Developing a Trauma-Informed Therapeutic Service in the Australian Capital Territory for Children and Young People Affected by Abuse and Neglect

Collaboration, Supportive Practice and Environment

The evidence that supports models of service delivery to meet the developmental and support needs of children and young people who have experienced trauma as result of abuse and neglect, is mostly from the United States. This evidence has been influential in regard to program development, both here in Australia, and in other countries.

Interagency Collaboration

“Therapeutic collaboration…has the creative potential to bring relevant helping agencies together in a way that both contains anxiety and enhances the delivery of cohesive and psychologically sound interventions. Moreover, such an approach recognises that psychic pain and trauma has the propensity to split and fragment not only victims and their families, but helping professionals and the agencies they represent: the helping process in turn falls into a state of entropy.”

(Robinson, 2004, cited in Evolve Interagency Services Manual, 2012, unpublished)
Interagency collaboration refers to the process where parties involved see different aspects of a problem and can explore their different perceptions while searching for a more integrated and holistic solution that may have been beyond the vision of the individual parties (Darlington, Feeney & Rixon, 2004). McDonald and Rosier (2011) describe collaboration as a high intensity, high commitment relationship that requires new ways of thinking, behaving and operating, and for this reason, can be highly challenging for participants. Interagency collaboration can also reduce duplication of services and allows for greater efficiency in use of public resources.
A review of the literature regarding the utilisation of services by children in foster care identified that the complexity of cohesive service implementation and integration for children in care has been due to the fragmentation between relevant agencies (Kerker and Dore, 2006, cited in Chamberlain et al., 2008). In the past, limited collaboration between key stakeholders has meant that services are delivered in an ad hoc manner without a cohesive or well organised plan. Where these circumstances exist, wariness, distrust and shifting of responsibility between stakeholders may develop and can prevent the complex needs of children, young people and their families being ‘held in mind’ by all involved stakeholders. In addition, what further inhibits effective collaboration is when too much stress is placed upon the system providing care; the system itself becomes chaotic and frequently reflects the internal chaotic world of the child.
What is known is that any boundaries that are created which divide statutory and therapeutic work tend to be unhelpful and unnecessary. Effective collaboration between professionals undertaking therapeutic and statutory work creates psychological environments for the client, where the client is more able to meaningfully and successfully engage in treatment programs yielding positive therapeutic outcomes (Evolve Interagency Services Manual, 2012, unpublished).
Some of the key characteristics of effective collaboration between agencies include:

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  Dense interdependent connections;
  

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  Frequent communication;
  
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  Tactical information sharing;
  
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  Pooled, collective resources;
  
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  Negotiated shared goals; and
  
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  Shared power between organisations.
  

Building Sector Capacity – Professional Development and Training

Evidence suggests that underpinning most successful service interventions with this client population are highly skilled staff and carers who receive expert supervision, ongoing training and support; and strong and sustainable partnerships where key players have the necessary knowledge and also good mutual understanding (Schmied, Brownhill & Walsh, 2006). The provision of training and professional development is a vital contribution to ‘capacity building’ through increasing knowledge about trauma and attachment, and thereby increasing the capacity for a deeper understanding of the emotional and behavioural patterns displayed by children and young people.

Physical Environment – Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Therapeutic Space

There is a paucity of research examining how physical environments such as residential facilities and therapeutic spaces impact children and young people who have experienced trauma as a result of abuse and neglect. Some of the research reviewed suggests using soft or neutral tones and natural materials when creating therapeutic spaces instead of primary colours, although colour can be introduced to the environment.