By Australian Psychological Society
The APS is a strong advocate for ensuring people impacted by forced adoption policies and practices can access high-quality, informed psychological support.
In an important advocacy win, our recommendations for improved services and training have been included in a new report from the Western Australian Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs: Broken Bonds, Fractured Lives: report on the inquiry into past forced adoption in Western Australia.
What this means for you
In June 2023, the APS made a submission to the WA Inquiry into past forced adoptive policies and practices, drawing attention to:
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The lifelong and intergenerational psychosocial, psychological and health impacts of forced adoption.
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The critical importance of upskilling health professionals who engage with people impacted by forced adoption to increase their awareness of impacts and enhance assessment and intervention skills based on best practice trauma-informed treatment and care approaches.
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The nationally funded and updated and re-released (in 2022) APS national training package as a mechanism that could bolster the numbers of Western Australian psychologists and general practitioners available to provide services and support for people impacted by forced adoption.
Ongoing advocacy
We would once again like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the APS members who contributed their time and evidence-informed knowledge, experience and research to this submission. You can read the full submission here.
Next steps
This report is currently tabled with the WA Minister for Health and Mental Health, the Hon Amber-Jade Sanderson BA MLA.
While these recommendations have not yet been accepted, we welcome their emphasis on continued consultation with people with lived experience to ensure that children, mothers, fathers, and other family members impacted by forced adoption are heard and validated.
We expect to hear the Minister’s response by the end of this year and will continue to keep you informed.
Related resources
Read the full committee report here.
Learn more in our CPD Approved course, ‘Understanding Forced Adoption’, developed by the APS with funding from the Australian Government Department of Social Services: