Therapeutic Care Blog
The CETC blog tells the stories behind 'what works' in Intensive Therapeutic Care
Changing your practice to being trauma informed in therapeutic residential care
Whilst the following Arabian proverb takes a bit to get your head around it leads rather nicely into this blog and our brief introduction on the relevance of the conscious competence model – or changing your practice to becoming a trauma informed therapeutic residential care worker. “He who knows not, and knows not that he …
Read MoreMore Than Just a Kid in Care – Identity and Culture
This NAIDOC week, I have spent some time listening to the new, 4-part podcast series called “More Than Just a Kid in Care”. Written, produced and edited by young people who have grown up in care in NSW, the first episode explores “identity” and the importance of connection to culture. “I was missing the essence …
Read MoreHow can you support safe social media use in out of home care organisations?
Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, TikTok, WeChat, Instagram – as common as these social media platforms and many others are, most of us are still learning the best ways to use (or not use) them. As tools designed to remove many of the boundaries between people, social media use has enormous potential. But it also invites a …
Read MoreReflections on the Therapeutic Specialist Forum
Last month, 40 Therapeutic Specialists from a range of organisation’s gathered in Sydney for the annual Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) Therapeutic Specialist Forum. Across two days participants engaged in workshops, listened to speakers on key issues facing young people in care and collaborated with peers. A focus on networking and collaboration: Relationship and connection …
Read More‘It happens to boys too’: Child Sexual Exploitation
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the profile and awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). Undoubtedly there is a benefit of increased awareness and understanding of the exploitation of children and young people, however, the narrative has remained overwhelmingly focused on female victims and male perpetrators. Much discussion focuses on …
Read MoreReview of New Briefing Papers on Child Sexual Exploitation
Much of the available research regarding the sexual exploitation of children and young people is explored through the prism of victim as female and perpetrator as male. As a result, considerable knowledge gaps persist in respect to the interplay between victim gender and their individual characteristics, the abuse process and official responses to them. It …
Read MoreNew, free training: Responding to Child Sexual Exploitation
Last week, we launched our new Responding to Child Sexual Exploitation online training resource for caseworkers, residential workers, house supervisors and managers, therapeutic specialists and organisational leaders working in out of home care and therapeutic care. The Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care was commissioned by the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice to develop a training …
Read MoreHow do you prepare for the transitioning of young people into an Intensive Therapeutic Care house? Part 1
This is a two-part blog and will focus on the transition of young people into an Intensive Therapeutic Care house; however, most of the content is transferrable to other placement types in out of home care. We begin at the point of transition planning, assuming the placement matching and assessment has occurred, and a young …
Read MoreHow do you prepare for the transitioning of young people into an Intensive Therapeutic Care house? Part 2
In the first part of the Blog, we explored limit and expectation setting, maintaining a state of occupancy and the planning process for a successful transition. In part two of the Blog, we will dive into the preparation of the team, young person and the other young people currently residing in the home. Preparation Preparing …
Read MoreBehaviours that challenge: What has happened to you?
Children and young people living in Therapeutic Residential Care in Australia often present with a range of behaviours that challenge us. The complexity and difficulty in working with these challenging behaviours led us to write a Practice Guide: Behaviours that Challenge to assist therapeutic residential workers to better understand why young people might display these …
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