Emerging Minds Podcast

When talking with children in a therapeutic setting, how do you lessen their likelihood of feeling shame or blame for the problems they’re dealing with?

Naming and framing the problem in their own terms can not only lessen children’s sense of shame and blame; it can also create space for their creativity, imagination and agency in responding to the issues they’re facing.

In this episode (the third in our Engaging children series), hosts Jen Ly and Chris Dolman are joined by practitioners Annette Flanagan, Kate Headley, Melinda Vardanega, Lisa Johnson, Aerinn Morgan, Jamie Lee and Liz Lodge. Together, they share their ideas, reflections and strategies for enabling children to describe problems in their own terms and in ways that are meaningful and useful for them.

 

 

the importance of helping children to describe problems in their own terms and in ways that are meaningful for them [02:02]

some practice ideas for engaging with children that focus on naming and framing the problem [05:43]

what other professionals have found helpful in this work [11:33]

 

Engaging children: Shrinking problems (online course)

Practical strategies for engaging children in a practice setting (practice paper)

An overview of child participation: Key issues for organisations and practitioners (practice paper)

Shrinking problems with children and families (webinar)

In this podcast, you’ll hear from Juli Coffin about the Yawardani Jan-ga (‘horses helping’) program in Broome. Juli discusses how the program connects the healing power of horses with innovative experiential learning. She shares how equine therapy can help to heal trauma, enhance social and emotional wellbeing, nurture leadership, and promote positive relationships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

Bec Edser is a Child and Family Partnerships Coordinator at Emerging Minds. She is also the mother of a six-year-old son with neurodiversity. Bec has worked closely with practitioners over the years to develop a team around her child. In this episode, she shares the benefits of establishing a team around the child, along with practical examples of child-centred engagement.

Research shows children like adults to be interested in what they’re into, what they need, and how they respond when things are happening around them (Moore, 2017; Griffiths-Cook & Fenn, 2018).

Talking with children about what they enjoy and what they’re good at can create a context for understanding the child’s perspective on the problems they’re facing. Conversations exploring children’s strengths and interests can also provide a foundation from which to build further skills to respond to these problems.

In this episode (the second in our Engaging children podcast series), hosts Jen Ly and Chris Dolman are joined by practitioners Lisa Johnson, Sally McLaren, Annette Flanagan, Liz Lodge and Ali Chisholm. Together, they share their ideas, reflections and strategies around exploring children’s strengths, skills, know-how and interests.

 

 

the importance of practitioners opening up conversations with children about their strengths, skills and interests [02:41]

some strategies for exploring children’s strengths, skills and interests in your practice [03:42]

what other professionals have found helpful in this work [09:44]

 

Engaging children: Rich pictures (e-learning course)

Practical strategies for engaging children in a practice setting (practice paper)

An overview of child participation: Key issues for organisations and practitioners (practice paper)

 

Griffiths-Cook, J., & Fenn, L. (2018). Kids have big thoughts too. Life Transitions: what children say about change. Canberra: ACT Human Rights Commission.

Moore, T. (2017). Protection through participation: Involving children in child safe organisations. CFCA Practice Paper. Melbourne: Child Family Community Australia, Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Taking care to describe things in ways that make sense to the child and inviting them to share their understanding of why you’re meeting with them can make a big difference. These practices can enable children to contribute to the conversation and participate fully in your work together. They can also potentially ‘open the door’ to a conversation with the child about the problem they’re facing.

In this episode (the first in our Engaging children podcast series), hosts Chris Dolman and Jen Ly are joined by practitioners Kate Headley, Liz Lodge, Jackie Amos, Jessica Warren and Mthobeli Ngcanga. Together, they share their ideas and reflections on the key skills for working effectively with children.

 

 

the importance of understanding the child’s perspective on why you’re meeting [02:27]

what to consider in regard to transparency when beginning to work with children [06:04]

what other professionals have found helpful in this work [10:49]

 

Engaging children: Good beginnings e-learning course

Hervatin, M. (2020). Practical strategies for engaging children in a practice setting. Adelaide: Emerging Minds.

In a previous episode, psychologist Penny Sih shared her thoughts about child mental health assessment and engagement and ways to support a child to live their ‘best life’. In this episode, social worker Ali Knight and child and family partners Jess and Emi continue this conversation. They explore child mental health assessment and engagement practices that help families feel more confident and engaged in the therapeutic process, which in turn helps them to live their ‘best lives’.

When a child and parent first arrive to meet with a professional, they often feel anxious or even reluctant. They might feel like they’re going to be told off, or lectured, or made to discuss subjects that make them feel uncomfortable. Ali, Jess and Emi discuss the practices that help children to overcome this initial anxiety, to engage fully within the practice environment, and to become holistically involved in the decisions that affect their lives.

In their role as Emerging Minds Child and Family Partners, Jess and Emi have made a significant contribution to Emerging Minds’ online training courses, webinars and practice papers. Ali Knight is a social worker with 25 years’ experience, specialising in work with infants and children in child protection, child development and trauma-related services. All three were instrumental in the development of Emerging Minds’ online course, Practice strategies for assessment and engagement.

 

 

In this episode you will learn:

how to set the scene with children who might not be happy about coming to a professional environment, so that you can increase their sense of comfort and confidence and give them the time and space that they need [02:52]

how to help children and parents consider the strategies that already work well for them, rather than focusing only on the problems that they are facing [05:37]

how a holistic understanding of the ‘whole child’ – their preferences, relationships and hopes – can influence practice [14:16]

how to pick up on cues that children provide throughout the engagement, to ensure sessions are flexible enough to cater for the child’s needs [18:29]

why it’s important to include children in strategies that can be replicated at home or at school [23:15]

 

Further information and resources:

Practice strategies for assessment and engagement (online course)

Practice strategies for formulation (online course)

Helping children to live their ‘best life’ – part one (podcast)

Helping children to live their ‘best life’ – part two (podcast)

In this episode, we explore the roles of different types of professionals who work with children and families in the child mental health support space.

In the second of this two-part podcast series (listen to part one here), you’ll continue to hear from Kimberley, Brad and Bec, parents of children who have experienced different chronic childhood physical illnesses. You'll hear how practitioners have been able to support not just the children’s physical conditions, but also the social and emotional wellbeing of these children and their families while they are undergoing treatment.

Many children experiencing a childhood physical illness require regular trips to hospital and medical interventions that can be traumatic for both the child and their family. However, the negative impacts on everyone’s wellbeing can be minimised by taking a family-focused and trauma-informed approach.

We would like to acknowledge and thank our child and family partners, Kimberley, Bec and Brad for taking the time to share their hard-earned wisdom and expertise with us.

the types of supports families find helpful while their children are undergoing treatment for childhood physical illnesses [01:17]

the strategies that practitioners use to support the mental health of children throughout the treatment processes [08:36]

the importance of taking a trauma-informed approach to caring for a child with a chronic physical illness [13:45]

how to support the wellbeing of siblings of children with chronic childhood physical illnesses [19:25]

In the first of this two-part podcast series, Emerging Minds Child and Family Partners Kimberley, Brad and Bec share how they manage their children’s social and emotional wellbeing while dealing with the challenges of chronic physical illness. They describe some of the ways that practitioners have been able to support their children’s mental health throughout the treatment process, and how these strategies have also helped them to support their child.

Managing ongoing symptoms of chronic physical illness and undergoing medical treatment or procedures can have significant impacts for children and families. Promoting self-care strategies for parents and caregivers will lead to improved wellbeing outcomes for the children they are caring for.

We would like to acknowledge and thank our child and family partners, Kimberley, Bec and Brad for taking the time to share their hard-earned wisdom and expertise with us.

more about the chronic physical illnesses experienced within these families [01:36]

how a diagnosis of chronic physical illness impacts on the child and family [04:22]

the impacts of managing ongoing symptoms and undergoing medical treatment/procedures [06:29]

how self-care is important for parents and caregivers of children experiencing a chronic physical illness [16:06]

In this episode, Emerging Minds Practice Development Manager, Dan Moss joins Senior Cultural Development Officer, Rosie Schellen and Senior Practice Development Officer, Chris Dolman to reflect on what has made the infant and child mental health podcast series so effective over the past four years and 100 episodes.

Rosie reflects on Emerging Minds’ collaborative work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to help bring to the fore stories of strength, resilience and hope, as well as those of hardship and systemic disadvantage.

Chris describes how practitioners have helped change the way we think about infant and child mental health, in ways that make challenging work feel more possible and motivating. He also describes some of the ways that children and families with lived experience have contributed so richly to the podcast series.

In this episode you will learn:

how Rosie has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, leaders and practitioners to respectfully bring forth stories of hope, resilience and connection, and the considerations that are important within this process [04:23]

how practitioners have contributed to understandings about infant and child mental health through stories of their everyday practice, and the strategies we can all use to help children and families tell their stories [06:52]

how hurt and connection, strength and wisdom have been so powerfully interwoven in the stories of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander guests, in ways that generously assist all practitioners to consider how they can make room for these stories in their work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities [09:56]

how discussions with parents about their hopes for their children can become a great antidote for the experiences of shame and blame that families often feel when working with a practitioner, and the kinds of strength-based practices that have helped families find new ways to connect and overcome adversities [17:28]

about the people that have contributed to the evolution of the Emerging Minds podcast series over the past 100 episodes! [20:50]