Emerging Minds

In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Damien Riggs, a professor in psychology at Flinders University and a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender young people. In this conversation, Damien talks about gender-affirming practice. He shares how practitioners in general health and social services can use their skills to work with children and young people in gender-affirming ways that support their mental health and wellbeing. He also explores how practitioners can seek learning opportunities to increase their knowledge and confidence in working with gender diverse children and young people.

In this episode, we’re joined by Arianne, a parent of six children between the ages of 8 and 22. Arianne is a strong advocate for her transgender child and the wider transgender community. In this conversation, Arianne shares her family’s experience of supporting their daughter through coming out and transitioning, navigating services, and what practitioners can do to provide gender-affirming support in their practice.

In this podcast episode, we hear from Dr Lyn O’Grady, a community psychologist, and David Newman, a narrative therapist and social worker, as they share their insights on recognising and responding to self-harming behaviour with children.

In this episode, narrative therapist and social worker David Newman shares his approach to working with children and young people who are experiencing suicidal ideation. Through the lens of narrative therapy, David discusses how he negotiates conversations about distress, despair and suicide.

In the second part of this two-episode series, we continue our conversation with Lyndsay Healy, Dr Rickie Elliot and Dr Louise Wightman about collaboration with families and clear communication between professions to promote children’s mental health in the early years.

In the first part of this two-episode series, Lyndsay Healy, Dr Rickie Elliot and Dr Louise Wightman join us to explore how collaboration with families and clear communication between professions promotes children’s mental health in the early years.

In this episode, practitioners and parents of autistic and ADHDer children explore ways to build children’s self-regulation and advocacy skills, foster acceptance of their neurodivergent identity, and uncover the ‘why’ behind their behaviour.

In this episode, practitioners and parents of autistic and ADHDer children explore the concept of ‘neurodivergent-affirming practice’: what it means to them, how it shows up in their work, and how it supports both children’s and parents’ mental health and wellbeing.

All children deserve to have safe environments where they can thrive. But when a child’s trust is broken and their environment no longer feels safe, this it can have significant ramifications for the child’s life and development. In this podcast episode we talk with Dan Moss, who has a long history of working in support services with children who have experienced trauma. Dan helps us understand what relational trauma is and how it can affect the mental health and wellbeing of the children in our lives.

In this episode, Miranda Bain describes her involvement in developing the Victorian Charter of Rights for parents with intellectual disability. Miranda is a special advisor to the Office of the CEO for Courts Victoria and the Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee. She discusses her journey in working with child protection, non-government organisations and parents with intellectual disability to develop the charter of rights, which is now implemented within courts in Victoria.