Spiral Creative Arts Therapies is a Glasgow‑based therapeutic service supporting children and young people in kinship care who have experienced trauma, loss, instability, and disrupted attachments.

Between 2023 and 2026, Spiral delivered a sustained programme of trauma‑informed, arts‑based therapeutic support across local community and school settings. Over this period, 78 children and young people accessed therapeutic support through a combination of one‑to‑one arts therapy and group‑based programmes. Supported by:

Children referred to Spiral often face significant emotional and relational challenges, including anxiety, bereavement, emotional dysregulation, school disengagement, and difficulty expressing feelings verbally. Many live in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation and have limited access to long‑term specialist support.

Spiral’s creative therapeutic approach provides an accessible and emotionally safe pathway for children who may struggle with conventional talking therapies. Through artmaking, play, movement, music and symbolic exploration, young people are supported to regulate emotions, express experiences safely, and rebuild trust in relationships.

Across the three‑year period, Spiral delivered over 1,700 therapeutic sessions, supporting improvements in:

• emotional regulation and stability

• communication and emotional expression

• confidence and self‑esteem

• school engagement and relationships with trusted adults

• peer interaction and community participation

  
  

Feedback from young people, carers, schools and therapists consistently highlights Spiral as a safe, calming and reliable source of emotional support. Many carers and schools reported improved emotional coping, increased school attendance, and stronger relationships at home and in education settings.

Demand for Spiral’s service remained high throughout the programme, with referrals consistently exceeding available capacity. This reflects both the scale of need among children in kinship care and the trust placed in Spiral by families, schools and partner organisations.

Following the completion of this three‑year programme, Spiral Creative Arts Therapies has successfully secured a further three years of funding (2026–2029) from our funders.

This continued investment reflects confidence in the quality, impact and importance of Spiral’s arts‑based therapeutic support for children and young people in kinship care. It will enable Spiral to maintain continuity of support, respond to growing demand, and continue delivering safe, relationship‑centred therapeutic work across Glasgow.

Then underneath:

A full three‑year evaluation, including detailed outcome data and organisational learning, is available on request for funders and strategic partners.