Therapeutic Care Blog
The CETC blog tells the stories behind 'what works' in Intensive Therapeutic Care
Myth Busting Child Sexual Exploitation
When it comes to the sexual exploitation of children, most Australians tend to view it as a problem that exists somewhere else. However, those of us working in Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) know that this not the case. The sexual exploitation of young people in Out of Home Care (OOHC) is an issue of significant …
Read MoreSafety From The Outside To The Inside
“Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.” Bessel Van der Kolk At the recent Therapeutic Specialist’s forum, there was lots of discussion about the concept of physical and relational safety in Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC). …
Read MoreCultivating Curiosity in Therapeutic Residential Care
Albert Einstein, (a pretty smart person!), wrote: “I have no special talents; I am only passionately curious” Curiosity is something that has excited me my whole life. I am sure a lot of you share my fascination and enthusiasm for curiosity. There seems to be wide support for the idea that we work with a …
Read MoreStaying on Your Game as a Therapeutic Specialist
What follows is a mixture of tips, reminders, encouragement and hopefully a little bit of inspiration. Start with your “why” – Knowing your why is a key essential to success in your role as a therapeutic specialist. As Simon Sinek’s research into leadership has shown, the why comes first. The why is your origin of …
Read MoreRelationship-based care is key to recovery and change
For recovery and healing to occur in therapeutic residential care, there must be synergy or “congruence” between residential workers, the organisational culture and all other stakeholders in meeting the needs of the child or young person. The work of James Anglin (2002), Sandra Bloom (2005) and Bruce Perry (2006) has been highly influential in space, …
Read MoreThe role of emotions in therapeutic care
The role of emotions within human service work may at first glance appear to be intuitively obvious and incontestable. Indeed, Howe (2008) described the day of a human service worker as ‘suffused with emotional content’. The role of emotions is at the core of literature regarding relationship-based practice and the separation of feelings from professionalism …
Read MorePutting theory into practice
Sometimes you might wonder why you need to learn about theory. I have heard people say: “caring for kids in residential care is common sense” “theory is OK for academic’s but not for the everyday work of residential care” Residential work with young people is often conducted amidst high anxiety, uncertainty and emotion. Within …
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