Emerging Minds Podcast

This episode is part of our upcoming e-learning course, A GP Framework for Child Mental Health Assessment. 

What are the key phases of a child mental health assessment in general practice? Dr Andrew Leech joins the Emerging Minds podcast to discuss these phases and the principal role that biopsychosocial formulation plays in conducting a child mental health assessment. 

Andrew is a GP based in Perth, Western Australia, and has a passion for paediatric general practice as well as the role that GPs can play in positively influencing a child’s life trajectory. He has a diploma in child health and holds advisory roles at the RACGP and Emerging Minds. 

In this episode, Andrew summarises the four key phases of a child mental health assessment that are articulated in the e-Learning course, ‘A GP Framework for Child Mental Health Assessment (5-12 years)’, and explains the important role that a biopsychosocial approach to formulation plays in supporting the child and family. 

In this episode you will learn:

key phases of a child mental health assessment [1:14]

how a biopsychosocial formulation help with understanding the needs of a child and family [9:50]

the difference between formulation and diagnosis [21:00]

the challenges GPs face in forming an understanding of a child’s mental health needs [27:33]

advice for completing a child mental health assessment [32:21]

 

Further information and resources:

A GP Framework for Child Mental Health Assessment e-learning course: https://emergingminds.com.au/online-course/a-gp-framework-for-child-mental-health-assessment-5-12-years/

Supporting Children’s Resilience in General Practice e-learning course: https://emergingminds.com.au/online-course/supporting-childrens-resilience-in-general-practice/

Supporting child mental health in general practice with Dr Sara Whitburn podcast: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/podcast/supporting-child-mental-health-in-general-practice/

This episode explores what is meant by collaboration and a team-based approach to the management of children’s mental health in general practice.

This episode examines the role of the GP in child mental health assessment and identifies the transferrable skills that can support GPs in this work.

This episode explores the skills of engagement in the general practice environment as part of conducting a child mental health assessment.

Why is it so difficult for children to disclose sexual abuse and how can we make it easier? This episode we're joined by Carol Ronken, Director of Research at Bravehearts. Carol draws on her 17 years of experience working in the field to answer this question, as well as share other insights on the issue of child sexual abuse.  

As well as overseeing research at Bravehearts, Carol is a Visiting Fellow in the School of Justice, Faculty of Law, at Queensland University of Technology and sits on a number of working groups including the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Research Working Group, the Twitter Trust and Safety Council (Australia), and the Australian Child Rights Taskforce. 

In this conversation, we explore the topic from multiple angles including the definition of child sexual abuse, what prevention and early intervention looks like, and how adults can get better at recognising signs and indicators.

 

In this episode you will learn:

how to define what is meant by ‘child sexual abuse’ [07:42]

how sexual abuse differs from other forms of abuse and neglect [12:45]

what prevention looks like with young children [19:15]

how to open up the conversation about child sexual abuse [27:04]

what is important for practitioners to know about child sexual abuse [27:04]

how to make sense of 'red flags' [32:18]

how children are particularly vulnerable in online environments [37:46]

 

Further information and resources:

Responding to a disclosure of child sexual abuse: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/responding-to-a-disclosure-of-child-sexual-abuse/

Responding to children and young people's disclosures of abuse: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/responding-to-children-and-young-peoples-disclosures-of-abuse/

Making use of practitioners’ skills to support a child who has been sexually abused: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/making-use-of-practitioners-skills-to-support-a-child-who-has-been-sexually-abused/

Information and resources for parents on the Bravehearts website: https://bravehearts.org.au/what-we-do/education-and-training/for-parents/

Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure program: https://bravehearts.org.au/keepsafe 

eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

What happens when we welcome children’s emotions rather than minimising or dismissing them?

This episode explores the benefits of an emotion-focused approach to parenting with associate professor and clinical psychologist, Sophie Havighurst. Sophie has spent her career developing, implementing, and evaluating the program, Tuning in to Kids, which was designed to teach parents how to support their children's emotional development.  

Sophie discovered the impact that an emotionally disconnected childhood can have while working in mental health and forensic settings early in her clinical career. This discovery set her on a course of wanting to change the way parents respond to children’s emotions and the development of the suite of Tuning in to Kids programs. 

In this episode, we discuss why connecting with children’s emotions is so important for their development, along with some of the fundamental principles taught in Tuning in to Kids. 

In this episode you will learn:

about the Tuning in to Kids parenting program [06:20]

why understanding emotions is so important [09:50]

how to help parents identify their automatic reactions [12:28]

why it’s important to use minimal language when children are upset [17:25]

what changes were observed in the children and parents who took part in the Tuning in to Kids program [24:50].

 

Further information and resources:

Tuning in to Kids website

This episode explores dads’ views on fatherhood and the support they need in their role as fathers.

How do you engage children when working with them remotely via video? In this episode, Tayla Iellamo, an occupational therapist who works for Royal Far West, shares her experience of delivering telehealth services to children in rural and remote areas. Tayla has worked as an OT for five years and has been delivering telehealth services through the Windmill and Telecare programs at Royal Far West for the past year. She has a passion for working with children and families in remote areas and finds telehealth a valuable and dynamic approach to delivering therapy.

Tayla shares her experience of what helps families prepare for a telehealth service, what to consider when engaging children through a video platform, and troubleshooting tips and tricks for when things don’t go as planned.

In this episode you will learn:

What a family can expect from the first telehealth session (07:15)

Helping families become comfortable with technology (10:38)

Keeping the child’s context in mind in telehealth service delivery (18:19)

Suggestions for practitioners new to telehealth (24:22)

 

Further information and resources:

A practical guide to working with children and families through telehealth: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/a-practical-guide-to-working-with-children-and-families-through-telehealth/

Two mental health speech pathologists join this episode to talk about the relationship between children’s speech, language, and communication needs and their wellbeing.

In the second part of this episode, Dr Erin Bulluss discusses the overlap between Autism, developmental trauma, and high sensitivity, and explores ways of practicing with Autistic children that are child-centred and honouring of their uniqueness.