Supporting children when working with separating parents – part three

Each year, many Australian children experience the separation or divorce of their parents or primary caregivers. Many parents navigate separation in ways that take care of children’s mental health and wellbeing, without assistance from family dispute resolution services or specialist counselling services.

However, separating families commonly come into contact with a range of practitioners during separation, so it’s important that all practitioners have the understanding and skills to support parents and children during this time.

In this final episode of our three-part series, we discuss ideas and practices for engaging parents to explore, understand and respond to their child’s experience of separation.

Experienced post-separation practitioners Alesha Akintoye, Clare Daly, Helen McMullan and Roxanne Nathan discuss how they go about supporting parents to support their children during separation. We also talk with Alan, Jocelyn, Jamie and Vanya, four of Emerging Minds’ Family Partners, about their lived experience of navigating relationship separation.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• what it might be like for parents to begin to have conversations with practitioners about their child’s experience of separation [02:20]
• practices for beginning conversations with parents about their child’s wellbeing [05:22]
• the importance of being curious and acknowledging the steps parents have already taken to lessen the negative impacts of separation on their child [14:00]

Further information and resources from Emerging Minds:

Supporting children when working with separating parents – part one podcast

Supporting children when working with separating parents – part two podcast

Supporting children’s mental health when working with separating parents online course

Positive post-separation parenting podcast

How to speak with separating parents about their children’s wellbeing practice paper

Working with separating parents to support children’s wellbeing: What can we learn from evidence-based programs? practice paper

Steps parents take tip sheet for parents

Parents supporting parents after separation tip sheet for parents