The proposed Infants, Children, and Young People Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to draw together counsellors and psychotherapists working in a wide range of settings who have a strong interest in professional practice and development relevant to children (0-11 years) and young people (12-25 years).
Expressions of interest are invited from any PACFA member who works therapeutically with children and young people.
The SIG will bring focus to early intervention and prevention as priority areas; however, will also aim to promote the effectiveness of expressive therapies including play therapy, creative arts therapy, parent-child therapy, group therapy, and bush adventure therapy.
The SIG will focus on the following objectives:
Clinical practice:
- To develop and run a private forum to discuss common ethical issues arising from practice, and to engage in a process of ethical decision making (please note: this will not be counted as supervision).
- To offer a community that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and consultation, and provides opportunities to share information, knowledge, and expertise.
Leadership: To provide consultation to PACFA regarding federal and/or state policy and legislation concerning the mental health and emotional well-being of infants, children, and young people.
Education: To develop and extend the practice knowledge and expertise of counsellors and psychotherapists at any stage of their career.
Advocacy: To elevate the voices of infants, children, and young people and act as their advocates for their inclusion in society, policy, and initiatives that impact or involve them.
The SIG will be framed by several pillars of practice that will orient “why we do”, “what we do”, and “how we do it”. They are:
1. Trauma-informed practice
2. Healing-centred engagement
3. Cultural safety
4. The rights of the child
5. Infants, children and young people are understood as having capacity to be agents of change
6. Infants, children, and young people are held in mind and kept in view
These pillars will be continually reviewed to ensure they are based on the latest clinical evidence.
To register your interest, please fill in the expression of interest form by Sunday 27 February.