VIDEO

therapeutic specialist video series

This video is part of a series of interviews with Therapeutic Specialists on a range of topics related to supporting therapeutic residential care in Australia. They each bring different professional backgrounds and work for different organisations across Australia. Their views and opinions are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care or the Australian Childhood Foundation or their organisations.

Why did you become a therapeutic specialist?

What would you tell others thinking about becoming a therapeutic specialist?

What changes have you seen in the young people you work with?

What are the best parts of being a therapeutic specialist?

What are the challenges of being a therapeutic specialist?

How does the exposure to trauma impact on staff?

What is the role of relationship in therapeutic care?

What is an average day for a therapeutic specialist?

What is a therapeutic specialist?

Janise Mitchell

DIRECTOR

Janise is the Director of the CETC and the Deputy CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation. She completed a Master of Social Work in 2008 in which she researched the implementation of therapeutic foster care in Victoria. In doing so, she researched best practice elements in therapeutic models of care and looked at the change process required to move an existing way of delivering care to a therapeutic model of service delivery. Janise has 30 years’ experience in the field of child protection and therapeutic care. She has extensive experience providing consultancy to governments and organisations, policy analysis, program development and evaluation. Janise is the lead editor of a Handbook on Therapeutic Care to be published in September 2019 by Jessica Kingsley.
Noel Macnamara

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Noel is the Deputy Director of the CETC, and the Executive Manager, Research and Policy at the Australian Childhood Foundation. Noel brings 30 years of experience to the Centre in therapeutic out of home care and child protection having worked in operational and senior management roles, policy and organisational consultancy. In 2013, Noel’s contribution to the field was acknowledged in his being awarded the Robin Clark Award in Victoria for his contribution to the field of child protection and out of home care. He has a particular interest in supervision and leadership and organisational development.
Glenys Bristow

Senior Residential Care Advisor

Glenys is a Senior Residential Care Advisor for the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care in NSW and brings over 35 plus years experience in therapeutic residential care as a residential care worker, manager, trainer, and consultant. In 2003, Glenys was awarded the Robin Clark Award and later the Residential Care Learning & Development Strategy (RCLDS) Leadership Award in Residential Care for demonstrating achievement and innovation having significant impact on residential care systems and outcomes for children and young people. Glenys is passionate about providing relevant and up to date industry informed training and caring for the workers who care for the young people. Glenys recently completed her Doctor of Education researching what makes a good residential worker – Artistry Fact or Fiction?
Kelly Royds

Head of Knowledge Mobilisation & Innovation

Kelly Royds is the Head of Knowledge Mobilisation and Innovation with the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care, where she works to mobilise practice and research knowledge into training, education and policy resources. Kelly works in close partnership with therapeutic care providers, practitioners and other key government and non-government stakeholders to progress the goals of the CETC. She has spent the past 15+ years developing child and youth-centred policies, evaluation systems and programs that lift up and respond to the voices of children and young people across human services and not-for-profit sectors in Australia, South-East Asia and the United States. Kelly has a particular interest in the power of storytelling to improve systems and outcomes for young people.
Dr Lynne McPherson (SCU)

Director of Research

Dr McPherson brings a strong professional and academic background in child protection and out of home care spanning more than 30 years in practice, management, training and research. She has considerable research and organisational consultancy experience, including but not limited to evaluation of therapeutic care programs, numerous organisational consultancy and development projects and leadership, supervision and change management. In 1997, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to examine international best practice in child protection. In 2017 Dr McPherson and Noel Macnamara released a book ‘Supervising Child Protection Practice: What Works?’ An Evidence Informed Approach. This book was published and distributed internationally by Springer Publishers. Alongside Dr Lynne McPherson is an SCU based Research Team: Kathomi Gatwiri – Senior Research Officer (SCU) Nadine Cameron – Research Officer (SCU) Natalie Parmenter – Research Assistant (SCU).
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