Overview

Working with children and young people involves consideration of ways of working with the adults in their lives, particularly parents and carers and school staff. This can include a range of ethical considerations as well as skills for communicating effectively, navigating boundaries and clarifying roles. Through applied case examples, this 3-day series guides psychologists in exploring the complexities of clinical decision-making and ethical practice. Each interactive session encourages reflective discussion and collaboration to deepen understanding and translate learning into everyday practice.

Day 1: Understanding child and adolescent mental health: Thursday, 9 April 2026

Child and adolescent mental health is impacted by many factors at the individual, family, school, community and broader societal levels. While many children and young people are doing well in terms of mental health, there are increasing concerns about the impact of technology, climate change, world events and the lasting effects of COVID 19 which are impacting on mental health more broadly. Increasingly the needs of children are recognised with recent calls to address mental health issues earlier than adolescence. Working with children and young people experiencing difficulties involves creativity in engagement and building rapport, providing a safe space for the client to explore concerns, navigating how and when to include parents and carers while also drawing on evidence-based approaches of mental health treatment. 

Day 2: Partnering with parents and carers when working with children and young people: Thursday, 16 April 2026

Engaging with parents and carers requires abilities to build trust, understand family dynamics, respond to parenting styles and explore the dynamic interplay between family members. The role of parents and carers in supporting their children and young people is critical in understanding the needs of the client as well as determining how to harness the strengths and capacities of all family members. 

Day 3: Engaging with schools to support student mental health and wellbeing: Thursday, 23 April 2026

Schools are places where risk and protective factors for student mental health are present. Engaging with school staff requires an understanding of how schools work, what can be reasonably expected of school staff and the role of schools in supporting students across the whole school community.

Level of Learning

Foundational. This activity is targeted to those new to the topic.

Duration of access

These webinars will be recorded and made available only to participants of the live event for 12 months. The recording is not intended to replace live participation.

Places are limited and registration will not be available after the webinar has taken place.

APS CPD Approved

This activity has been assessed against the APS Standards for CPD activities and approved for its education quality. Learn more about the APS CPD Approval process.

CPD Frequently Asked Questions

Refer to the APS CPD Frequently Asked Questions for general and technical information when undertaking APS Professional development activities.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of these webinars, participants should be able to:

• outline how a socioecological model is helpful in understanding factors related to child and adolescent mental health,
• describe current challenges facing children and young people which can impact on mental health and wellbeing,
• outline ways of working with children and young people who present with mental health concerns,
• outline factors which impact on building effective relationships with parents and carers,
• identify ways to overcome barriers and challenges to engage parents and carers,
• describe ways to manage practical, legal, and ethical aspects of working with children and adolescents at different ages,
• identify risk and protective factors at the school level for student mental health and wellbeing,
• outline approaches to engage with school staff to effectively support student mental health, and
• describe ways that schools support students across a tiered approach to mental health.

Presenter(s)

Dr Lyn O'Grady

About the presenter(s)

Dr Lyn O'Grady is a Community Psychologist based in Melbourne. She currently works in private practice, is a Board approved supervisor, trainer and author. She has worked with children, young people and their families in various roles over three decades, including community, education and health sectors. This included working as a school psychologist and managing the KidsMatter Mental Health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative for the Australian Psychological Society. She also has an interest in suicide prevention, having completed her Masters of Suicidology in 2017. She is the published author of two books, Keeping our Kids Alive, Parenting a Suicidal young person and Keeping our Kids Hopeful, parenting children during times of uncertainty and is currently working on a third book for parents about children's safety.