Emerging Minds Podcast

In this episode, we talk with Nicola Palfrey about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); what they are and how they can be of use to practitioners who work with children and families. Nicola is a clinical psychologist and researcher who has worked extensively with children, adolescents and adults who have experienced significant adversity and trauma. She is responsible for leading the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health's approach to trauma, grief and loss along with its impacts on child mental health. In this episode you will learn: Why could it be useful for a practitioner to know about ACEs? (04:33) How to have sensitive conversations about ACEs (08:40) Settings where ACEs screening is most beneficial (11:30) How ACEs fit with other explanatory frameworks (19:26) Further information and resources: Felitti and Anda's original article on the ACE study An introduction to the Biopsychosocial Model

In this episode, we talk with David Tully about engaging men who use violence and its role in supporting children's social and emotional wellbeing. David has worked in the area of domestic violence and childhood sexual assault for over 20 years and is currently Practice Manager for the Specialised Family Violence Services at Relationships Australia SA. In this episode you will learn: The role of support services for men who use violence (07:54) The importance of engaging fathers for child social and emotional wellbeing (04:25) How to keep the needs of children visible in work with men who use violence (14:54) Can men who use violence change? (26:13) Further information and resources The Impact of FDV on the Child: An Introduction e-learning course

In this episode, Dan Moss introduces us to six practice positions that can help practitioners to build positive working relationships with parents and create a foundation of safety to explore child social and emotional wellbeing. Dan worked as a practitioner and manager at Uniting Communities for more than 15 years and is currently the Workforce Development Manager at Emerging Minds. In this episode you will learn: Child aware and parent sensitive practice as a foundation for supporting wellbeing (06:39) Importance of exploring the child’s ecology (8:49) How busy practitioners can use the practice positions (12:46) What helps practitioners feel confident discussing child social and emotional wellbeing (16:55) Further information and resources: Children of Parents with a Mental Illness Six Practice Positions Engaging Parents - an Introduction Supporting Children's Resilience in General Practice

One program manager’s journey to create culturally authentic support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

In this episode, we speak with Dr Sara Whitburn about the role of GPs in promoting children's resilience and mental health. Sara is a GP and lactation consultant in private practice in Melbourne who has a strong interest in women's and children’s health and the early years of parenting. We discuss the unique opportunity that GPs have to support child mental health and ways of bringing the conversation into the consulting room. Key learnings: - Using the continuity of general practice to support children and families (02:39) - Resources for GPs and families to support child social and emotional wellbeing (04:57) - Questions to open up a conversation about family functioning and child mental health (09:15) - Overcoming the barriers in general practice to support child mental health (14:30) Further information and resources: Supporting Children's Resilience in General Practice e-learning course Raising Children Network Australian Breastfeeding Association iCOPE perinatal screening tool

In this episode, we speak with Dr Nick Kowalenko, a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Sydney. Nick has been practicing as a psychiatrist for more than 25 years and is President of the Tresillian Family Care Services Council as well as Deputy Chair of Emerging Minds. We talk infant and child mental health; what it looks like when things are going well and when things are not going so well; and the importance of the early years In this episode you will learn: What is infant mental health? (06:10) What places infant’s mental health at risk? (11:59) How to start conversations about child mental health with parents who are facing adversity (18:08) What specialist mental health services are available to infants and children? (24:49) Further information and resources: Let's Talk About Children Zero to Three website Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Early Childhood Australia Raising Children Network Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health

Learn ways of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families that create genuine engagement and lead to culturally safe services.

In this episode, we speak with Sarah Seekamp about the importance of play for child social and emotional wellbeing. Sarah is an occupational therapist and has spent much of her career working in primary health care settings. Her work has had a strong focus on supporting parents to play with their children in ways that encourage healthy growth and development. In this episode you will learn: Why child-led play is necessary for healthy development (03:04) How parents can support child-led play (05:49) How practitioners can use play to support parent-child relationships (12:57) Why parents can find it hard to let children lead (17:32) Further information and resources: Practice paper: Parent-child play: A mental health promotion strategy for all children

Welcome to the Emerging Minds podcast series. Join us each fortnight as we speak with a wide range of practitioners - from GPs to social workers to psychiatrists - on a variety of topics related to children’s mental health.

In this episode, we sit down with the Director of the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health, Brad Morgan, to discuss why supporting the mental health of children under 12 years is so important. Tune in to learn why the mental health of children often flies under the radar and the approach that the National Workforce Centre is taking to support practitioners and other professionals to strengthen children's mental health.

In this episode, we talk to Kate Brady, a Churchill Fellow and National Recovery Advisor at Australian Red Cross, about what happens in a community during and after a traumatic event. She discusses the difference between natural disasters and community traumas, what communities might experience, and how families, communities, and first responders can all respond to and support children in their recovery. In this episode you will learn: What characterises a community trauma (01:05) What families and communities might experience (11:18) How to support families and children in affected communities (15:30) Further information and resources: A guide for first responders: Supporting children immediately following a disaster Community Trauma Toolkit

In this episode we talk to Dr Briony Towers, a research fellow in the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University, about the benefits of involving children in disaster preparedness, as well as some of the myths and misconceptions that children hold about disasters and bushfires in particular. In this episode you will learn: The survive and thrive program for primary schools (10:39) Children's involvement in their own preparedness (18:27) Further information and resources: How Educators can prepare their students for a natural disaster How parents and caregivers can prepare for a natural disaster Community Trauma Toolkit

In this episode we talk to Michelle Roberts, a psychologist and expert in the areas of child and adolescent trauma, loss and grief, and children's disaster recovery. She has decades of experience as an educator and psychologist supporting school communities, and discusses with us the ongoing psychosocial needs of children following a disaster or community trauma and how schools and families can work together to help prioritise and support children's needs. In this episode you will learn: why it is important to consider the needs of children after a disaster (00:43) how children experience trauma differently to adults (2:14) the main impacts of disaster on children (03:58) the impacts of trauma on parenting and how to support parents (07:46) Further information and resources: Trauma sensitive behaviour management How educators can support children in the short term following a disaster or community trauma Community Trauma Toolkit