Child therapist Kate Silverton talks to Psychologies about her second act, seeking out the joy, and the importance of self-regulation when making space for big emotions
In the tumultuous wake of the 2020 pandemic, a wave of introspection swept across the globe, prompting countless individuals to reevaluate their paths in life. This transformative period birthed what has been coined ‘the great resignation’, a phenomenon where droves of people bid farewell to their conventional roles, seeking, instead, a deeper resonance with their true passions. Among them is Kate Silverton, a familiar face from the BBC news, who found herself at a crossroads, and decided to step away from her journalism career, embarking on a journey towards becoming a child therapist. But this wasn’t merely a response to the pandemic’s disruptions; rather, it was a choice deeply rooted in the profound shift that occurred when she became a mother. ‘You don’t get a handbook when you become a parent, and you’re left wondering, “Should it be this hard? Or are we doing something wrong?”’ says Silverton.
The former newsreader has been volunteering for a number of years with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, and Place2Be, a children and young people’s mental health charity: ‘I had access to all these amazing psychiatrists, neuroscientists and psychotherapists,’ she explains, ‘so when I was asking them the questions
I wanted to know as a parent – discovering that children’s brains don’t stop developing until their 20s, and that it’s the nervous system that actually directs behaviour – it was a lightbulb moment for me. I became really passionate about sharing this generosity of information.’ It was this that led to her first book, There’s No Such Thing As ‘Naughty’ (Little, Brown, £16.99). ‘If I learn something that’s really helpful, why wouldn’t I pass that on?’
While Silverton wasn’t venturing into this new territory entirely unprepared — having earned a BSc in Psychology from the University of Durham — she felt a profound calling to not just discuss theories, but to embody them: ‘If I was going to talk the talk, I needed to learn to walk the walk – not just as a parent, but as a child therapist,’ she says.
According to Silverton, her guiding principle has always been ‘What will bring me joy right now?’
‘To be honest, news wasn’t bringing me joy throughout that period of time, and I was questioning a lot of the policies that weren’t being interrogated as rigorously as they might have been journalistically, in terms of the impact I was seeing the pandemic having on children. I wanted to be in a position where I was helping more.’
Now, at 54, it’s a mindset that Silverton wants to impart to others: ��
