About Us

Steve Layzell – Founder

After many years of working with children & families Steve found the most important aspect of emotional development & positive change came from within the relationships between us. This inspired Steve to find therapy models, which both suited him and which could enhance the work he was undertaking. Shifting his routes of a ‘Freud’ model he was attracted to attachment interactive (relationship) models of Theraplay Therapy© (interactive play therapy) & Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) where kindness, compassion, openness, curiosity empathy & acceptance are the ethos of their approach. It’s Steve’s belief they are the core components in developing secure attachments & healthy minds.

The work Steve wanted to develop was with the ‘true self’ behind the many defences of a protector self or adapted self – a care system many traumatised children & adults who have been abused, neglected, abandoned or misunderstood develop to prevent themselves becoming emotionally overwhelmed and feeling unbearable pain. Over the years Steve could see children & adults compromise their lives lost within their ‘false selves’, the false selves most people around them responded too. Theraplay Theraplay Therapy© & DDP are the underpinning models of Family Affect where we aim to help traumatised children, adults’, older adults and learning disabilities and or autism gain a coherent personal narrative and learn new ways of living with their traumas and pain.

Steve would like to sincerely thank Phyllis Booth & the staff at the Theraplay institute & Dan Hughes founder of DDP in developing models based on attachment theory which enable the team and Steve at Family Affect use to help children & families develop secure attachments & gain the ability to live creative, authentic & fulfilled lives.

Our Mission, Vision and Values

We aim to bring brightness & joy to all people’s lives. 

We are a family run business who are dedicated to enhance and support family life, mental health and emotional wellbeing. It’s our belief everyone should live an authentic life and be able to thrive, and we are here to reduce and guide the recovery of deliberating effects caused by trauma, anxiety, stress, depression and harmful habits. We are registered with OFSTED and proud to be recognised as an outstanding provider of adoption support services.

We have our own model called CAKKE which is an approach used throughout all our interventions of Compassion, Attunement, Kindness, Knowing, Engagement. This is inspired by Dan Hughes PLACE model which principles run through the delivery of our services. We believe there is a PLACE for CAKKE to offer hope and support for peoples healing.

Our Team

We have over 79 years of experience between our 4 practitioners. We are fully qualified in the services we deliver individually and as a team. We are registered under our professional bodies and meet the necessary requirements each year to continue our practices. 

Steve Layzell
Director and Therapeutic Practitioner

Steve is Director of Family Affect Ltd, Social Worker, Certified Theraplay Therapist, Accredited Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) Practitioner, Schema Therapist & Mindful Interbeing Mirror Therapist.  He was the first male and one of two people in the UK to be initially qualified in both attachment- focused therapies of Theraplay & DDP & remains the only therapist to also be qualified in Mindful Interbeing Mirror Therapy (MIMT) and long side Theraplay and DDP.

Steve has many years of working with children & adults who have experienced trauma in their lives since 1995. He has been specialising in Adoption, Fostering, SGO families & Autism for 30 years as a practitioner, consultant & trainer. Steve continues to attend training in research based innovative interventions to ensure he & the team at Family Affect are always up to date building upon their knowledge & skills 

Steve is continuing his studies of developing the healing of the body & mind to ensure he & the team can offer the most up to date research- based interventions to help children, adults & families gain the ability to live creative, authentic & fulfilled lives.

Tom Layzell
Manager and Therapeutic Practitioner

Tom is a qualified specialist BA (Hons) Social Worker registered with Social Work England, is a therapist and psychotherapist. Tom has worked with children and families for over 18 years specializing in Child Protection, Fostering, Adoption and SGO support and Autism. 

For the past 10 years Tom has been a certified Theraplay Therapy Practitioner and has completed his level 1 and 2 in DDP and foundational level in Family Therapy. Tom has also become a MIMT Therapist, a new and exciting psychotherapy currently being researched at Birmingham University and is a Sports Massage Therapist.

Tom is interested and a keen developer of healing trauma of the body and mind and continues to find innovative approaches to link them together through his interventions. Tom is finding ways to link Sports Massage within his psychotherapy as an integrated treatment model. Tom has a passion for sport and is a Trustee of a local football team, a football coach and is one of their child development officers for grass root football and the clubs Mental Health officer. 

Liz Pickford
Therapeutic Practitioner

Liz is a qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist, registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Liz has over 25 years’ experience working with children and families, specializing in looked after children and adoptive families both pre and post placement, providing Therapeutic Parenting and Adult Attachment work. Liz is trained in Humanistic Person-Centred modality which assists her very well supporting in all trauma related challenges.

For 17 years Liz has served as CEO of a charity supporting 11 primary schools, leading commissioning services for vulnerable children and families. In addition to these, Liz is a qualified Restorative Justice Facilitator and Community Mediator working on behalf of the Essex Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner to support restorative practices within the community. Furthermore, Liz provides clinical supervision and care oversight for therapeutic work. Liz is a keen advocator to achieve positive outcomes for children and adults she works with.

Alex Dare
Therapeutic Practitioner

Alex is a qualified social worker (Social Work England) and a BACP registered Integrative Therapist with over 15 years of experience in NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health settings. Specializing in attachment-based therapy, Alex adopts a trauma-informed approach, helping individuals and families develop secure and healthy attachment styles that support emotional attunement and foster improved relationships for long-term well-being.

Having worked across both child and adult settings, Alex has also developed and led specialist pathways within NHS services, focusing on neurodevelopmental issues, Looked After Children (LAC), complex trauma, and multifaceted mental health presentations. Her integrative training allows her to draw from a range of modalities, including CBT, DBT, and psychodynamic approaches.

As an experienced clinical supervisor, Alex offers supervision to clinicians and social work professionals. Her comprehensive, empathetic approach ensures that every client receives the care and support needed to thrive.

Ruth Layzell
Director, Financial coordinator and administrator

Ruth has extensive experience within administration and facilities management, initially working at Essex University Library and Receptionist and auditor in a Bupa nursing home. Ruth has a City and Guilds qualification in administration. 

Ruth has always had a keen interest supporting vulnerable children and adults and was employed as a residential care worker before taking a career break to have her own family. Ruth later continued her passion for supporting the vulnerable by becoming a therapeutic foster carer for 12 years before joining Steve on their venture of building Family Affect Ltd. Ruth is also a Parochial Church Councilor, Trustee of the Sarah Gull Trust Fund Coordinator of a foodbank from a St. Michael’s Church.