For many years now I have been thinking about the usefulness of having an app on the phones of parents and carers of children I am working with, which reminds them of important aspects of maintaining a therapeutic environment in the home. With the rapid advancement in technologies in recent years, I have been able to develop an app that does just what I have long wished for.

The “AURA by Secure Start” app offers gentle reminders during the day about four key aspects of caregiving that I have observed to have a therapeutic impact on children and young people who are overcoming adversity and/or recovering from a tough start to life.

The four caregiving behaviours are represented in the acronym, AURA:

• Accessibility
• Understanding
• Responsiveness
• Atunement

AURA is a useful acronym, as ‘aura’ itself is a term that describes the distinctive atmosphere or quality of a person or place, which is felt by others. In the AURA framework used in this app, we are targeting the maintenance of a therapeutic environment which is felt by children and young people.

Users record on the app whether they have covered each caregiving behaviour, and a daily rating. Users can input for multiple children and can also make notes each day. Users can access 7-day and 30-day trends. All data is stored on the users device and cannot be accessed by others unless the user chooses to export the data (eg for work with a support worker or therapist). The data can be deleted by the user at any times.

You can download the app for free here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aura-by-secure-start/id6758535562

I am working on a version for android phones. You can also expect versions for leaders and supervisors, classroom teachers, and couples who are seeking to enrich their relationship.

At this time, the AURA by Secure Start is anticipated to be of most use to parents, foster carers, kinship carers, residential child care workers, disability support workers, and therapists who work with these caregiving adult and the children in their care. It is currently free to download and will always be free to individuals and organisations who work with me.