Emerging Minds Podcast

For the past five years, Emerging Minds has worked in partnership with Flinders University’s Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) to develop a range of resources for health and social services workers. This includes a series of practice papers which support child-focused practices where children and families face disadvantage, trauma or adversity.

In episode two of this two-part series, Professor Sarah Wendt and the SWIRLS team describe child-focused approaches to working with children and families affected by family violence and trauma. They describe the specialist knowledge about trauma that all practitioners should hold, so they can help children and families to maintain safety and wellbeing.

For the past five years, Emerging Minds has worked in partnership with Flinders University’s Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) to develop a range of resources for health and social services workers. This includes a series of practice papers which support child-focused practices where children and families face disadvantage, trauma or adversity. In episode one of this two-part series, you will hear from Professor Sarah Wendt, Director of SWIRLS, and her team including Dr Kate Seymour, Kirsty Lowe and Nicola Trenorden. They describe their structural approach to child-focused practice and how they work to support emerging practitioners to engage with families facing complex problems.

In this re-release episode, Dr Priscilla Dunk-West joins the series again to discuss what separation and divorce look like when it goes well for children.

This re-release episode provides an insight into what culturally competent practice with children and families looks like from the perspective of Mthobeli Ncganga, a practitioner who works with families from migrant and refugee communities with experiences of torture and trauma.

Lou Turner is a proud Anangu father with Pitjantjatjara connections to Docker River and Mutitjulu communities. In this episode, Lou shares his journey of ‘walking in two worlds’, and the hopes and challenges he faces as an Aboriginal father in contemporary Australia. He provides insights into his experience as a descendant of the Stolen Generation and shares the hopes that he has for his children and community.

This conversation will help to develop your understandings of and ability to connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fathers in your work.

Emerging Minds has recently launched the 'Supporting the mental health of children with higher weight' online training course. In this episode, Bec Edser speaks with child and family partner Annie Crowe, a proud Autistic ADHD-er who is a strong advocate for body diversity and neurodivergent inclusion. They discuss Annie’s own lived experience of childhood higher weight and neurodivergence, along with the expertise she has gained through her advocacy work in this space.

The Looking Back 2020 project invited six young people (aged 20–27) with lived experience of adversity to share an inspiring story about their childhood. The result is a series of powerful short videos, conceived by each young person and produced with the help of artistic mentors and filmmakers.

Largely taking place online during the Melbourne lockdown in 2020, the process was co-facilitated by artists Sylvie Meltzer and Melinda Hetzel for Artist Made Productions and Emerging Minds. It followed on from the first Looking Back project in 2019, which invited four young people to share what they wish practitioners had known or understood about their experiences of childhood adversity.

The Looking Back videos were created for children and young people who may be experiencing struggles or worries in their lives. They’re designed to be shared by health professionals who work with families and children. These stories aim to give ideas, inspiration and hope to children and young people experiencing adversity.

In part two of this series, four of the six young participants discuss the process of developing the Looking Back videos and what they hope they will achieve. In part one, artists Melinda Hetzel and Sylvie Meltzer reflect on what it was like to facilitate the creative process.

how the young people managed both the creative process and the challenges of sharing their own personal story [11:07]

what it was like for the young people co-creating a video with professional film makers [19:52]

what the young people would now want to tell their inner child about their experiences [22:22]

the young people’s hopes for the children watching these videos [23:18]

Young people and adversity: The Looking Back project - part two (podcast)

Looking Back series (videos)

The Looking Back 2020 project invited six young people (aged 20–27) with lived experience of adversity to share an inspiring story about their childhood. The result is a series of powerful short videos, conceived by each young person and produced with the help of artistic mentors and filmmakers.

Largely taking place online during the Melbourne lockdown in 2020, the process was co-facilitated by artists Sylvie Meltzer and Melinda Hetzel for Artist Made Productions and Emerging Minds. It followed on from the first Looking Back project in 2019, which invited four young people to share what they wish practitioners had known or understood about their experiences of childhood adversity.

The Looking Back videos were created for children and young people who may be experiencing struggles or worries in their lives. They’re designed to be shared by health professionals who work with families and children. These stories aim to give ideas, inspiration and hope to other children and young people experiencing adversity.

In this episode, artists Melinda Hetzel and Sylvie Meltzer reflect on the experience of facilitating this process with the young people. In part two of this series, four of the six young participants discuss the process of developing the Looking Back videos and what they hope they will achieve.

why the creative process is a great way to explore deeply personal experiences [03:02]

how Melinda and Sylvie created a safe space and supported everyone’s wellbeing during the project [05:33]

how partnerships were set up with the young people involved [10:31]

the relationship between co-design and collaborative artistic processes [12:05]

Young people and adversity: The Looking Back project - part two (podcast)

Looking Back series (videos)

For the past five years, Emerging Minds has been creating podcasts for professionals that explore effective ways to support infant and child mental health. Now, the new Emerging Minds Families podcast aims to do the same for parents and families.

Over the past 12 months, Emerging Minds has been working with families across Australia to learn more about the kinds of resources they need to best support their children’s mental health. These conversations, along with insights from practitioners and researchers, have guided the development of Emerging Minds Families: an online resource hub designed to help families better understand and support infant and child mental health.

As part of this program, the Emerging Minds Families team will be delivering a fortnightly podcast, starting 22 November 2022. Parents, families and practitioners will discuss infant and child mental health, offer advice, debunk myths and provide understanding for families who are striving to do the best for their children.

In this episode, you will meet the hosts of the Emerging Minds Families podcast: Ben Rogers, Alicia Ranford and Nadia Rossi. They will share how they’ve spent the past 12 months working with families to develop this podcast series, what they learned during this process, as well as the important role of co-design in developing resources for families. The team will also describe the ‘knowledgeable best friend’ approach that guides their work, how it evolved, and how it will support both families and practitioners.

 

 

Find out how the Emerging Minds Families podcast came about and what listeners can expect to learn (1:34)

Unpack the ‘knowledgeable best friend’ tone and how it was developed as a way to help families consider their child’s mental health support needs (2:49)

Hear some examples of the podcasts that will be delivered through the Emerging Minds Families channel (11:23)

Discover the importance of helping families to attempt strategies to help their children, but also to seek help from professionals where they need extra support (14:29)

Learn why it’s important to create content that benefits all families, including those that are currently facing adversity (27:20)

 

Emerging Minds Families (website)

Introducing Emerging Minds Families (video)

The National Perinatal Mental Health Guidelines recommend that as part of normal care, all pregnant people be asked questions around psychosocial factors as early as practical in pregnancy and 6–12 weeks after birth. One of the questions within this screening process asks if the person has experienced past physical or sexual abuse. It then recommends that support be offered to people who acknowledge this past trauma.

In this episode, Vicki Mansfield (Social Worker and Practice Development Officer at Emerging Minds) discusses the importance of trauma-informed pregnancy and post-natal care for people who’ve experienced sexual trauma. Vicki draws on her experience working within antenatal clinics, maternity wards and perinatal infant mental health services. She explores how a safe and empathic relationship with pregnant people can support their agency and choices in preparing for birth and promote emotional wellbeing for both parent and infant as they transition through this major life change.

 

 

how past sexual trauma may increase physical and psychological vulnerability during pregnancy, birth and the transition to parenting [05:21]

why it is important to explore pregnant people’s feelings and concerns about birth and becoming a parent, and how to establish plans that strengthen their choices, consent and build a safe and collaborative antenatal care team [07:40]

how to consider parents’ postnatal needs, including debriefing after birth and being aware of trauma responses that can increase anxiety [09:41]

Keeping the infant and toddler in mind online course

Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future online course

Intergenerational mental health online course

Best practice in perinatal care - COPE