APS to speak at Royal Commission into child sexual abuse

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has been invited to speak on its submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s Consultation Paper on Redress and Civil Litigation, at a public hearing to be held on Thursday 26 March in Sydney.

APS Executive Manager, Professional Practice, Dr Louise Roufeil, will tell the hearing that the APS strongly supports the rights of victims/survivors to access psychological care as part of redress.

The APS believes two overarching principles should underpin any redress or civil litigation process: minimising the likelihood of re-traumatisation for the victim/survivor, and the perception of justice and procedural fairness in resolving ongoing effects of trauma.

Key issues raised in the APS submission include:

• Not all survivors willneed psychological care. For those who do, their needs will fluctuate across their lifespan, with periods of no or low need as well as periods of high need.Access to psychological care must be sufficiently flexible to meet these needs.
• Access to psychological care for survivors is warranted both for people who have a mental health diagnosis (such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or major depression), and for survivors who do not, but who are nevertheless disabled or distressed by symptoms.
• Access to appropriate psychological care for survivors is not currently adequate and needs to be expanded as part of any redress scheme.
• Practitioners must have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to work effectively and safely with survivors.
• Non-offending parents and caregivers of child survivors should also have access to care services.

Note to editors:
APS Executive Manager, Professional Practice, Dr Louise Roufeil, is available for interview. She will be presenting to the Commission on Thursday 26 March in Sydney.