Key Skills in Family Therapy with Dr Kate Owen and Dr Leonie White

Would you like to work more confidently and effectively with clients? Do you know how to troubleshoot when treatment gets “stuck”?

Book a seat today to develop your family therapy skills to a deeper level.

This two-day workshop is aimed at practitioners who work with children, young people, adults, couples, families, and/or organisations supporting clients with mental health issues. This workshop aims to introduce participants to core Family Therapy concepts and broaden practitioners understanding of how to view “the client’s problem”, as well as provide practical skills and interventions for use with the client groups with which they work, built on theoretical constructs from systemic, structural, solution focused and narrative family therapy models to teach core thinking and interviewing skills in family therapy. It makes complex theory easy to grasp and the related techniques easy to implement.

The workshop is interactive, dynamic, experiential, and self-reflective in nature. The presenters use a variety of teaching tools and modalities to enhance the learning experience, make complex theory easy to grasp and the related techniques easy to implement. The presenters offer wise and compassionate guidance on everything from intake and assessment to treatment planning, the nuts and bolts of specific interventions, the nuances of establishing therapeutic relationships, and how to troubleshoot when treatment gets “stuck”. Pre-readings and post-workshop resources are available for ongoing learning and interest. You will learn:

• Theoretical underpinnings of each of the major family therapy models
• How to understand and effectively use key tools such as hypothesizing, reframing, circular questioning, and genograms (as both an assessment and treatment tool)
• How to engage all family members in therapy
• Understanding the presenting problem in a family context vs the identified patient
• Understanding the family life cycle, influences of family origin and multigenerational patterns
• Guidelines for conducting assessment, initial interviews, therapy plans and termination of treatment
• Unpacking relationship issues and the influence of triangulation and alliances
• Demonstrations by experienced family therapists

This is essential training for any practitioner working with children and families ranging from Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Social Workers, Clinical Counsellors, Family Therapists, Counsellors, Child Protection and Disability Workers, Guidance Officers, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Residential Care Workers and Foster Support Workers. By the completion of this workshop participants will have a family-focused lens in therapy and feel confident in conducting family therapy sessions or incorporating family therapy techniques into their current client interactions. Linking theory to practice features strongly throughout each component of the workshop, as does developing practical skills to take away from the workshop. This two-day workshop has been delivered to government and non-government agencies across Queensland with consistently positive outcomes.

Dr. Kate Owen: BPsych (Hons), D.Psych (Clinical) Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist Member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Australian Association of Family Therapy (AAFT).

Dr Leonie White: BPsych (Hons), Ph.D (Org Psych) Clinical Family Therapist Psychologist Member of the Australian Association of Family Therapy (AAFT).

Kate and Leonie specialise in child, youth and family interventions with a background in Child and Youth Mental Health Services and Evolve Therapeutic Services. They work in private practice along with providing supervision, consultancy and training.