Overview

This session will focus on connecting teenagers, their parents and schools. By the end of this webinar you will:

• Understand how strengthening the parent–teen relationship can improve school engagement and wellbeing outcomes
• Feel more confident leading difficult conversations with parents while maintaining empathy and professional boundaries
• Leave with 2–3 practical strategies you can implement immediately in parent meetings or case planning
• Be able to reflect on your own responses (e.g. frustration, urgency, alignment with the school) and how these shape parent engagement

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this event, participants should be able to:

• Describe key developmental and systemic factors that contribute to breakdowns in communication between teenagers, parents, and schools
• Identify the emotional and relational drivers underlying parent responses to school-based concerns, including anxiety, fear, and perceived loss of control
• Apply a structured framework to engage parents in a way that reduces defensiveness and supports collaborative problem-solving
• Demonstrate practical communication strategies for navigating challenging conversations with parents while maintaining empathy, clarity, and professional boundaries
• Evaluate interaction patterns between teenagers, parents, and schools, and identify opportunities to shift from reactive to coordinated, relationship-focused responses
• Reflect on their own emotional responses, assumptions, and professional positioning in parent–school interactions, and how these may influence engagement and outcomes

Presenter(s)

Dr. Kirstin Barchia

About the presenter(s)

Dr. Kirstin Barchia (PhD, MClinPsych, BPsych(Hons)) is a Clinical Psychologist and director of Northern Beaches Psychology in Newport, Sydney. She has worked with children and teenagers for the past 20 years across multiple settings including schools, public health, and private practice. To overcome the challenges of engaging parents in their child’s treatment, Kirstin has developed an online program for parents of teenagers. She is an AHPRA registered supervisor and provides supervision to clinicians working with children and adolescents both in schools and other settings. Kirstin is also an experienced researcher and has worked at Macquarie University and UTS in research positions. She has conducted research projects with thousands of adolescents examining school bullying, peer relationships, resilience, lying, and delinquent behaviour. Kirstin is passionate about supporting families during the teenage years using scientific understanding and evidence- based practice.

Notes

Target Audience

This activity is aimed at psychologists and counsellors working within a school setting.

Please note:

• This is a Member Groups event. All communication will be sent to the registrants’ registered email address. This includes event reminders with details (such as the Zoom link) and any pre-event or post-event resources, if provided by the facilitators.
• A post-event email will be sent within two weeks of the event’s completion to each registrant’s registered email address. This email will include the CPD certificate, event-recording, and any additional resources shared during the session.

Duration of Access

This event will be recorded. The recording will be emailed to all registered within 2 weeks post event and available for viewing up to 90 days.

CPD

It is up to attendees to assess and determine how learning from this event aligns with the requirements of their learning plan. The providers accordingly do not make any representation that the event counts towards attendees’ CPD learning requirements. If an attendee determines themselves that the learning they complete aligns to their learning plan, then they can decide to count those hours towards their CPD requirements for the registration cycle.

The information in this presentation has been prepared in good faith and for educational purposes only. Therefore, the information is general in nature and should not be relied upon in the treatment of any condition and you should seek your own independent professional and/or legal advice concerning any specific issue. The APS accepts no responsibility for any errors, omissions or decisions relating to the information. The content should not be reproduced without permission or unless permitted by law.

If you are experiencing registration difficulties please contact APS Events Support.