Thanks so much for this training... I've had some precious conversations with parents recently that may not have happened if I had not grown in confidence during your training!

Course Overview:

If you have begun working with children and young people, and have been wondering if there are helpful ways to engage and connect with parents, whilst maintaining confidentiality and ensuring safety, then this 3-hour, online and interactive workshop is for you.

This workshop offers a safe space to discuss the broad range of possible parents’ fears, and our own fears, as well as to look at the emergence of counter transference in our work. We will also consider how to assess whether parents are willing and capable of readiness to change themselves.

This interactive workshop will offer some suggestions to the commonly asked questions by counsellors in supervision about engaging with parents. You will be invited to come with questions about this topic, which will be responded to during the workshop.

*How do you …?

*What if … ?

*When do you … ?

*Why would you … ?

Working with parents is rarely included as a subject of study in training, and yet many counsellors and psychologists go on to work with children and young people and find themselves uncertain about what are safe, ethical and respectful ways to communicate, connect with and collaborate with parents.

This workshop will not be teaching about child counselling techniques, but this opportunity to prepare parents will enhance whatever therapeutic approach you use. It’s all about relationships and the alliance we create with the family, even though we may never meet both parents, each adult needs to have a safe place with us to ask questions and work with us.

The workshop includes role plays to create effective plans for you to best respond to hesitancy, resistance and challenges when supporting parents. We will look at what triggers you about parents, consider the influence of our own childhoods in the safety of breakout rooms. For this work, our own self-awareness can be used to support parent and caregiver engagement.

We will integrate co regulation techniques and emotion regulation exercises to assist parents making a 'connect before you correct' way of fostering effective parent-child interactions.

Participants will be given access to excerpts from one of Kim’s books, as well as a reference list and links to Kim’s YouTube videos about this topic.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Structure parent intake sessions prior to meeting the child, that allow time to assess risk and hear the identified expectations, needs, hopes, wonderfulness and fears of the family.
• Discuss confidentiality and what the first session with the child may look like.
• Develop contracts of agreements for contact between sessions.
• Assess the family’s capacity and willingness to work collaboratively with you.
• Become curious about your own position on ‘good enough parenting’ / judgements, and how your own childhood experiences will most certainly play into your work.
• Consider what resources the parents may find helpful.

Learning Methods Used?

• Interactive presentation
• Large group discussions
• Pair and small group discussions
• Live demonstrations of methods
• Reflection opportunities for application of approaches
• Responding to your particular questions
• Sharing opportunity of useful resources form the participants

Who Should Attend?

All those working with children and young people in a counselling capacity who want to optimally engage and support parents and carers. Psychologists, school counsellors, social workers, counsellors, other allied mental health professionals and students of these disciplines.  PLEASE note, this training is limited to 16 people so register early to avoid disappointment!

Workshop Facilitator

Presenter - Kim Billington, Narrative  Therapist
		Masters in Counselling, Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work, Bachelors in Education Kim has worked with families for over 30 years in the field of family violence, men’s behaviour change programs, family separation, bereavement and more. She has a Masters’ degree in Counselling, B. Ed and a Masters’ degree in Narrative Therapy. Kim initially worked with The City of Melbourne and The City of Port Phillip as a specialist parent support worker. She has provided training for The Sydney Centre for Creative Change since 2013, As a clinical supervisor, Kim’s passion is to make available practice wisdom to support the next generation in the profession. She enjoys working dynamically and creatively with families when they stumble in some tricky terrain. Kim is the author of #1 Amazon Bestseller: A Counsellor’s Companion – creative adventures for child counsellors, parents and teachers, and her latest book is about working with adult clients: Counselling Conversations – 10 powerful interviews with seasoned experts.

Training Dates and Times

Please note, this is a LIVE and INTERACTIVE training event. We don't record this.

1st May 2025, 1pm - 4pm AEST (Sydney Time)

or

23rd October 2025, 1pm - 4pm AEDT (Sydney Time)

Attending from interstate or internationally?

You can use this time converter to check the exact day and time of this training for your location.

Training Details

Included in the training price:

• 3 CPD points/hours 
• Access to slides and link to create Certificate of Attendance emailed to you
• GST

Participant Preparation 

Please have the following prepared for this interactive training.

Bring along a de-identified case working with parents.

Training Cost

SPECIAL Price        $200

Work Paying?

Lucky you!

Send us an email requesting an invoice via the contact page with your name, the dates and name of course/courses you'd like to do and the name of your organisation who you want us to invoice and we will send you an organisational invoice and a registration form.