Overview

The Domestic and Family Violence & Psychology Interest Group (DFV&P IG) and the Perinatal and Infant Psychology Interest Group (PIPIG) are delighted to present a rare collaborative professional development opportunity for psychologists working with infants, children and families impacted by domestic and family violence.

Delivered by clinicians from the highly regarded Berry Street Take Two program, this special two half-day workshop series is being offered to practitioners at a significantly reduced rate, creating a unique opportunity to access specialised training that is not ordinarily available at this level of affordability.

Berry Street Take Two supports clinicians working with infants, children, and caregivers impacted by family violence to build confidence and clarity in their therapeutic decision making. Participants will explore the psychological and relational impacts of violence, evidence based interventions and therapeutic readiness, while reflecting on what is possible in complex contexts.

Drawing together trauma-informed, attachment-focused and systems-aware approaches, the workshops will explore:

• Infant and child development in the context of trauma and violence
• Caregiver-child relationships and attachment disruption
• Therapeutic readiness and engagement
• Family violence risk and safety considerations
• The broader systemic and relational contexts surrounding families experiencing violence.

Berry Street is the leading trauma-specific therapeutic service for vulnerable babies, children and young people in Victoria. Berry Street has spent generations working with children, young people and families experiencing trauma, abuse and disadvantage.

Berry Street's Take Two supports families and caregivers nurturing babies, children and young people aged 0 to 17 years old. At Take Two, practitioners see who the child is, not just the behaviour. Berry Street use clinical frameworks, neurobiological research and evidence-informed approaches to understand a child’s experience through their eyes. Berry Streets Take Two is site certified in Dr Bruce D. Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMTTM).

Event Dates & Times:

• Wednesday, 26 August 2026: 9.30am – 1:00pm AEST
• Thursday, 27 August 2026: 9:30am – 1:00pm AEST

Half Day 1: Understanding Family Violence in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Context

Topics may include:

• Family violence definitions and contemporary frameworks
• Family violence during the perinatal period - Infants and children as victim-survivors
• Neurobiology, stress and developmental impacts - Attachment disruption and relational trauma
• Impacts on caregiver-child relationships
• Children’s adaptive and protective responses
• Reflective practice and practitioner wellbeing
• Interactive reflective activities and case-based discussion will be incorporated throughout.

Half Day 2: Therapeutic Responses, Readiness and Intervention

Topics may include:

• Evidence-informed therapeutic approaches
• Engagement and assessment
• Child-parent therapeutic work
• Therapeutic readiness and complexity
• Systems work and multidisciplinary responses
• Working with safety, avoidance and survival strategies
• Holding complexity and multiple truths in family violence work
• Case study formulation and intervention planning

The session will include practical case application and facilitated discussion.

Please note: Minimum registration numbers are required for this event to proceed. In the event that minimum numbers are not met, the organisers reserve the right to cancel the event and provide registrants with a full refund.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Develop an enhanced understanding of the impacts of family violence on infants, children, caregivers and attachment relationships.
• Explore the neurobiological and relational impacts of trauma and chronic stress in the context of family violence.
• Increase confidence in therapeutic assessment, formulation and intervention planning.
• Understand therapeutic readiness and considerations when working with complex family violence presentations.
• Reflect on systems responses, multidisciplinary collaboration and contextual approaches to practice.
• Explore evidence-informed therapeutic approaches relevant to infant, child and family work

Presenter(s)

About the presenter(s)

Kathleen Wood is a qualified Social Worker with over 15 years’ experience working in Victorian Community Service Organisations and Therapeutic Services. Kathleen is passionate about trauma-informed practice provision, both in direct practice and supporting others in theirs. Kathleen joined Take Two in 2017, commencing in clinical roles before moving to Take Two’s state-wide Clinical Practice Development Team in 2019 as a Consultant.

Kathleen is Phase 2 Trainer Certified in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) and holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment. Before a career in social work, she worked as an Enrolled Nurse Practitioner. Kathleen relishes opportunities to share knowledge and practice skills with others, in a collaborative and respectful learning environment. She is committed to best practice and high-quality service provision for children and families and recognises that we all have an important part to play in a systemic approach to practice.

Dr. Yvette Alway is a clinical psychologist and senior consultant in infant mental health and Child-Parent Psychotherapy with Berry Street Take Two’s Knowledge Team. With over fifteen years’ experience across specialist trauma services, tertiary mental health and private practice, she supports infants, children and families affected by complex trauma. Her interests include perinatal and infant mental health, family violence, intergenerational healing, and supporting safer beginnings for children and families.

Yvette commenced at Take Two in 2016, holding a range of clinical roles before joining the Knowledge Team in 2024. She contributes to internal practice development and research, provides consultations for infants, mentors trainees in EMDR therapy, and delivers training and consultation in Child-Parent Psychotherapy. She also provides external training in reflective practice and trauma responsive, family violence-informed work with infants and families. Yvette believes that young children are powerful teachers and seeks to amplify their voices wherever possible.

Notes

Target Audience

This event is aimed at psychologists, counsellors, social workers, infant mental health clinicians, child and family practitioners, perinatal clinicians, family violence practitioners, supervisors and team leaders working in child, family and trauma services.

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, 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.