Can therapy affect my fostering assessment?

Therapy is considered as part of your wider health and personal history, rather than as a standalone pass-or-fail factor in fostering. Having counselling or psychological support on your record does not decide the outcome by itself. The assessment team will consider the information relevant to your ability to undertake fostering safely and reliably, alongside the rest of your application.

As part of the assessment, you may be asked about:

• the type of support you received and what led you to seek it;
• whether the therapy is ongoing, completed or being considered again;
• how you apply what you learned in everyday life;
• your current routines, relationships and responsibilities;
• how you respond to stress, uncertainty, conflict and emotionally difficult situations; and
• any continuing support or adjustments that may help you maintain your wellbeing.

This is not intended to judge you for seeking help. In many situations, engaging with therapy shows that a person can recognise when they need support, reflect on their experiences and take appropriate steps to manage difficulties. Those qualities can be relevant to fostering, where carers need to think carefully about their own responses and seek advice when a child’s needs are complex.

There are circumstances in which therapy may lead to further questions or affect the timing of a decision. For example, the assessing professionals may need more information if treatment is very recent, a significant difficulty is unresolved, your circumstances are changing, or there is uncertainty about how you would manage the demands of caring for a child. This does not necessarily mean that your application will be refused. It may mean that the assessment needs to explore the matter in greater depth or that a decision is postponed until there is a clearer understanding of your circumstances.

A health assessment is normally an important part of the fostering process. You will be expected to provide accurate information about relevant medical and mental health history. With your permission, the fostering service may seek information from your GP or another appropriate health professional. The purpose is to establish whether there are health considerations that could affect fostering and whether any support or safeguards should be taken into account. A therapist’s view may be relevant in some cases, but the exact information requested will depend on the circumstances and the professionals involved.

Your therapist is not usually the person who decides whether you can foster. The fostering assessment is completed by the assessing team, with health advice considered alongside interviews, references, checks, training and other evidence gathered during the application. A therapist may explain your engagement with treatment or provide relevant clinical information, but they should only share information in line with the appropriate consent and professional requirements.

It is important not to leave therapy out of an application simply because you are concerned it may be misunderstood. Failing to disclose relevant information can create difficulties if it emerges later and may affect confidence in the assessment. You do not need to present your history in a particular way or claim that everything has been straightforward. Give a clear account of what happened, what support you received, what has changed and what support you use now.

You can prepare by:

• making a timeline of any significant therapy, counselling or mental health support;
• checking what information your GP or therapist can provide, subject to your consent;
• considering how you would protect your own wellbeing while caring for a child;
• thinking about who you would contact if fostering became stressful; and
• raising any concern about the assessment process with your assessing social worker.

If you are currently receiving therapy, continuing with appropriate support is not automatically a problem. Stopping treatment solely to appear more suitable could be unhelpful and may remove a useful source of stability. Discuss your plans with your therapist and be open with the fostering service about any ongoing support. The relevant issue is whether your circumstances are sufficiently understood and whether you can meet the practical, emotional and safeguarding responsibilities involved in fostering.

There is no single outcome for everyone who has had therapy. Decisions are individual and depend on the information available, the nature and impact of the issues involved, and the overall evidence about your readiness to foster. If you are unsure what to disclose or how your history may be viewed, ask for guidance before submitting your application rather than trying to assess the significance of therapy on your own.