Emerging Minds Australia

When working with children, it is important to understand how trauma may be impacting them, to consider trauma as a possible influence on them, and be sensitive to how you can create a safe space for that child to be able to work through their feelings. Our free online course, The impact of trauma on the child, covers key understandings about interpersonal trauma and the practices that support trauma-informed care. Log in or register at Emerging Minds Learning today: https://bit.ly/3VhERnE

In 2023, suicide-related concerns were raised in 11,743 (16%) of Kids Helpline counselling contacts. Research also shows that in children and young people there are approximately 100–200 suicide attempts for every one suicide. These figures indicate that distress and despair are experienced by many young Australians. As such, it is important for practitioners working with children and families to understand how suicidal ideation can affect children and how to respond to it. Our new online course, Understanding and responding to childhood suicidal ideation, provides tools to support children who may be experiencing persistent distress and a sense of despair. It includes research, interviews and fictional demonstrations focused on four key practice skills. Children may endure prolonged distress in isolation, which can lead to despair and suicidal ideation. When practitioners focus on building connection and listening rather than taking immediate action, they create a safe space for children to feel heard and express their distress in their own way. By exploring and seeking to understand children’s expressions, practitioners gain valuable insights into the challenges children face, what it takes to manage these challenges, and the supports they may need. Log in or register at Emerging Minds Learning today: https://bit.ly/419PFYG

Check out the latest child mental health research. The highlights include: - social inequalities in child mental health trajectories - racial discrimination, mental health and sleep problems among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children - responding to adverse childhood experiences in African-background refugee families in New South Wales - screen time and the mental health of adolescents. https://bit.ly/412UQJE

Childhood bullying has long been considered an issue for the education system. However, more recently it has become a public health concern requiring the attention of multiple systems, including primary health care and social services. It is important that practitioners in these sectors understand children’s knowledge and perspectives on childhood bullying to better support them. Co-produced with Child Family Community Australia (CFCA), this webinar will help you: - understand how childhood bullying affects child mental health - understand the importance of prevention and early intervention in limiting the effects of childhood bullying in adulthood - be curious about children’s understanding and perspectives on bullying and why this is important - explore strategies to work with children experiencing bullying or engaging in bullying behaviour. Register for our webinar: https://bit.ly/3ZnV9gR

Being removed from home and placed in out-of-home care can be a distressing and confusing experience for children. They often don’t know why they are being removed and, in most cases, do not wish to be, even if their home life is unsafe. After the distress of removal, children enter a system that can distort their sense of identity, affect their ability to participate in decision-making and other important aspects of life, and erode their feelings of self-worth. In this episode, Nicole Rollbusch speaks with Melanie Renwick. Melanie shares her experience of living in foster and residential care as a child and some of the things that practitioners can do to support the mental health of children living in out-of-home care. Today, Melanie works for the Satellite Foundation as a family liaison and is mum to four children. She is passionate about ensuring the voices of lived and living experience are heard to help empower families and improve services. Listen to the full episode 🎧: https://bit.ly/4fOwJmQ

Attention GPs 📣 Focused psychological strategies for children (5-12 years) is a level two course designed to develop your skills in delivering evidence-based psychological interventions for a variety of mental health presentations. Accredited with RACGP, ACRRM and GPMHSC, this course is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills GPs have learned through completing their level one mental health skills training. Log in or register at Emerging Minds Learning today: https://bit.ly/3UX3Axd

In our next webinar with the Mental Health Professionals' Network (MHPN), our interdisciplinary panel of experts explore ways to support infants and children following a disaster, by ensuring disruptions to the child’s ecology (their family, school and broader community) are considered in recovery interventions. Facilitated by Jacquie Lee (Practice Development Officer, Emerging Minds), the panel includes: - Christopher Gostelow (psychologist) - Tayla lellamo (occupational therapist) - Sarnia Ralston (child and family partner). You can find out more about the panellists and learning outcomes on the registration page. Registrations are limited and close at 4:00 pm AEDT on the day of the webinar. https://bit.ly/3Ojk8f8

Today is World Children's Day. 20 November marks the date that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in many countries, including Australia. Article 12 of the Convention states: ‘Children have the right to have a say on things that are important to them.’ With this in mind, the 2024 theme is ‘A Minute of Loudness’, encouraging children to share their ideas on how to make Australia an even better place for all children. We invite you to use this year’s World Children's Day theme as a prompt to think about how you can support children to develop their sense of agency and partner with them in practice. Courses in our Engaging children learning pathway offer core principles and skills on engaging children as partners in practice. By promoting their voices, children not only get a say in matters that affect their own lives, but they can benefit the lives of others through their valuable contributions to improving service design. https://bit.ly/3ly2s4i

Pregnancy and the first year of a child’s life are both challenging and joyful times for many families. But the perinatal period is also a time when parents can experience increased fears, worries and concerns. For some, these may develop into mental health challenges. This week is Perinatal Mental Health Week, a national week of raising awareness of de-stigmatisating, and providing information and referral pathway support for perinatal mental health issues. ‘We’re here, a community that cares’ is the core message being delivered, aimed at promoting a united sector to support expectant and new parents. Emerging Minds offers several resources aimed at supporting practice in working with infants and parents/carers in the perinatal period. Practitioners may wish to check out the courses in our Infant mental health learning pathway on Emerging Minds Learning: https://bit.ly/4cdNuoS

General practitioners (GPs) are often the first point of contact for families when they have concerns about their children’s mental health, making them well-placed to engage with children and parents about children’s wellbeing. Focused psychological strategies (FPS) skills training is a level two course that builds on the knowledge and skills GPs learn by successfully completing level one mental health skills training (MHST). Over 10 modules of study, the course aims to develop GPs’ skills in delivering evidence-based psychological interventions for a variety of mental health presentations. The strategies covered in this course will support GPs to work with children aged 5–12 years and their families when they present with mental health concerns. FPS can be used while families wait for further psychological support or as a stand-alone intervention. On completion of this course, practitioners will be eligible to register with Medicare as an FPS provider and have access to additional Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers. Log in or register at Emerging Minds Learning today: https://bit.ly/3UX3Axd