Difficult Conversations-How to Talk to Children and Young People About Almost Anything – Hobart, TAS

This one day workshop is for anyone who may have potentially difficult conversations with children and young people. This could include: case managers, team leaders or direct care staff working with children, young people and families; carers and workers in foster care or staff in residential care. The difficult conversations could be about: helping the child or young person managing their own difficult feelings; engaging and motivating a young person; responding effectively to the difficult behaviour of a child or young person; answering questions as to why a child or young person is not living with their family; delivering difficult news; supporting a child following a difficult incident or; managing disclosures of abuse among many other possible topics.

The workshop will cover: assessing the child or young person’s development level and developmental needs prior to a potentially difficult conversation; a simple structure that is applicable to many difficult conversations with children and young people; the importance of having a positive purpose or purposes in mind prior to and during the difficult conversation; how to use language in a way that is respectful and honest and; the how, when and where of delivering difficult news to children and young people. The workshop will be very interactive and there will be ample opportunity to ask questions. Each participant will leave with a suggested structure and guidelines for a difficult conversation they may be planning in the future.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course the participants will:

• Be aware of the need to assess the child or young person’s developmental level and development needs prior to the conversation and have developed their skills in performing these two tasks.
• Have a simple, clear structure for many difficult conversations with children and adolescents.
• Understand the need to have a positive purpose for any conversation with a child or young person and know how to establish a positive purpose.
• Have developed their skills in using language in a way that is respectful and helpful as possible while being honest and direct.
• Have developed their skills in delivering difficult news to children and young people.