On 28 March Victims Services hosted the Approved Counsellors Conference 2009 at Parramatta Justice Offices. Over 80 Approved Counsellors attended from across NSW and interstate. The conference provided Approved Counsellors with the chance to meet Victims Services staff , to network with other counsellors as well as hear from a wide range of speakers. Feedback from delegates was overwhelmingly positive with many comments about the relevance of the topics covered and the benefits of networking .

Professor Richard Bryant who is Scientia Professor of Psychology, University of New South Wales, provided a keynote address that was well received, entitled “Doing the best for assault victims “ that presented a concise overview of recommended psychological interventions for people with PTSD.

“Doing the best for assault victims” (Powerpoint 1146KB)

The second keynote was provided by Robyn Lamb who is co-director of the Child Protection Unit at The Childrens Hospital at Westmead. Robyn has had a long and distinguished career in child protection and is an experienced clinician working with children and families. Robyn’s keynote focused on the assessment and treatment of trauma with children and young people and feedback indicated that counsellors found Robyn's overview of a new trauma assessment framework a highly useful tool.

“Assessment and Treatment of Trauma in Children and Young People” (Powerpoint):
Part 1 Slides 1-36 (1614 KB)
Part 2 Slides 37-48 (1618 KB)
Part 3 Slides 49-74 (1378 KB)

A Panel of Victims Services staff also answered questions submitted by Approved Counsellors and as well 6 workshops were held concurrently during the afternoon sessions. Copies of the workshops and panel presentation are available on request.