • What age should my child be for this masterclass to be helpful?

    Any age really from toddler upwards. We will highlight where you should adapt a strategy or idea according to child developmental stage. Please note, this a parent course and not suitable for children to complete.

  • Is this class live?

    No. It is pre-recorded from a previous live masterclass. We have broken that class into smaller mini-presentations to make it easier to digest.

  • What type of difficult behaviours does the masterclass address?

    Anything and everything; our framework can be applied to pretty much any difficult behaviour. Common behaviours include: hitting out or throwing things; bedtime struggles; being cheeky or disrespectful; refusing to do something; tantrums; and new habits and rituals such as skin picking or doing things in a particular order/manner.

  • Is this therapy?

    Our programmes include topics, explanations/education, strategies and exercises typically used in our psychological therapy sessions. However, they do not provide the individual attention, assessment and support of a personal therapist and therefore cannot be considered therapy.

  • Are there circumstances in which you would not recommend completing this programme?

    Yes, if your concerns are severe or your child is at risk of harm we recommend you seek the advice of your GP and/or a personalised assessment and intervention from a qualified child psychotherapist, psychologist or mental health worker.

  • Could I complete this programme at the same time as my child having therapy?

    Absolutely. We first thought about creating this and our other programmes to help families waiting to start or just beginning psychological therapy.

Does your child need help with their emotions?

Try our 6 session fun programme for 7-12 year olds struggling with anger, anxiety and sadness

  • £199.00

    £199.00Taming your Lion: Managing big emotions - a 6 week programme

    Parents, teacher and children have all told us how much they love the graphics, exercises and videos - we keep children interested and engaged!
    Buy Now