Augmenting Therapy

Therapeutic support for neurodivergent young people experiencing anxiety and barriers to education

About Augmenting Therapy

Helping young people thrive

We run therapeutic group programmes designed for neurodivergent young people experiencing anxiety and barriers to education

We offer:

*Minecraft therapeutic groups

Using Minecraft as a therapeutic tool to build connection, confidence and emotional regulation in a world young people already know and trust.

Creative therapeutic groups

Using art, storytelling, animation and creative tools to help reduce stress and anxiety. Themes include Being Me, Feeling Safe, Being Friends

Skills-based groups

These include teaching game and app design skills. Certificates are given.

Parent/Carer Support groups

Free fortnightly in-person sessions for parents and carers of anxious and neurodivergent young people. No diagnosis required.

How it works

Our support starts with a consultation to discuss the young person and the issues they face. We also like to focus on their strengths and what they enjoy.

We then meet with each young person in a 1-1 setting with a safe adult to find out about them.

We create a bespoke programme with a minimum of 6 weekly sessions based on their needs. We aim to help them meet like-minded others, reduce anxieties and increase a feeling of connection.

Our specialist counsellors deliver the sessions.

Commissioned, self-funded, IDP, and EOTAS-funded places are available.

"We don't want the sessions to end." Young person, age 15

Email to find out more

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Our Support Groups

Many of the young people we support find traditional therapeutic methods difficult to engage with. Whether that's due to trauma, being neurodivergent, or high levels of anxiety, there can be times when talk or play can feel overwhelming.

In stretched services, those young people are labelled as difficult to engage, or miss a session and lose their space. This is a process we think unfairly discriminates against our marginalised clients.

So we decided to do something about it!

We started running co-production workshops in partnership with Hawthorn High School, YEPS Youth Service and a group of young people (and their carers) who had been outside education for a year. We developed a 10-week programme that resulted in a 25% increase in attendance for every young person within the first 6 weeks.

Many young people told us they wanted new ways to engage with therapy, and with funding from

Media Cymru, we were able to explore exactly how we could make that happen. This included building an Augmented reality app, which featured on the BBC, which you can read about here.

And so Augmenting Therapy CIC was born.

We blend art, animation, *Minecraft, and our own augmented reality app with skills-based sessions tailored to young people's interests.

We aim to help reduce anxieties and increase connection.

We believe parents/carers are the experts, and they need support too! That's why we run a free fortnightly group for parents and carers of neurodivergent young people. We do not require a diagnosis for you to attend.

In the last twelve months, we have been funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, featured on the BBC and have worked with Llamau, Platfform, Llanishen High School, Cardiff West Community High School and Cardiff Youth Service.

*Not an official Minecraft product. Not approved by or associated with Mojang or Microsoft.