Commissioned and funded by the Eastern

Metropolitan Region Family Violence Partnership

Sa fe &
SECURE
A trauma informed pract
ice guide for
understanding and respo
nding to children and
young people affected
by family violence.

childhood.org.au
Safe & Secure 1
 Developed and written by the
Australian Childhood Foundation.

Index

Introduction Page 4
Using trauma as an explanatory framework for understanding the Page 10
impact of family violence on children and young people

Trauma and the brain Page 11

Trauma and the body Page 12
Trauma and emotion Page 13
Trauma and behaviour Page 14
Trauma and relationships Page 19
Trauma and loss Page 21
Defining principles for responding to children and young people Page 24
affected by family violence

Applying a trauma informed framework for supporting children Page 28

and young people affected by family violence

Conclusion Page 47
References Page 48

2 Safe & Secure

 Acknowledgements

In 2006, the Eastern Metropolitan Region Family Violence Integrating Partnership was founded with a membership
that included the Australian Childhood Foundation, DV East, Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault, Eastern
Domestic Violence Outreach Service (EDVOS), Eastern Victims Assistance and Counselling Program, Salvation
Army East Care, Immigrant Women’s Domestic Violence Service). EDVOS as the lead agency facilitated
further discussions with services in the region providing family violence responses, including refuges, crisis
accommodation and support services, community health services, family services, men’s behaviour change
programs, local government services, neighbourhood houses, IWDVS, (now known as in Touch Multicultural
Centre against Family Violence), and the Indigenous Family Violence Regional Action Group.

The aim of this multi-agency cross-sector partnership was to develop structures and processes that effectively
strengthened the coordination of responses offered by the family violence service system. This has included the
establishment of common risk assessment and referral processes; expanded and improved services; advocacy
at individual and system level; better case management, co-ordination and tracking; improved data collection;
enhanced criminal justice responses; better monitoring and evaluation; the co-location of agencies; agreed
protocols and codes of practice; and, joint service delivery.

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Family Violence Partnership has continued to grow and develop integrated
responses to family violence. Today, it is a partnership of organisations committed to working together to address
family violence. Its goal is to provide an co-ordinated family violence response to support women and children’s
safety and hold perpetrators of family violence accountable for their behaviour. It involves representatives from
Family Violence Services, Women’s Health Services, CALD Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services,
Family Services, Children’s Services, Youth Services, Legal Aid, Mental Health Services, Men’s Behaviour Change
Services, Police, Statutory Child Protection and the Courts.

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Family Violence Partnership identified, commissioned and funded the
development of this guide to support and strengthen responses to children and young people affected by family
violence. The Australian Childhood Foundation has written and developed it.

The contribution of all the individuals and agencies that participated in the consultation process associated with
this guide is greatly appreciated. The stories of children and families that appear in this guide are examples only.

© 2013, Australian Childhood Foundation and the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Family Violence Partnership.

Suggested Citation: Australian Childhood Foundation (2013). Safe and Secure: A trauma informed practice
framework for understanding and responding to children and young people affected by family violence. Eastern
Metropolitan Region Family Violence Partnership, Ringwood.

The Safe and Secure Project

was supported by the Victorian Government.

Safe & Secure 3

 Introduction

Children do not escape family violence unaffected.

They are traumatised by the experience. It terrifies
them. It destabilises the foundations of their
development. It undermines the strengths of their
Children have to make sense of such
relationships. It can overwhelm them.
violence. They need to understand why it
And most of all, it exposes their little hearts to pain.
Children experience family violence deep in their
happened. They need to know what it means
mind and body. They see it. They often hear it. Their
bodies react to it as a threat to their survival. They see
for their parents, their siblings, themselves.
the aftermaths of it. They sense its impact. They watch They have so many questions that need
for it.
It forces children to know what can set it off. It teaches answers. Was it my fault? Could I have done
them to avoid answering certain questions. It shapes
who they can trust - who will hurt them and who might
something to stop it? Is violence how you
protect them.
show love? Will it happen again? Should I
Experiences of family violence define what children
can say when and to whom. It dictates what they tell someone? Will my dad get in trouble?
should think. It determines how they should react.
Will my mum be ok?
It sometimes makes the truth a secret.
Children are forced to see the violence that is directed
Often, these questions build and build in children. They
towards their mothers. They see the aftermath of it.
jumble up with other thoughts. They feel unsettled.
Children feel the vulnerability in their mother and in
Their bodies tense up. They feel sick. They are not sure if
themselves.
anyone knows what it is like for them.
For children, family violence often disconnects them
In the face of family violence, children need to
from their family, their community and their place in
experience safety. They need to be comforted and re-
the world. It disrupts how everything works. It forces
assured. They need their questions answered and their
their routines to be less certain, less predictable.
feelings acknowledged and validated. They need the
Family violence corrupts how children know world to feel more consistent. They need their bodies
themselves. It amplifies any vulnerabilities about to relax and feel calmer. They need to experience
themselves and their relationships. It makes every worry softness in their relationships.
feel so much stronger.
Safety and security spreads in concentric circles
Children experience loss as a result of family violence. around children affected by family violence locating
They sometimes have to leave behind their room, their the basis of change in their relationships with their
home, their neighbourhood. Some have to change mother and siblings, with their father, their extended
schools. They miss their teacher, their friends. family, their community and their friends.
The service system that engages with children and their
relationships needs a map for making a difference. It
is the aim of this guide to offer a framework that can
support the practice of professionals who connect
with children and young people affected by family
violence.

4 Safe & Secure

 How did this guide
come about?

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Family Violence to know how best to respond to their needs and have
Partnership identified, commissioned and funded the
development of this guide. Its impetus was drawn from access to a range of strategies that may be helpful in
a recommendation from an earlier project completed their contact with children.
by the Partnership entitled: Working together to
develop a better service response for children. This • In the context of family violence, the relationship
mapping project identified the need for a consistent between children and their mothers needed to be
practice framework for services working with children
and young people who have experienced family considered as the central foundation for protecting
violence. them and supporting their recovery from the trauma
The Australian Childhood Foundation was engaged to associated with their experiences.
develop this guide.
The Foundation undertook a series of consultations
• Intervention offered to children should respond to the
with a range of services about what they wanted from fact that they suffer multiple losses as a result of
it. The process collected information from interviews family violence.
with managers and direct service staff from a number
of agencies who are part of the service response • The relationships between children and young people
to children and young people affected by family
violence.
and their fathers who are often the perpetrators of
Feedback was sought from regional Child Protection
the violence needed to be understood and worked
Services, Family Services, Specialist Family Violence with in some way.
Services for Women, Women and Children’s
Counselling Services, Men’s Behaviour Change • Culture is central to how the needs of children and
Services, Indigenous Support Services, Youth Support young people are interpreted and responded to as a
Services, Crisis Accommodation Services for Women
and Children, Victoria Police and Education Support
result of experiences of family violence.
Services for Children. Those consulted wanted a resource that was
evidence-based and complemented other relevant
The outcomes of the consultations guides such as The Best Interests Framework for
Vulnerable Children and Youth and the Common
highlighted the following themes. Risk Assessment Framework. Importantly, the guide
needed to be easy to understand, user friendly and
provide practical strategies to support children in the
• The needs of children affected by family violence aftermath of family violence.
were often overlooked and poorly understood. Most importantly, the guide needed to define
family violence in a way that reflected its origins in
• Services were highly motivated to better support the dynamics of power and control used by men
to control women and children. It also needed to
children but often lacked the confidence to know recognise that family violence is sourced in the
what they could do within the context of their pervasive impact on Indigenous peoples of enforced
respective roles. experiences of dislocation and colonisation. Within the
context of these origins, attention should be paid to
• Services wanted access to information to increase healing approaches for all members of the family and
community.
their understanding about how family violence affects
children and young people, improve their confidence

Safe & Secure 5

 How did this guide
come about?

In addition, a limited literature review was undertaken • Experiences of family violence directly and
to help locate the development of the guide within
the current legislative, policy and research context. indirectly undermine the relationship between
The major themes of the review are identified in the mothers and their children. Children are best
list below.
supported when there is a focus on
• Family violence has been a major contributor strengthening the mother-child relationship in
in the growing number of child abuse the aftermath of family violence, with a
notifications that statutory child protection particular focus on building relational
systems across Australia have received in attunement and shared meaning making.
the past decade. It is therefore increasingly • Interventions which emphasise a mother’s
considered a major risk factor for children responsibility (either deliberately or
suffering significant levels of trauma in inadvertently) for protecting and supporting
their family. children whilst not holding the perpetrators
• Recent changes to legislation relating to of violence accountable for their actions and
family violence have highlighted the growing inactions are ineffective and further serve to
understanding of the impact of family violence disempower women.
on children and an increasing awareness of • In the literature, male perpetrators of family
the need to prioritise the safety of children over violence have had their identities as fathers
contact with either or both parents. rendered invisible resulting in insufficient
• The knowledge base associated with the attention placed on the importance of the
neurobiology of trauma and attachment father-child relationship in family violence
disruption is viewed as an important situations and resourcing ways to safely
explanatory framework for understanding how incorporate the contribution fathers can make
family violence affects the development of to children’s well-being and welfare.
children and young people. • There is a strong view that responses to
• There is a general consensus that support Indigenous families where family violence is
offered to children affected by complex present should include a consideration of the
trauma associated with family violence should impact of colonisation, and cultural dislocation,
adopt a phased-based or sequenced model of resource the broader familial or cultural context
intervention, initially focussed on stabilisation and adopt a community healing approach.
and safety, symptom management, and
improvement in basic life competencies.

6 Safe & Secure

 WHO IS this
guide FOR?

Situations of family violence often trigger a system

response that involves a number of authorities and
services – police, courts, refuges, family violence
workers, perpetrator behaviour change programs, Children affected by family violence rely on
child protection and family support services, to name
a few. a team of people around them. It does not
This guide is for all professionals, regardless of their role,
who come into contact with or work with children who
matter how much time you have with them
have experienced family violence. for your exchange to be meaningful and
Through this guide, you will be able to: potentially helpful. For all these children,
• build on the work you are already doing;
your contact with them is an important
• recognise where you fit in to the process of
opportunity for some of their needs to be
change for these children; and, responded to by a caring adult who notices
• know how best to support children during your them. Their experience of you and your
contact with them. reactions will prepare them for their next
steps towards healing.

Safe & Secure 7

 How do you use
this guide?

The guide is divided into three sections. Section 1 A full list of references is available at the end of the
provides an understanding of the impact of family guide if you wish to undertake further reading.
violence on children’s experience of themselves,
relationships and their world using up to date research
on the neurobiology of trauma. Section 2 draws on
A note on language used in this guide.
the previous analysis and articulates a set of principles
that need to be considered in responding to children • The term ‘children’ is used throughout this guide to
affected by family violence. Section 3 offers a range refer to both children and young people.
of easy to use strategies that promote children’s
safety and security, assist them to make meaning • Throughout this guide, the perpetrator of family
of their experiences and aid their recovery from the
damaging consequences of family violence.
violence is referred to as male, reflecting the reality
The contents of the guide reflect a synthesis of best
that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of
available knowledge and practice drawn both from family violence are male.
research and the Australian Childhood Foundation’s
practice frameworks and publications.
Look after yourself.
As you work your way though this guide, stay attuned
to your own progress and feelings. Reflecting on the
impact of trauma of children and young people can
sometimes evoke feelings of distress or concern. Be
Individual citations have been deliberately sure to monitor your own emotional reactions to this
material. Seek out support from colleagues, supervisors
been omitted in the text so as to make it or others at your service.

easy to read and more conversational in tone.

8 Safe & Secure

 Sophia
Sophia is 9 years old but seems much younger.
She has lived with significant family violence
for all of her life which has somehow taken awa
y the hope of a little girl who was meant to
be enjoying games and magic in her life.
From the time she was born, her father would
lock her in her room away from her mother
for significant periods of time. This would be exp
lained to her in terms of this being the
time “her mother was being punished.”
Sophia never knew what the punishment was for.
All she knew was that at least twice a
week, she would be locked in her room whilst
her father hurt her mother by hitting her,
threatening her and calling her names. Sophia’
s father once told her that if her mother
required three punishments during that week,
she would be killed.
He had also begun to tell Sophia that she was
responsible for “helping her mother to behave
well.” During these times Sophia would hide in
her room, frightened, alone and terrified that
she may be to blame for her mother being hur
t, or even killed. However, it was not unusual
for her father to make Sophia watch whilst he
assaulted her mother.
Sophia never talked to her mum or anyone abo
ut her fears. She was alone in a life filled
with terror.

Sophia’s story is not unique.

Throughout this guide, we will refer back to Sophia. We will come to
understand more about her world and how her experience of terror
affects her. We will also consider how todevelop strategies to help her to
feel safe, make meaning of the violence and support her to recover from
the devastating impact of the trauma she has experienced.

Safe & Secure 9

 Section 1
Using trauma as an explanatory
framework for understanding the
impact of family violence on children

There is ample evidence now to suggest that With support, children can, and do recover from the
being forced to live in and around adults who harmful effects of trauma. To do so, however, they
engage in violent behaviour towards others in a need adults in their lives to understand and respond
family is a significant source of trauma for children. to their unique needs. Transformative experiences
The outcomes of more than two decades of begin with recognising that traumatised children
research have demonstrated remarkable insights cannot easily adapt and change to their environment.
into how trauma shapes and reshapes childhood Instead, their environment and the people in it need to
development. This knowledge base has become a adjust to help them.
primary explanatory framework for understanding
This guide draws on this evidence to form the basis for
and responding to the needs of children affected by
the practice framework it describes.
family violence.
In this section, the knowledge base about
neurobiology, attachment and disruption is integrated
to provide a summary of the ways that trauma affects
children. The section will consider the impacts on the
Above all, children need the violence to stop. following areas:

They need to be protected and feel safe. • Trauma and the brain
Security offers them some small relief. It • Trauma and the body
reduces the stress load on them and allows
• Trauma and emotion
them to connect more to people who are
important to them. • Trauma and behaviour
• Trauma and relationships
Even after the stressful or traumatic situation has
passed, children’s brains and bodies continue to
react as if the stress is continuing. They become self
• Trauma and loss
protective. They spend a lot of their energy scanning
their environment for threat. Their bodies act as if
they are in a constant state of alarm. Their brains are
endlessly vigilant.

10 Safe & Secure

 uma a n d th e b ra i n
TRA

Trauma is the emotional, psychological and

physiological residue left over from heightened stress
that accompanies experiences of danger, violence,
significant loss and life threatening events. They do not easily understand or engage
Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of
trauma because of their developmental immaturity.
with consequences for their behaviour. Their
The trauma associated with family violence reduces brains are so over-activated that they are
the capacity of children’s brains to shape the way
they react to their environment. As a result, children able to take in very little and do not learn
appear to behave instinctively and sometimes
inappropriately, without knowing why. They are also new information easily. In particular, their
not able to easily influence their feelings when faced
with perceived threat or increases in their experience memory systems continue to remain under
of stress.
stress. Their working memory for even the
These children lack the adaptability and flexibility
necessary to respond differentially to varying easiest set of instructions can be severely
situations and contexts. They have a limited range of
coping strategies. Whilst these strategies may have compromised.
been effective in assisting them to survive in unsafe
situations, they can stop being relevant if the context
changes and the violence stops. These responses Traumatised children find it difficult to separate the
involve beliefs, behavior and feelings that feel familiar past from the present. They often react in the present
and comforting to children - even if they are not to triggers that are related to the past. These can
helpful and are distracting to others around them. include sights, sounds, smells and other unconscious
reminders of past feelings of fear and insecurity. They
Traumatised children find it difficult to make meaning often lack a strong sense of who they are, where they
from their experiences. They have few or no effective belong, how they fit in the world and what is possible.
internal maps to guide their actions. As a result, they
react rather than respond.
Their beliefs about themselves are determined by the
very people who violate them. They hold onto ideas
about relationships which are not helpful to them
in their communication with peers and other adults
like teachers. They can find it difficult to see adults as
supportive. They are cautious about being hurt and
are more likely to stay closed to the development of
new connections or relationships.

Safe & Secure 11

 TRAuma and the bo
dy

The traces of trauma register in children’s muscles. They

form patterns of movement that help them to survive
Children also experience trauma in their the effects of the violence they are exposed to. These
movements can be inhibited or cut off. They can be
bodies. They can feel physical tension, exaggerated and wild. Children’s bodies react in the
ways they have always reacted to distress and fear.
experience restricted movements, headaches, Their bodies can become frozen in time. They need
support to change the ways their muscles move. Safety
nausea, and disturbed sleep and eating and security reshape children’s movements. In safety,
children do not have to act to protect themselves.
patterns. When under perceived threat, They can start to explore fun, harmony and curiosity. It
is then that children feel a freedom in their bodies that
their bodies are mobilized towards survival allows them to become more balanced and more
secure. They walk towards relationships and find in
and become oriented to fight, flight and them love and courage.

freeze responses. At these times, relationships can sooth stress when they
are positive and nurturing. Children rely on safe and
caring adults around them to help them to calm down.
Strong attachment relationships have been shown to
If the violence or threat of violence continues, a
act as the primary moderator of children’s stress and
second more sustainable system is switched on that
distress. They keep children safe from danger and
releases hormones and chemicals into the body that
protect them from the harsh consequences of ongoing
slow it down and prepare it to survive ongoing threat.
elevated states of arousal.
This enables the body to conserve energy. It supports
the brain to relax a little making space for the child When children don’t have access to safe, supportive
to think about ways to manage and/or change the and consistent relationships, as is often the case in
situation causing the stress. family violence, children’s developmental trajectories
are altered. The toxic impact of chronic physiological
In the face of chronic exposure to family violence, the
and emotional stress can interfere with healthy brain
brain-body system becomes stuck in a highly vigilant
and body development. Development, in some cases,
state, constantly scanning the environment for threat.
can become slowed and not move beyond the stage
These children lose the capacity for adaptability
they had reached at the time the family violence first
and flexibility in response to change. They crave the
began.
familiar. Their brain-body system is easily stressed by
even small changes in their environment. Any change,
good or bad is experienced as a threat that can
quickly trigger a significant stress response that quickly
overwhelms the child.

12 Safe & Secure

 TRAuma and emotion

Children become aware of their internal state by

experiencing how others react to their feelings. If those
feelings are acknowledged, valued and verbalised,
then children develop emotional literacy. They come
Children affected by family violence often
to know when it is appropriate to be excited. They
learn when it is okay to be curious and explorative.
become disconnected from their feelings.
They experience a range of feelings, positive and
negative, big and small. They can name the feelings
Alternately, feelings can be experienced as
and learn how to change or shape them. big and overwhelming. They cannot name
Family violence disrupts the capacity of children to
organise their internal emotional domain. Children or describe their feelings. They do not
experience inconsistent and frequently mis-attuned
responses to the way they feel and behave. Responses understand that there is a continuum of
to their feelings by the adults around them can be
unpredictable and sometimes dangerous.
emotions both positive and negative.
For example, instead of validating and acknowledging
children’s feelings, the adult responsible for the Because of its intensity, anger can mask a great deal
violence may escalate children’s confusion or fear of other feelings in children and young people. It
by responding aggressively or blaming children for can look a lot like frustration. It can masquerade as
their behaviour. In unpredictable relationships often uneasiness and confusion. It can also be an outward
characterised by family violence, parents may expression of sadness and distress.
sometimes respond safely and supportively. Then
As a result of family violence, children’s emotional
without warning, they may react angrily, negatively
worlds can be confusing, challenging, overwhelming
or aggressively. This unpredictability leaves children
and often frightening for both the children themselves
confused, fearful and without support.
and others around them.
Children cannot trust the external world to offer
them stability. They do not have their feelings
acknowledged and verbalised. They learn to distrust
their own feelings. They react without awareness. They
stop seeking out comfort.
Children’s arousal systems are constantly elevated
because they have no sense about what to expect
next. In this state, they struggle to find how to feel
calm, how to feel safe, how to feel in control.
The emotional world of traumatised children is in
constant flux.

Safe & Secure 13

 TRAuma and
behaviour

The behaviour of traumatised children is often Depending on the success of past strategies, children
described by others as challenging and confusing. may react by attempting to put an immediate
Behavioural outbursts are often seen to ‘come out of distance between the threat and them by using
the blue’ or as an over-reaction to seemingly minor behavioural routines to escape (Flight Response).
issues. Other children may be withdrawn and ‘hard to Examples include running away, hiding, screening
reach’. themselves from the view of the source of threat.
Trauma based behaviour, in general, serves important
adaptive and survival functions. It often makes sense
in the context in which it first emerged. However, it can
become counterproductive if it continues after the
need for it has changed.
Trauma based behaviour can usually be identified as
Traumatised children can become
patterns or repetitive routines that play themselves
out in the relationships and environments that children
immobilised (Freeze Response). In this
are engaged in. It can be familiar strategies used to
manage their feelings. It can be driven by change or
condition, they are actively still engaged
unpredictability. It can be influenced by increasing with their environment, analysing it as
levels of stress. It can be shaped by the extent of the
rhythms and sensory stimulation of their environment. It best they can in order to determine the
is very much influenced by the negative self identities
which children believe to be true about themselves. next option for survival. They may appear
Trauma based behaviour can be categorised in a
range of ways. The examples explored in this section
to be still, but they have not disconnected
connect with the ways in which the residue of toxic
stress has been identified to affect children and
from the intensity of what is happening to
young people’s brain-body, memory, emotions and them or others who may be able to assist
relationship systems.
them. Examples include pretending to not
Stress oriented behavior listen, joining a group of others who are
Heightened experiences of arousal arising from violence experiencing similar threat and distracting
or the threat of violence are responded to by survival
responses typically described as Fight or Flight or
strategies to take attention away from
Freeze behaviour. themselves.
In response to signals of threat and stress, children
and young people engage behavioural routines
which directly attack the source of the danger (Fight
Response). They can aggressively react in order to
frighten off the danger, physically stop or diminish it,
or wound it to reduce its impact. Examples include
fighting, swearing, intimidating and shouting.

14 Safe & Secure

 TRAuma and
behaviour

More recently, a fourth stress response has been

clarified in the research which, as indicated in the Self protection
earlier section about trauma and the body, is a
shutdown strategy used to conserve energy and
It is critical to consider how the behaviour of traumatised
ultimately communicate that the child is irrelevant children can act as self protective measures. For example,
to the source of danger, in particular if the danger is some traumatised children have been so damaged by the
another person (Flop Response). In this way, children
and young people hope to survive the danger by abusive nature of their relationships that adults have
being overlooked. Examples include disconnecting stopped being sources of comfort. Instead, these children
emotionally from the impact of the trauma and
reducing the physiological burden on the brain-body
avoid intimacy at all costs. They do this for their own
system. In these conditions, children engage in what protection.
can be perceived as unmotivated, disinterested and
annoyed orientations in social exchanges with others.

Comfort seeking The key to reshaping trauma based

Depending on the experience of supportive and nurturing behaviour is to understand it and respond
relationships in their early phases of development,
children will seek out comfort from people whom they at its source rather than how it is expressed.
perceive as safe, consistent and nurturing. This includes Like emotions, behaviour contains multiple
seeking out physical attention from others, sitting close
and engaging in parallel play, wanting to be fed, wanting
drivers, multiple explanations and multiple
their hand or hair to be stroked. Some children, who ways to respond to it.
have experienced inconsistent relationships, may seek out
such comfort from individuals who are not safe or with For traumatised children and young people with
whom the child misjudges the strength or nature of the histories of unstable relationships, behaviour often
reflects ruptures in relationships. Small examples
relationship. This exposes children to rejection and also of teasing can be experienced as large shifts in
increases the possibility of them being exploited. allegiance, rejection or humiliation. Today’s behaviour
may have been started with tension between peers
Some children may engage in behaviour routines that and friends a week ago and has simmered unnoticed
are aimed at self soothing. This includes rocking, self and unacknowledged in that time. The relational
stimulation, sleeping, playing hand held computer component of behaviour needs to be kept in constant
games, listening to music and eating. These patterns focus when trying to understand the needs of children
can be helpful to children by putting them into a zone who have been affected by family violence.
of attention and focus that supports a more relaxed
state. However, if these activities become a source of Understanding trauma based behavior is the basis for
pre-occupation then their benefit is curtailed. helping children to stop it, reshape it or substitute it
with more helpful behaviour.

Safe & Secure 15

 Jack's story
Eighteen month old Jack is ofte
n left crying for extended perio
the violence rages in the next ro ds of time in his cot whilst
om. There is no one able to resp
There is no one able to respond ond to his cries of hunger.
to his cry for comfort and reassu
himself back to sleep. Sometim rance. Sometimes he cries
es his mother picks him up but
crying for fear of both of them frantically urges him to stop
being hurt by his father. At othe
and responsive. Despite this he r times his mother is warm
will often cry inconsolably, arch
mother’s embrace. ing his back and resisting his
Jack’s entire body is overwhelm
ed by stress. As an infant, his lit
responses from the adults around tle body needed consistent
him to calm him down. Instead
sources of threat without end. , the angry voices are
Even when they are not there,
Jack feels no relief. He is consta he expects them to come back.
ntly agitated. His mother offers
can. But unless the violence sto him as much comfort as she
ps, Jack’s stress response system
is always switched on.

16 Safe & Secure

 emma's story
Emma (12) puts on her headphon
es and turns her music up loud
Her attempts to drown it out do when the fighting starts.
n’t work. She often feels her he
as the violence continues. She ca art racing faster and faster
n’t focus on her homework. She
anything. She doesn’t sleep well. can’t concentrate on
She can’t stop her mind racing.
school for day-dreaming. She ap She gets into trouble at
pears visibly anxious and frighte
teacher’s raised voice. ned at the sound of her
Emma uses active strategies to
reduce the fear and distress she
violence. Her internal stress lev feels in response to the
els run high. She can feel her ow
away. It feels so overwhelming n body be prepared to run
to her that it takes up a lot of
it all. When her strategies do no her energy trying to manage
t work, she disconnects from he
her. Emma is easily reminded of rself and the world around
the violence. A loud voice trigg
a full blown stress reaction. In ers her brain and body into
this state, she feels as if she is
fighting. Emma escapes whenev back there experiencing the
er she can. She is like a visitor
settled and at school she is not in her own life. She is not
learning. She needs the violence
with her mother so that she ca to stop. She needs to connect
n connect to herself. The safer sh
is to have to separate herself fro e feels, the less compelled she
m her feelings.

Safe & Secure 17

 sayed's story
Sayed (9) lives with his mother,
father and sister Jasmine (5). Th
his mother and calls her names. eir father constantly yells at
The children are told by their mo
about what goes on at home as ther not to talk to anyone
no one will understand. Sayed
his sister and other children at is very aggressive towards
school. The teacher caught him
playground today as a result of biting another student in the
an argument over a ball. His ag
beyond his control. He can’t calm gressive behaviour seems
himself easily and won’t allow
these times. teachers to help him at
Sayed’s father has set up a mode
l of relationships that involves
is not safe for Sayed to let out terror and humiliation. It
the pressure he feels that build
is a signal of his own internal dis s inside him. His aggression
tress. He needs help to calm him
really trust that adults around self down, but he doesn’t
him can help him. He needs to
about the way that relationship experience different messages
s can be. He needs to exposure
nurturing and respectful. Then he to relationships that are safe,
can let his guard down and feel
like he can be looked after.

18 Safe & Secure

 TRAuma and
relationships

A strong connection between children and their For these children, the experience of their relationship
parents/carers is critical to children being able to with their mother is dictated by the interests and
understand and feel safe in their world. A secure attitudes held by the perpetrator. Children can be
connection means that children can explore their confused as to why their mother does not protect
world, always knowing that they can come back to herself and them. Children find it difficult to know who
their emotional and relational base camp when they to turn to. They learn that relationships cannot provide
do not feel safe or are uncertain. any relief for them. They do not come to trust others
to help them manage their internal states. They can
In the face of family violence, the experiences of
feel isolated and alone. They do not know how to
children and their mothers are complex. For some,
make the violence stop. They feel powerless to make
children and mothers become closer to each other.
a difference.
For others, family violence can serve to fragment
these relationships and separate children from Worse still, without healthy relational models to
accessing the relational resources that they need. guide them, some children engage in behavior that
reinforces the values and beliefs of the perpetrator.
In the first instance, both mothers and their children
They can hurt their mother and even other siblings.
can be the targets of the violence. The fear and terror
They can talk disrespectfully towards their mother.
that arise form a platform for understanding and
They can be angry with her and act aggressively.
sharing in each other’s mutual experiences. Mothers
They are forced into learning how to survive
can sense the distress in their children. They often act
the violence through pleasing or siding with the
to protect them, escalating their own risk of being
perpetrator.
further harmed. They become very sensitive to their
children’s needs. They try to find ways to comfort
them. They try to keep up their routines often in the
face of heightened uncertainty. They acknowledge
their feelings and validate their concerns. For children
and young people affected by family violence, their Some children can feel frightened for their
mothers are their protectors and moderators. It is
children’s experience of their mother’s strength and mother and act to protect her. For others,
commitment to them that reduces the severity of the
impact of family violence on them. they take it on themselves to protect their
In some circumstances, mothers can be overwhelmed siblings. This can amplify the source of terror
by their own experience of victimization. The control
imposed by the perpetrator of the violence creates that children experience. They can become
parameters in the family that makes sure that
mothers and children are split off from each other. It sharper targets for violence by the perpetrator.
is reinforced with actual and threatened violence.
Mothers are actively forced to choose to meet the Children find themselves in a family without
perpetrator’s needs over the needs of her children.
They are prevented from supporting their children. any effective allies, needing to be responsible
Their parenting approach can be criticised for being
too soft and not enforcing enough discipline. They for those who they perceive to be even more
are told that they are not good mothers, wives and
partners. They are abused if they try to act outside vulnerable than them.
these rules.

Safe & Secure 19

 TRAuma and
relationships

Children are often forced to lie or manufacture the resourced as a collaborative experience involving
truth in their relationships to make them feel more children and their mothers in the first instance. It
stable. This corrupts children’s meanings about safety enables opportunities for them to reconnect with
and security. Children are manipulated into believing each other and the feelings they had for each other
the truth about themselves and their relationships during and after the violence. It affords children and
based on the beliefs and attitudes of the perpetrator their mothers the chance to genuinely re-discover
of the violence. Children develop distorted accounts dimensions of the shared narratives of their relationship
of their own qualities as individuals. They do not which had been omitted or manipulated through
understand the motivations of those around them. the interactions with the perpetrator of violence. This
They can blame themselves and their mothers for enables children to have any of their misconceptions
the violence. They sometimes fail to recognise their clarified and questions answered. It re-establishes or
mother’s efforts to protect them. Their stories of strengthens trust and confidence.
their family are partial and incomplete. Access to
It is at this point that children affected by family
experiences of themselves and relationships before
violence can also be supported to re-engage with
the violence are further eroded by their own stressed
their community. This allows for the meanings of their
memory systems.
experiences to be further validated and contexualised
through relationships with their extended family, friends
and important adults who play a role in their lives.
Children’s relationships with the perpetrator of the
violence, often their father or someone who has a role
Without the violence stopping, children as a parent, is intense and complicated. For some
children any contact with them triggers off heightened
remain exposed to relational extremes that and debilitating fear responses that reinforce the

have limited capacity to settle them and trauma and keep it alive in the brain and body systems
of children. In these circumstances, the impact of any

offer them the security they need to have ongoing contact needs to be carefully understood
and managed.
developmental experiences that are not For other children, the ending of the violence can
be a catalyst for re-engaging in relationships that
compromised. allow them to experience their father adopting the
role of carer and parent. With effective and planned
safeguards in place, this reconnection can offer
For example, children whose relationships are not opportunities for the expression of accountability by
attuned to them can carry internalized models of the father for his violent behavior as well as promote
poor connection with them into other relationships, the emergence of interactions which are child centred
making it difficult for them to feel engaged. As such, serving to validate their needs.
children affected by family violence can have trouble
Family violence is at its core a source of interpersonal
reading and interpreting the social cues of others.
trauma. For children, family violence ruptures the
They are more likely to perceive many facial gestures
relationships around them. Healing children from the
as negative or critical, perhaps even threatening.
effects of such trauma begins with recognizing and
Social exchanges become experiences which add
supporting the centrality of the relationships with
to their levels of stress. Relationships are even more
their mother, whilst understanding and managing to
experienced as disjointed and confusing.
renegotiate the relational resources offered to them
It is only after the violence has stopped that children by their fathers, their siblings, their extended family and
can begin to engage with the opportunity to make their community.
more complete sense of their past experiences and
relationships. This meaning making process is best

20 Safe & Secure

 ma a n d Loss
TRAu

Family violence can lead to experiences of loss on They may be left confused. In the absence of
multiple levels for children. explanations that make sense to them, children can
come up with their own. They blame themselves.
Children lose a sense of safety in their relationships.
They blame the parent who is the target of the
They experience them as painful and unpredictable.
violence. They blame the arguments. They blame the
They are not unconditional sources of nurture and
parent who has used the violence. They may want
care. When their mothers are the targets of the
the violence to stop but continue to see the person
violence, they can feel protective of them. Children
responsible for the violence. Children’s own views are
can feel alone with nobody on their side. They do
translated through a lens that somehow tries to bring
not know what will happen next. A lack of safety is a
back safety and peace in their world. Children lose
significant loss for children. It has a ripple effect and
what has been. They lose a part of themselves that
can make their whole world feel scary. It compounds
liked the way it was. It is not a loss that they can easily
the effects of trauma for them.
overcome.
If children have to move to escape violence, they
Experiences of family violence serve to disconnect
lose their home, their friends and their neighborhood.
children from their culture. They lose the meanings
Their routines change beyond their control. They leave
associated with the beliefs of their family and
behind everything they have known. They are forced
community. They find it difficult to understand and
to start again. If they have had to move a number of
fulfill the responsibilities they have as a part of their
times, they will find it difficult to settle into a new place
community. The importance of their traditions decay.
and make friends again, learn new rules at school,
They lose the principles that their culture offers them
and remember the names of their new friends. They
about what is right and wrong, what is respectful and
will expect to move again. It will be painful to become
disrespectful, what it means to belong to a way of
too attached to anything or anyone. Family violence
seeing the world that is so vital to the way they see
causes the loss of predictability and familiarity for
themselves and their relationships. With a loss of culture
children.
comes a loss of identity. Children affected by family
violence live in-between worlds. They are not fully part
of their own culture – it feels alien to them. Yet, they
are not totally accepted into the community that sees
them as outsiders. In this world, their culture sets them
Family violence often restructures who apart. Neither feels secure.

children live with, who they are able to visit

and when. In some circumstances, children
can lose contact or have restricted access
with one of their parents – generally the
one that has caused the violence in the first
place. Children may not understand why.

Safe & Secure 21

 Sophia
Sophia feels so terrified
that she sometimes find
bites her finger nails un s it hard to breathe. Sh
til they bleed. She worri e often picks at and
to tell anyone. es to the point of vomit
ing but is too scared
At school, Sophia often
seem
and struggles to finish he s distracted. She forgets instructions given to he
r work. She rarely joins r by the teacher
from the class during st in class activities, prefer
ory time on the mat. Sh ring to sit apart
prefers to spend time al e seems frightened to m
one. She doesn’t like m ake
spoken to. aking eye contact and w friends and
ill look down when
At home, Sophia is eage
r to please and is vigila
should be before her fa nt to make sure that ev
ther comes home. She ra erything is as it
her mother and talks ab rely allows herself time
out feeling “half love an to play. She loves
about why bad things ha d half hate” for her fath
ppen at home but is feel er. She is confused
ing more and more resp
onsible.

22 Safe & Secure

 summary

At the core of recovery is safety. Safety affords

protection from violence. Safety makes their world
more predictable. Safety helps relationships act as
The trauma of family violence for children sources of care and security. As safety permeates
through them, children change and grow. They
causes multiple layers of harm. It damages connect more strongly with their mother and siblings.

their development. It isolates them from They connect with their culture. They make sense of
their relationship with the person responsible for the

important relationships of support and care. violence. Their bodies feel less stressed. Their brains
build greater capacity. Their behavior is reshaped.
It makes learning hard. It makes friendships Safety is achieved through collective action around
children. It requires adults to work in concerted effort
complicated. It deteriorates their memory. with a shared commitment to meeting the unique
configuration of needs of children affected by family
It keeps them in heightened states of alarm violence. It is in the depth of understanding that arises
when trauma is used as an explanatory framework
and terror. It stresses their bodies and floods that transformation is made possible for children,

their brains. It is toxic. mothers, and those who perpetrate family violence.

Safe & Secure 23

 Section 2
Defining principles for responding to
children affected by family violence

In this section, the information presented about the • men are statistically and overwhelmingly the
impact of family violence related trauma on children
is distilled into a series of principles that underpin how main perpetrators of violence (especially severe
and why the practice framework was formulated in and injurious violence) against other men and
the way it has been. It forms the basis for describing
and illustrating it in the next section of the guide.
against women; and,
• the meaning, use and consequences of
Family violence needs to be understood as violence by men in families set the frame
though which women and children interpret
an abuse of power. the meaning of their relationships and
The way an issue is defined shapes how it is responded
to. For this reason, a foundational principle for experiences.
proposing the practice framework for supporting
children affected by family violence is the
recognition that
Family violence related trauma does not stop
• the use of physical and sexual violence has unless children are protected and
been historically employed to impose and feel safe.
consolidate men’s control over women Children affected by family violence can only recover
and children; when the violence or threat of violence has stopped.
Children need to feel and be safe. They need to be
• violence against women and children by men comforted and re-assured. This requires adults around
them to understand their needs. They need their
has traditionally been hidden and normalised parents and important adults to notice them and
as acceptable within the context of family look after them. It is the starting point in the process of
relationships; recovery.

• a pervasive tolerance of men’s violence against Family violence related trauma changes the
women is still reinforced in many settings (such
as community, education and work
arousal levels in children.
Children affected by family violence need support to
environments) and media representations, recalibrate their arousal levels, assisting them to feel
despite significant social and legal changes; calmer, safer and less reactive.

• family violence is best understood as a The shame and secrecy that children hold as a result of
their experiences of family violence, also isolate them
purposeful pattern of behaviours by from their peers and other important relationships.
perpetrators rather than a series of unrelated Experiences of understanding and connection support
children to feel accepted and safe in their world.
incidents or acts;
• the perpetrator is responsible and should be
held accountable for choosing to utilise abusive
behaviours in order to assert power and control
over his family;

24 Safe & Secure

 Section 2
Defining principles for responding to
children affected by family violence

Family violence related trauma reduces Family violence related trauma disrupts
children’s ability to use the thinking memory functioning in children.
resources of their brain. Children affected by family violence need adults
to support their stressed memory systems, including
Children affected by family violence are likely to find the introduction of visual cues to prompt rehearsal
it difficult to utilise reasoning and logic to modify their and recall. Children will need multiple opportunities
behaviour or reactions. They are also unlikely to learn to practice behaviour. They need to be helped to
from consequences, in particular when they are in remember experiences that give meaning to their
heightened arousal states. Children need the adults identity that is based on emerging positive qualities
around them to understand how trauma affects them.
and interactions with others. In addition, children’s
They need adults to help them analyse problems and
ability to generalise learning from one setting to
support them to make the right decisions.
another is also hampered by memory difficulties.
As such, care contexts should be resourced to
Family violence related trauma is implement co-ordinated plans of responses that
support the translation of children’s learning from
experienced and stored in children’s bodies. one environment to the other.

Family violence related trauma disconnects

children from the qualities of relationships
Children affected by family violence feel the that can help them to recover.
pain of trauma in their body. They feel sick. Children affected by family violence need positive

Their hearts race. Their arms and legs get experiences of connection as the basis for them to
learn how to
stuck in routines that are reactions to the • problem solve;
violence. Children feel that their bodies are • feel safe to explore new situations;
not working properly. They learn to restrict • manage their feelings;
how much they let in through their senses. • remember the positive feelings associated with
forming relationships; and,
They need support to free their bodies of this kind
of pain and interruption. Children need support to
• have a working model for initiating and
explore how violence has shaped the reactions they maintaining relationships.
feel inside them. They need to engage in opportunities
Traumatised children have poor connective
that liberate their movement through interactive play.
experiences. Their working models are built on fear
Experiencing fun with parents who have become and mistrust. Supporting children to re-experience
associated with the pain and confusion is a very relationships differently is the key to trauma recovery
powerful stepping stone to recovery for children. and change.

Safe & Secure 25

 Section 2
Defining principles for responding to
children affected by family violence

Family violence related trauma affects Family violence related trauma keeps
women and children. children’s attention on their past pain.
There is an emerging conceptualisation of the impact Children affected by family violence need the
of family violence on children beyond that of being environments around them to give them opportunities
a witness to violence between adults. Instead, family to engage in experiences which redirect their
violence related trauma needs to be recognised as attention away from past trauma oriented activation
not only having an impact on the child but also on the to the here and now. They need their relationships with
relationship between children and their mothers. In their carers to offer them chances to act and react
essence, children are affected by the violence itself as in playful ways which are likely to lead to intensely
well as a result of their mothers’ diminished wellbeing positive experiences. These opportunities provide
arising from their own experience of being the target relief to children and help to make their day to day
of the violence. experience more about the fun of the present than
the pain of their past. They also powerfully connect
For example, where courts order contact with
children and parents in shared activities that promote
perpetrators of violence following separation, mothers
trust and belonging.
can feel and be powerless to protect their children
from abuse or ongoing stressful contact, often having
a negative effect on the mother/child relationship.
Importantly, women’s experiences of the systems with
Trauma based behaviour is functional at
which they engage can determine their capacity
to provide stable and secure lives for their children,
the time in which it develops as a response
facilitating recovery, safety and wellbeing. to threat.
Children affected by family violence need their
parents and other important adults to understand
the purpose and meaning of their behaviour, helping
to shift their interpretations away from blame to
In many instances, just as mothers are not greater acknowledgement of the ongoing impact of
children’s abuse experiences. This functional analysis
necessarily aware of the reality of their approach enables adults to develop the confidence
to plan to respond to children. This analysis can also
child’s experiences, neither is the child fully be translated into other settings such as school, where
similar behaviours can intrude on children’s every day
aware of the reality for the mother. It is experiences.

important that mothers and their children

are supported to weave their stories
together to develop shared meaning about
their experiences.

26 Safe & Secure

 Section 2
Defining principles for responding to
children affected by family violence

Family violence related trauma limits Family violence related trauma diminishes
children’s response flexibility and social skills and isolates children from peers.
adaptability to change. Children affected by family violence need their
parents and other important people to recognise how
Children affected by family violence may become much is lost for them in the processes of escaping
fixated in patterns of recurring traumatic activation violence. Children need these losses to be validated
with little capacity to reshape their responses without and where possible considered by the adults in
the intentional resourcing of the important adults their decision making. Children also benefit from
around them. Children need to have change opportunities to have these losses addressed by their
introduced to them in small increments, preparing parents and others. The shame and secrecy that
and supporting them to become accustomed to children hold as a result of their experiences of family
one change before initiating another. In this context, violence, also isolate them from their peers and other
parents and others need to understand the benefits of important relationships. Experiences of understanding
predictability and routine for children as well as and connection support children to feel accepted
the need for practicing flexible responses in acts of and safe in their world.
daily living.

Family violence related trauma disconnects

Family violence related trauma undermines
children from their community and culture.
identity formation in children. Children affected by family violence need access
Children affected by family violence need their to the meanings offered to them by the cultural
parents and other important adults to acknowledge beliefs and traditions of their family and community.
and reinforce examples of positive qualities that are In the experiences of culture, children learn about
part of children’s identity. Children need support to the value of their identity and the significance of the
appreciate themselves as emerging individuals at relationships to them. Children need opportunities to
various developmental transition points. connect with their culture and community as ways
of anchoring them in the face of the often significant
disruption, loss and dislocation that arises from family
violence.

Safe & Secure 27

 io n 3
Sect cu re trauma
Sa fe and Se rk for
h e w o
i ng t frame ple
Apply a c t ic e g peo
fo r med pr a n d youn
i n n
i n g c hildre v iolence
r t il y
su p p o e d by fam
affec t

Sophia
At school, Sophia often
writes secret lists of the
behave better. One day thin
her teacher found one of gs she could do to help her mother
list read “help mummy her lists, much to Sophia
to not annoy daddy so ’s
be brave and not listen much, be quiet so I don’ distress. On this
when mummy is gettin t upset daddy, try to
g hurt, make sure mum
This list led to an inevit my doesn’t die.”
able investigation of th
result of this involvemen e risk to Sophia by Child
t, her mother left her fa Protec
located and supported ac ther and they are now liv tion. As a
commodation house. Th ing in a secretly
ey have been there for
Sophia’s father has mad four weeks.
e several attempts to fi
As a result, an Interventi nd them by turning up
on Order has recently be at Sophia’s school.
from occurring. en taken out to prevent
further harassment

28 Safe & Secure

 NT I N U ED
o p hia CO
S e insists
d b u t st il l d o e sn ’t feel safe. Sh
th e fa ct th a t th e fighting has stoppe h o u se . Sh e d o e sn ’t like the bed. The
Sophia likes re m a in o n at night in the new She misses her doona cover and all
li g h t
that her bedroom to th e o n e in her room at home. It d o e sn ’t fe e l like home.
re n t ng e .
mattress feels diffe er bedroom. The new house feels stra o u se . W h e n she tries to ask
g s in h th is h
the familiar thin
lo n g sh e a n d h e r mother will live in ’t k n o w . Sh e st il l goes to the
ow oe sn
She doesn’t know h her mother gets angry and says she d m the school. Her mother
is, fro
her mother about th n late as they live half an hour’s drive ie s a t n ig h t w hen she thinks
ft e n cr
same school but is
o
d in a w h o le n ew way now and ofte
worrie
seems anxious and
Sophia is asleep. fe . Sh e m e t h e r ch ild protection
li
a ll th e n ew a d u lts involved in her e d in h e r family has
n fu se d by le in vo lv
Sophia feels co
g o . Si n ce th e n th e number of peop li ce m e n, a housing worke
r
ve w e e k s a e r, tw o p o
worker fi m il y vi o lence support work th a t h e r father is ‘seeing
u d e s a fa o to ld h e r
grown and incl e n o w se e s. Her mother has als
a t sh
and a counsellor th
im.
someone’ to help h

Safe & Secure 29

 is t h e a im
what
a m e w o rk?
o f th e fr

The aim of the framework is to provide a way for describes actions and strategies that need to be
practitioners to think about how to support children considered at all points of intervention. It also defines
and young people affected by family violence within the basic goals that need to be met for children and
the context of their role and their agency. young people to heal and recover from the traumatic
impact of family violence on their development,
The framework is a model that individuals and
relationships and identity.
organisations can use to develop and organise plans
that can help children to progress along the path The framework seeks to build a shared platform
to growth and recovery. The model is as relevant to of understanding from which consistent ways of
those professionals whose contact with children and responding can be developed, regardless of when
young people is limited to the initial crisis response and in what capacity professionals engage with the
to an incident of family violence as it is to those child or young person following family violence.
professionals who provide ongoing support to families
Its aim is not to be prescriptive. Instead, the framework
affected by family violence.
is aimed at informing practice for those who are
The framework offers a way of conceptualizing the involved with children and young people affected by
change process for children and young people. It family violence.

30 Safe & Secure

 what are the
components of
the framework?

The Safe and Secure Practice Framework for supporting children and young people affected by family
violence is presented in the Diagram A.

Diagram A. Safe and Secure Practice Framework

OUTCOMES SAFETY STABILITY DEVELOPMENT

PROMOTE
ENABLE
DOMAINS PROTECT STRENGTHEN GROWTH
MEANING
CONNECTIONS AND
MAKING
RECOVERY

ADDRESS DYNAMICS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE

FOUNDATIONS SUPPORT NETWORK ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION
ENSURE CULTURAL INTEGRATION

The Foundations of Intervention.

intervention offered to children, young people and
their relationships. Culture defines who we are, how
we think, how we communicate, what we value
The Safe and Secure Practice Framework has three and what is important to us. The absence of cultural
foundational elements that must underpin any connection for Indigenous children, in particular, has
intervention offered to children and young people been identified as a risk factor for their health and well-
affected by family violence. being. Indigenous children who have the opportunity
to grow up strong in culture develop a sense of
strength, confidence, pride, belonging, peace and
Ensure cultural integration. security that has the potential to guide and protect
them through adolescence and adulthood.
The first foundational element is the need to ensure
that considerations about the cultural background
relevant to the family is integrated into all forms of

Safe & Secure 31

 w ha t a r e t h e
p o n en ts o f
com
fr a m ew o r k ?
the

The Foundations of Intervention

work will be undertaken with due sensitivity and
consideration to the impact on children and adults
of living within communities that continue to
(continued) experience cultural and inter-generational trauma, loss
and dislocation.

Examples of strategies for ensuring

Indigenous children who are separated from cultural integration
their family, country and/or culture are
Take the time to find out the cultural background of the
further traumatised often resulting in deeper family. Identify the extent of support that may exist in the
psychological, emotional and cognitive broader kinship and community structures surrounding the
family.
scarring. It is therefore vital that Indigenous
Explore the cultural meanings attributed to common
children experience culturally appropriate experiences of childhood, parenting, and family.
responses to support them through their Engage elders in the child’s community to promote
recovery from family violence. opportunities for connection with traditional practices and
ceremonies.
Family is the cornerstone of Indigenous culture. The Incorporate cultural meanings given to concepts of safety,
maintenance of connections to family and community
forms the basis of the development of the Indigenous violence, gendered roles and authority.
child’s identity as an Aboriginal person. Failure to
support the integration of cultural identity through Consult and collaborate with agencies that represent children’s
relationships with family, community and land for cultural background.
Indigenous children and young people risks damaging
their well being, growth, education and Consider interpreters and cultural brokers to facilitate
life prospects. conversations with children’s family.
Intervention with children, young people and their
families must address their specific needs within the Integrate an understanding of the impact of trauma and
context of their culture and community. Of critical dislocation in the background of the parents. Implement
concern for planning effective interventions in regard
to the needs of Indigenous children is the need to
culturally relevant healing strategies that support the
maintain contact and seek to work positively and broader family.
constructively with their family and community. Such

32 Safe & Secure

 what are the
components of
the framework?

The Foundations of Intervention • ensure consistency of approach to the child across

all settings including home, school, external therapy
(continued) providers and family; and,
• seek to incorporate in an ongoing way, the views of
Support network engagement and the child, family, and professionals into all planning.
collaboration.
The second foundational element is based on the Examples of strategies for supporting
principle that children and young people benefit
from a collaborative approach by agencies that
network engagement and collaboration
support joint assessment, planning and intervention.
Increasingly, such collective deliberation and action Take part in care teams that support collective decision
is mediated and run through structures such as care making about children. Establish clear processes for
teams. This orientation promotes shared goal setting,
communication and exchange of information. Define clear
collaborative analysis and joint responsibility. Decisions
are more transparent and generally consistent roles and responsibilities for each member of the care team.
with a common understanding of the issues facing Put in place a way to identify and respond to the risk of
children, young people and specific family members.
When implemented effectively, such collective family violence.
processes align the intent and action of different
parts of the system and build a platform for effective
Identify immediate, medium and long term needs for the
communications and co-ordination of responses in the child and develop strategies and resources to address them.
network of adults who are important to children and Ensure that clear decision making processes exist between
young people affected by family violence.
members of the care team.
Through an ongoing process of assessment, planning
and review, a collaborative network of agencies can Consider how to involve mothers and other relevant family
• establish clear protocols for sharing information and or community members in care team meetings or decision
communicating about actions and outcomes; making processes.

• monitor and review the effectiveness of plans for the Develop and implement ways that children’s views can be
child and family; considered in decision making that affects them.

• proactively plan in a timely way for the Establish processes for timely review of plans and progress.
changing needs of the child and the family;

Safe & Secure 33

 what are the
components
of
the framewo
rk?

The Foundations of Intervention Examples of strategies for addressing

the dynamics of family violence.
(continued)
Report men’s behavior that constitutes a crime to the Police.
Address the dynamics of family violence. Support referrals for men to relevant health, addiction and
The third foundational element of the model aims to psychological services.
address and change the specific underlying dynamics
that lead men to engage in violent and controlling Support the engagement of men in Behaviour Change
behavior with women and children in their families.
It recognises that as long as men’s psychological,
Programs. Consider how to monitor attendance and engage in
attitudinal, social and cultural issues continue to not strategies the minimize drop out.
be addressed, then it is likely that men will engage
in repetition of their violent behavior. At an individual Understand the power and control dimensions of family
level, the causal factors that contribute to men violence and ensure that practice does not replicate or
engaging in violence behavior with women and
children include, but are not limited to:
inadvertently condone men’s behavior.

• a personal belief system that legitimizes the Support mothers’ efforts to hold men accountable for their
use of violence as a form of relational power; behavior through the family court and family violence court
systems.
• undiagnosed or untreated mental health problems;
Provide feedback to mothers about behavior by men that
• alcohol or drug addictions; perpetuates a lack of respect towards women
• a lack of social supports; and children.
• inability to manage personal stressors; Connect men with agencies that represent their cultural
• unprocessed childhood experiences of trauma; backgrounds to address previous trauma and histories of
and, colonization and dislocation.

• dislocation from cultural identity.

Making a change to these dynamics is critical
to stopping the violence in an enduring way.
Professionals need to consider how they can support
strategies which hold men accountable for their
violent behavior and resource them to make the
changes necessary for safety to be sustained.

34 Safe & Secure

 what are the
components of
the framework?

Domains of Intervention. Examples of strategies for protecting

children and creating environments
The domains of intervention specifically relate to work
that is undertaken directly with children, their mothers
of safety.
and important adults in their network. The domains do
lead from one to the next in a sequence. However, it Communicate experiences and messages of safety to the child,
is also true that there is significant overlap between connect them with a safe adult and provide experiences of
each domain and the strategies which form them. comfort, in particular during times of crisis.
Clarify legal and criminal orders and statutory arrangements
Protect child and create safety. around the child.
Children’s recovery starts with being afforded safety
and feeling safety reverberating through them. Safety Establish effective safety plans with children and mothers
is a shared experience between children and their
mothers. The professional system needs to orient itself,
that contain built in opportunities for review and predictive
in the first instance, to resource mothers to take action capacity around risk.
to protect themselves and their children. Empowered
women are more likely to be effective in maintaining If engaged with father, support him to understand his
an environment of safety and security for themselves child’s experience and gain undertaking from him to keep
and their children.
his child safe.
Ensure that safety plans are communicated and understood
by all members of the care team. The care team can support
For children, safety is experienced in the review of the safety plan, fine tuning it to ensure that it
is effective.
the predictability of their routines. It is
Define with the mother and child how the perpetrator of the
experienced in attuned relationships with violence should be held accountable for their behavior.
their mothers and other important adults.
Safety is experienced when children no
longer fear that the violence will return. This
realized sense of safety forms the platform
for achieving the aims of the next domains
of intervention.

Safe & Secure 35

 what are the
components of
the framework?

Domains of Intervention (cont) children experience tangible limits to interpersonal conflict

and learn strategies that promote earlier resolution.
Examples of strategies for protecting If children are having contact with their father, strengthen the
father’s commitment to supporting similar routines that are
children and creating environments of
set and followed when the children are in the care of their
safety (cont.) mother. This facilitates children to be exposed to a predictable
Support the mother to extend her understanding of how routine in two different contexts.
children’s safety has been compromised. Hold a series Promote activities such as safe space posters, grounding
of discussions with the mother and child about how the containing activities, which support children to locate
violence affected the child. themselves and their bodies in the present with safe anchors
Promote a shared understanding of the child’s functioning and and connections to the environment
needs using a trauma lens. and people.

Set up a routine with the mother and child that promotes Develop and write self statements that provide identity
predictability and repetition. Draw the routine and turn it resources to the child.
into a visual timetable of family life. Introduce night time Help children and safe adults to use calming activities such as
routines that connect children and mothers closer together breathing, playing with sand and water to support feelings of
just before a child goes to sleep. For example, reading a safety and security.
story, combing a child’s hair for the same amount of time Introduce night time routines which include an attuned
each night. connecting activity and a regulating activity such as relaxation
Assist the mother to understand her child’s arousal patterns. or guided imagery.
Support the mother to identify the trigger in the child’s
environment that set off their heightened stress responses and
trauma based behaviour.
Create a plan that mothers and children will follow in the
event that they have a disagreement. This ensures that

36 Safe & Secure

 a t a r e t h e
wh
n en ts o f
compo
ew o r k ?
the fram

Domains of Intervention (cont)

born. They are supported to have fun and be playful
together with their child. They are given opportunities
to learn how to read their child, tuning into their child’s
mood and feelings. They are supported to understand
Strengthen the relational connections how important relationships are in re-building the losses
that children have experienced. As they experience
around the child. themselves in their parental relationships, parents
The second domain of intervention reflects the need experience themselves as taking care of their children.
for children to locate themselves in relationships
that are committed to them, nurture them and
can acknowledge their pain, fear and confusion
whilst also reinforcing emerging qualities that reflect
a positive interpretation of their own identity. This
domain involves strategies that strengthen the For some children, in particular Indigenous
connection between the mother and child, the
father and the child, and the child and a range of children, support is critical to access
other important kinship and community relationships.
Relationships offer children and young people the relationships in their broader family and
resources to co-regulate their internal arousal system
and safely experience the emotions that can often kinship structures. This enables them to
feel overwhelming and intense. Relationships that
support recovery and healing in children are tuned
experience their culture through relationships
into the needs of children. They show children that
they are understood. They offer comfort and peace.
that are significant and meaningful. Strong
They give children a sense that they belong and they
are thought about fondly and carefully. They define
relational connections to family and
violence and threats of violence as unacceptable. community are at the core of transforming
The strategies in this domain involve re-engaging family
members to recognise and understand the needs the past impact of trauma associated with
of their children. Both mothers and fathers (if safe)
are supported to find in themselves the hopes and family violence.
dreams they held for their children when they were first

Safe & Secure 37

 what are the
components of
the framework?

Domains of Intervention (cont) Build opportunities for children to spend time playing
with safe adults and other children around them. Playful
activities promote laughter, enjoyment, curiosity and
Examples of strategies for strengthening exploration. Consider childhood games that can be undertaken
the relational connections around the child. collaboratively between adults and children.
Explore and address with parents issues that affect their For example, playing Balloon Tennis. Playing the Mirror Game
ability to provide a safe nurturing relationship with their where parent and child take it in turns to mimic the facial
child, such as their own trauma history, arousal triggers, expressions that each other makes. Playing Bubble Volleyball,
beliefs about their child and parenting approach. where parents and children blow a soap bubble from one to
the other until it pops.
Provide opportunities for children and mothers to share and
learn about the strengths of their relationships. For example, Plan and build in regular opportunities to play games that
support mothers to understand their children’s needs, interpret metaphorically compensate for the trauma experienced by
their children’s verbal and non verbal cues, and support child. For example, Hide and Seek can be played in ways that
the evolution of responses that connect with and comfort emphasise how delighted the adult is in finding the child that
children’s arousal state. they have lost. This reflects in play the experience of children
being rediscovered and noticed again.
Support the child to connect consistently with the parent with
verbal and non verbal techniques such as a worry box.

38 Safe & Secure

 w ha t a r e t h e
p o n en ts o f
com
fr a m ew o r k ?
the

Domains of Intervention (cont) of clothing, toys, special message cards, perfume scented
soft animal.
Examples of strategies for strengthening Develop ways for parents to show children that they keep
the relational connections around the them in their thoughts even they are not together. For
example, encourage a mother to leave a note in the child’s
child. (continued.) lunch box that describes the connection between the child’s
Consider how to engage fathers in processes that support lunch and the lunch that the mother used to have when she
them to work towards having a safe relationship with their was going to school.
child. Develop a list of actions that fathers need to undertake Support parents to know how to comfort and sooth children
to show that they accept responsibility for their behavior. when they experience heightened stress levels.
Organise ways for fathers to apologise to women and children
for their violence. Build a set of rules with the mother and Help children to develop the capacity to name, express and
child that need to be adhered to by the father in order to connect with a range of emotions.
commence and maintain contact with the child. Support child to reconnect and engage in relationships that
Create sensory anchors that both mothers and children can feel safe responsive and nurturing i.e. teacher, extended
access through the day when they are separated from each family, friends, extra curricular activity
other. These can include bracelets, pictures, photos, items Create opportunities for family support if appropriate.

Safe & Secure 39

 what are the
components of
the framework?

Domains of Intervention (cont)

Enable meaning making. Helping children to find meanings about
In this domain of intervention, strategies are
their family, their routines, their friends,
employed to give children multiple opportunities in
collaboration with safe adults to make sense of the
themselves and their culture acts to reverse
violence and the meaning it held in their lives and
the lives of their family. In this context, meaning is
the confusion and hopelessness that is part
not only about knowledge. It is the development of
stories between children and safe members of their
of the messages surrounding family violence.
family that integrate feelings and reactions. It gives
children a chance to learn how their bodies respond
to the sensations of stress and arousal. It connects
children with others in their family who have felt similar
experiences. They can then share in the process of
change and continue to build on internal narratives
of hope. They are exposed to the strengths in their
cultural beliefs that offer them ways of knowing
themselves and the meaning of their world. Violence
removes certainty for children and young people. It
alters what feels safe and unsafe. It distorts the truth.

40 Safe & Secure

 a t a r e t h e
wh
n en ts o f
compo
ew o r k ?
the fram

Domains of Intervention (cont) Support the family and network to understand children’s
behavior as a form of communication about their unmet
needs. Support strategies that do not react to the behaviour
Examples of strategies for enabling but respond to the source of the behavior.
meaning making. Anticipate changes in the child’s environment and prepare
Help children to understand and validate the actions they them for these ahead of time.
took to protect themselves from the violence and threats of Develop stories that track children’s experiences of family
violence. before, during and after the violence.
Support mothers and children to list the actions that the Build stories with children about the events in their life
mother and other important adults took to stop the violence that mark out a narrative of meaning around the trauma
and protect the child. experience for the child.
Support child to develop and build an understanding of their Explore cognitive distortions or beliefs that the child may
own triggers and functioning through have in relation to themselves.
psycho-education, and making explicit sensorimotor aspects
Help children to develop therapy/story books that describe
and meaning of their behaviour i.e. support child to make
the ways in which adults have been supportive and
links between sensations, emotions, thoughts and behaviour.
understanding of them.
Explore how children’s bodies react to change. Engage in
activities that support children to learn how their bodies feel
when they feel relaxed and calm.

Safe & Secure 41

 t a r e t h e
wha
n en ts o f
compo
ew o r k ?
the fram

Domains of Intervention (cont) Examples of strategies for promoting

children’s growth and recovery.
Promote growth and recovery. Undertake developmental assessments of children to identify
In the fourth domain of intervention, children and specific areas of delay. Make referral to specialist agencies to
young people are provided with opportunities to
address the impact of trauma on specific areas of address specific functional areas of concern.
their development. This includes a continuation of the
strategies used in the previous stages. It also engages
Build strategies that support parents to stay calm in the face
specialist services to address any developmental of increasing stress or competing demands.
delays or specific areas of difficulties that children and
young people may have as a result of the trauma Develop contingency plans with parents about how to respond
associated with the violence. to the needs of their children at different transitional points
in their development.
Ensure that parents continue to respond to the developmental
maturity of their child and not what is expected of them
Children and young people need to be based on their chronological age.
supported in a range of contexts to enable Resource parents to continue to provide attuned nurturing safe
them to transfer the progress they may from regulating responses and experiences.
one setting into the next. These strategies Support stories and experiences that promote and embed a
hope based narrative as part of their family’s life.
are facilitated by the collective involvement
of the child’s network and family.
The focus of this final set of strategies is to facilitate
developmental milestones through directive play
and relational strategies which provide opportunities
for children to experience consistent and stable
patterns of soothing and regulation in response to
stress and arousal. It also aims to both cognitively and
emotionally reshape early relational patterns making
others feel safe and consistent. Children’s emerging
sense of identity based on their own qualities and
the strengths inherent in their family, community and
culture are supported and reinforced.

42 Safe & Secure

 what are the
m p o n en ts o f
co
r a m ew o rk ?
the f

Outcomes of Intervention • children’s sense that their past is understood

and respected as a core part of their
The framework is also centrally positioned within the development, so that they do not have to set
Best Interests Framework for Vulnerable Children and
Youth. The three core principles of the Best Interests
aside or deny people or events that have been
Framework are taken to be the outcomes achieved significant to them;
by the responses offered to children affected by
family violence. This ensures that the guide is consistent • children’s assurance that they are loved and
with the governing statewide framework for decision valued in the present; and,
making about children who are at risk of or have
experienced harm arising from experiences of abuse • children’s confidence that their future sense of
and family violence.
belonging is assured, and that they can count
The achievement of safety, stability and positive on the commitment of significant people in their
outcomes for traumatised children requires
attention to: life to supporting their physical and emotional
development into adulthood.

Safe & Secure 43

 supporting S
ophia

Sophia is a young girl who has been profoundly Has there been a report made to the police about the
affected by family violence. It has undermined her violence? How can professionals support the process
sense of herself, relationships and her world. of charging Sophia’s father with relevant offences?
How can Sophia’s father be engaged to accept
Sophia, her mother and father require the
responsibility for his violence? What is required to
coordinated support of a range of professionals
ensure that he is able to genuinely apologise to Sophia
in order for Sophia to be able to recover from the
and her mother for his violence and his impact?
trauma she has experienced.

In this section, Sophia’s needs are considered using the

Safe and Secure Practice Framework.

Foundations to Intervention The goals of these three foundational

Sophia’s parents are third generation Australians, with platforms are cultural integration, collective
both the mother and the father’s families originally
migrating from Italy. Professionals who are involved decision making, accountability and the
in the early work with Sophia and her mother should
explore with them the meaning of their cultural establishment of a set of secure relationships
background in their lives. What is the extent to which
they identify with being Italian? Do they follow any for Sophia and her mother. This provides the
Italian practices and rituals? How much of being
Italian is used to explain the violence? What strengths
scaffold for supporting Sophia to reduce the
are there in the heritage of Sophia’s family that can
support them to protect Sophia and her mother from
impact of the family violence.
the violence? Are their any connections to Sophia’s
extended family that can act as a resource to people
in her family to stop the violence?
A co ordinated approach is required by all the
professionals involved in the family. Regular meetings
are required to promote a shared understanding of
Sophia’s needs and how best to meet them, establish
processes for sharing information and decision-
making. In the initial stages, the focus of the care team
will be safety planning for Sophia and her mother,
with agencies working with her mother and father
supporting them both to better appreciate the impact
of the violence on Sophia and become more sensitive
and responsive to her needs.

44 Safe & Secure

 rt i n g So p hia
suppo

Domains of Intervention • her mother to feel empowered to be protective

of Sophia;
Protect children and create safety
Whilst steps have been taken to protect Sophia from
• to have her feelings named and validated;
further family violence, she does not experience
safety. Her environment and routines are unfamiliar
• her teacher to reach out to her and become a
and feel unsafe. She doesn’t feel safe in her own point of connection for her at school when she
body. She is confused about the number of strangers is feeling unsafe or in need of support;
in her life and what they are doing. She doesn’t know
how long she will be living in the current house. • consistent routines to be developed at home that
Sophia has felt alone and responsible for a long support her to feel that her environment and her life
time. She avoids relationships and has not had is more predictable – evening routines to assist
her experience and feelings about the violence
acknowledged or validated. She has not experienced Sophia to feel calm and relaxed before bedtime
relationships as a source of comfort and support. In are especially important – these could include music,
order to assist Sophia to feel safe, she needs:
reading, massage, or guided imagery;
• reassurance that she is not to blame for the violence • to be given information about the plans that
– this message will need to be reinforced by all are being made for her by her mother and the
adults in Sophia’s life; professionals in her life and given an
• her father to be supported to adhere to the opportunity to have a voice in these; and,
limitations placed upon contact between himself and • people to be honest with her about what is
his family; happening, even if the answer is ‘I don’t know’.

Safe & Secure 45

 supporting S
ophia

Strengthen the relational connections Enable meaning making

around the child Once Sophia has begun to consolidate her sense of
security in relationships and safety in her environment,
The violence has undermined Sophia’s ability to she will then have more attentional space and be
engage in and trust relationships. She doesn’t see resourced to begin to try to make meaning of her
relationships as a reliable source of comfort and experiences. Sophia needs:
support and as such is reluctant to invest in them. Her
orientation in the world has narrowed to become • information to begin to make sense of her
solely focussed on the prevention of violence in her
family thus robbing her of a chance to have fun and
experience – both the details of what happened and
play with others, whether friends or adults. Sophia why as well as linking how she felt at those times;
shows significant and concerning signs of stress (eg
vomiting, nail biting, hyper vigilance). • support to become more connected to her feelings
Sophia needs opportunities to develop and strengthen
through being more able to name her feelings and
relationships that offer comfort, support and reliability. understand how she experiences those feelings in
She needs: her body;
• her mother to become more attuned to her • a chance to explore the influence of violence on her
needs and able to meet her need for comfort, identity and qualities, strengths and aspects to
support, and calming particularly when Sophia herself that she can engage in and in which she can
is triggered or showing signs of stress; feel proud;
• significant levels of physical touch and comfort • adults to notice how her body is affected by stress
from her mother, as one would with an infant and offer her opportunities to reshape her own
or much younger child; reactions in ways that are less restrictive and more
• opportunities to share fun and laughter with adaptable; and,
her mother and other adults in her life through • adults in her life to support her developing sense
things such as play and exploration; of agency by reflecting back to her the things she is
• chances to experience her relationship with her good at and the qualities they notice about her that
mother even when they are not together – this are important.
may be achieved through a sensory anchor for
Sophia (such as a picture, stuffed toy or bracelet); Support Growth and Recovery
The final phase provides opportunities to review
• the school to promote opportunities for Sophia Sophia’s ongoing needs and consolidate the strategies
to develop friends and become included in play already used to support her to feel calmer and more
in the school yard; and, regulated and engage in a world that feels more
predictable and safer to explore and enjoy. Sophia’s
• her father to be supported to take responsibility progress will take time and occur in small steps. These
steps must be recognised and celebrated with her as
for his behaviour and write an apology to Sophia. signs of hope and change.

46 Safe & Secure

 conclusion

Children like Sophia have experienced toxic They can look forward to their next birthday without
developmental stress. The key to supporting them is fear. They can look forward to the next school holidays
to use the knowledge base about the neurobiology of without feeling worried.
trauma to understand them - their behaviour and their
They can tell their parent or carer or teacher that they
needs. And with such understanding comes hope.
are upset or sad and know that the response will be
supportive. They can feel secure, safe and loved.
Hope is present for children when they can rely on
the adults around them to be consistent, dependable
and nurturing. Children begin to feel anchored in the
Hope is the outcome of change for children. present and trust in the future.

It is like a wave that carries them into the Children with hope and confidence are adaptable in
the face of challenges. With belief in themselves they
future with fun, enthusiasm and optimism. begin to do better at school. They find that they can
more easily make and keep friends. Their relationships
Hope is the first moment in time when they with their family improve. They are happier in
themselves.
dare to dream. Hope is the beginning of a life capable of not being
overtaken by the memories of stress, family violence
and trauma….
For these children, hope comes from feeling that their
experiences of trauma and stress no longer separate
them from their friends and family. They know that
they do not have to feel alone any more. They start to
really feel a sense of safety in themselves and in those
around them.
They feel secure with their mothers, connected to their
community, strong in their culture and protected from
the violence that has been part of their experience
of family.

Safe & Secure 47

 references

This guide has drawn on the evidence contained Briere, J. (1992). Child Abuse Trauma: Theory and
in the following references as well as the practice Treatment of the Lasting Effects. Newbury Park,
insights of the staff of the Australian Childhood California: Sage Publications.
Foundation in their efforts to support children and
Brown, D., Anda, R., Edwards, V., Felitti, V., Dubea, S.
young people affected by experiences of trauma.
and Giles, W. (2007). Adverse childhood experiences
Individual references have not been cited in the text
and childhood autobiographical memory
in order to facilitate a more integrated experience for
disturbance. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31, 961-969.
the reader.
Brown, D., Scheflin, A. W. and Hammond, D.R. (1998).
Allen, J. S. (2009). The Lives of the Brain. Harvard
Memory, Trauma Treatment and the Law. W.W. Norton
University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
and Company. New York.
Arean, J. (2007). Fathering after Violence: Working
Brown, E. J., Albrecht, A., mcQuaid, J., Munoz-Silva, D.
with Abusive Fathers in Supervised Visitation, Family
and Silva, R. R. (2004). Treatment of children exposed
Violence Prevention Fund.
to trauma. In R. R. Silva (Ed.), Posttraumatic Stress
Australian Childhood Foundation. (2012). Making Disorders in Children and Adolescents Handbook (pp.
Space for Learning: Trauma Informed Practice at 257-286). New York: WW Norton and Company.
School. Australian Childhood Foundation, Ringwood.
Charuvastra, A. and Cloitre, M. (2008). Social bonds
Beers, S. and De Bellis, M. D. (2002). and posttraumatic stress disorder. Annual Review of
Neuropsychological function in children with Psychology, 59, 301-28.
maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A., Berliner, L. and Deblinger,
The American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 483-485.
E. (2006). Treating Trauma and Traumatic Grief in
Borrego J., Gutow, M., Reicher, S. and Barker, C. (2008). Children and Adolescents. New York: The Guilford
Parent–Child Interaction Therapy with Domestic Press.
Violence Populations. Journal of Family Violence, 43,
Cook, A., Spinazzola, J., Ford, J., et al (2005). Complex
295-305.
Trauma in Children and Adolescents, Psychiatric
Bowins, B. (2004). Psychological defense mechanisms: Annals, 35, 390-298.
A new perspective. The American Journal of
Constans, J. (2005). Information-processing biases
Psychoanalysis, 64, 1-26.
in PTSD. In J. Vasterling and C. Brewin (Eds.),
Brewin, C. (2005). Encoding and retrieval of traumatic Neuropsychology of PTSD: Biological, Cognitive and
memories. In J. Vasterling and C. Brewin (Eds.), Clinical Perspectives, 105-130. New Your: The Guilford
Neuropsychology of PTSD: Biological, Cognitive and Press.
Clinical Perspectives, 131-152. New York: The Guilford
Courtois, C. A. (2004). Complex trauma, complex
Press.
reactions: Assessment and treatment. Psychotherapy:
Brewin, C. (2005). Implications for psychological Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41, no. 4: 412-25.
intervention. In J. Vasterling and C. Brewin (Eds.),
Cozolino, L. (2002). The Neuroscience of
Neuropsychology of PTSD: Biological, Cognitive and
Psychotherapy: Building and Rebuilding the Human
Clinical Perspectives, 271-291. New York: The Guilford
Brain. New York: W.W.Norton and Company.
Press.

48 Safe & Secure

 references

De Bellis, M. D. (2001). Developmental traumatology: Gunnar, M. and Quevedo, K. (2007). The neurobiology
The psychobiological development of maltreated of stress and development. Annual Review of
children and its implications for research, treatment, Psychology, 58, 145-173.
and policy. Development and Psychopathology, 13:
Howe, M., Cichetti, D. and Toth, S. (2006). Children’s
539-64.
basic memory processes, stress and maltreatment.
DeMarni Cromer, L., Stevens, C., DePrince, A.P. and Development and Psychopathology, 18, 759-769.
Pears, K. (2006). The relationship between executive
Hughes, D. A. (2004). An attachment based
attention and dissociation. Journal of Trauma and
treatment of maltreated children and young people.
Dissociation, 7, 135-153.
Attachment and Human Development, 6, 263-278.
Department of Human Services. (2012). Best Interests
Hughes, D.A. (2009). Attachment-Focused Parenting.
Case Practice Model – Summary Guide. Melbourne,
W.W. Norton and Company, New York.
Department of Human Services Victoria.
Hughes, D.A. and Baylin, J. (2012).Brain-Based
DePrince, A. P. and Freyd, J. J. (2002). The harm of
Parenting: The Neuroscience of Caregiving for Healthy
trauma: Pathological fear, shattered assumptions or
Attachment. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
betrayal? In J. Kauffman (Ed.), Loss of the Assumptive
World: A Theory of Traumatic Loss (pp. 71-82). New Humphreys, C. Houghton, C., and Ellis, J. (2008).
York: Brunner-Routledge. Literature Review: Better Outcomes For Children
And Young People Experiencing Domestic Abuse
Ethier, L. S., Lemelin, J. and Lacharite, C. (2004).
– Directions For Good Practice. Scottish Executive
A longtitudinal study of the effects of chronic
Domestic Abuse Delivery Group. Scottish Government,
maltreatment on children’s behavioural and
Edinburgh.
emotional problems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 28,
1265-1278. Isaac, C., Cushway, D. and Jones, G. (2006). Is
posttraumatic stress disorder associated with specific
Featherstone, B. and Peckover, S. (2007). Letting them
deficits in episodic memory? Clinical Psychology
get away with it: Fathers, domestic violence and child
Review, 26, 939-955.
welfare, Critical Social Policy, 27, 181-202.
Jernberg, A. M., & Booth, P. B. (2001). Theraplay:
Gaensbauer, T. J. (2002). Representations of trauma in
Helping Parents and Children Build Better Relationships
infancy: Clinical and theoretical implications for the
through Attachment-Based Play, 2nd edition. San
understanding of early memory. Infant Mental Health
Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Journal, 23, 259-277.
Maas, C., Herrenkohl, T. and Sousa, C. (2008). Review
Gilbert, P. (2009). The Compassionate Mind. New
of research on child maltreatment and violence in
Harbinger Publications, Oakland.
youth. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 9, 56-67.
Glaser, D. (2000). Child abuse and neglect and the
Macdonald, H.Z., Beeghly, M., Grant-Knight, W.,
brain -
Augustyn, M., Woods, R., Cabral, H., Rose-Jacobs,
A review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,
R., Saxe, G. and Franka, D. (2008). Longitudinal
41, 97-116.
association between infant disorganized attachment
Goldberg, E. (2009). The New Executive Brain: Frontal and childhood posttraumatic stress symptoms.
Lobes in a Complex World. Oxford University Press, Developmental Psychopathology, 20, 493-508.
New York.

Safe & Secure 49

 references

Malchiodi, C.A. (2008). Creative Interventions with Ramachandran, V.S. (2011). The Tell-Tale Brain. William
Traumatised Children. New York, The Guilford Press. Heinemann, London.
McGaugh, J.L. (2003). Memory and Emotion. Schore, A. N. (2001). The effects of early relational
Weidenfield and Nicholson, London. trauma on right brain development, affect regulation
and infant mental health. Infant Mental Health Journal,
Mitchell, J. (2008) A Case Study in Attempted Reform
22, 201-269.
in Out of Home Care: A Preliminary Examination of
the Introduction of the Circle Therapeutic Foster Care Schore, A. N. (2002). Dysregulation of the right brain:
Program in Victoria. Masters Thesis. Monash University A fundamental mechanism of traumatic attachment
and the psychopathogenesis of posttraumatic stress
Ogden, P., Minton, K. and Pain, C. (2006). Trauma
disorder. Australian and New Zealand Journal of
and the Body – A Sensorimotor Approach to
Psychiatry, 36, 9-30.
Psychotherapy. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
Schore, A.N. (2003). Early relational trauma,
Ogden, P. (2009). Emotion, mindfulness, and
disorganised attachment, and the development of
movement: Expanding the regulatory boundaries of
a predisposition to violence. In M. F. Solomon, and D.
the window of affect tolerance. In D. Fosha, D.J. Siegel
J. Siegel (Eds), Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind,
and M. Solomon (Eds.), The Healing Power of Emotions:
Body and Brain, 107-67. New York: W.W. Norton and
Affective Neuroscience, Development and Clinical
Company.
Practice, (p.204-231). W.W. Norton and Company, New
York. Schore, J. and Schore, A. N. (2008). Modern
attachment theory: The central role of affect
Onyskiw, J. E. (2003). Domestic violence and children’s
regulation in development and treatment. Clinical
adjustment: A review of research. Journal of Emotional
Social Work Journal, 36, 9 -20.
Abuse, 3, 11-46.
Schore, A. N. (2009). Right brain affect regulation:
Perry, B. D. (2001). The neurodevelopmental impact of
An essential mechanism of development, trauma,
violence in childhood. In D. Schetky and E. P. Benedek
dissociation, and Psychotherapy. In D. Fosha, D.J.
(Eds.), Textbook of Child and Adolescent Forensic
Siegel and M. Solomon (Eds.), The Healing Power of
Psychiatry (pp. 221-238). Washington, DC: American
Emotions: Affective Neuroscience, Development
Psychiatric Press.
and Clinical Practice, (p.112-144). W.W. Norton and
Perry, B. (2002). The Vortex of Violence: How Children Company, New York.
Adapt and Survive in a Violent World. Houston, Texas:
Scott, K. (2012). Parenting Interventions for Men Who
Child Trauma Academy.
Batter, Applied Research Paper, VAWNet.org., National
Perry, B. (2006). Applying principles of Resource Centre on Domestic Violence, Pennsylvania.
neurodevelopment to clinical work with maltreated
Siegel, D.J. (1999). The Developing Mind. Guilford Press,
and traumatized children – The neurosequential
New York.
model of therapeutics. In N. Webb (Ed.), Working with
Traumatised Youth in Child Welfare (pp. 27- 52). New Siegel, D.J. (2009). Mindsight. Scribe, Melbourne.
York: The Guilford Press.
Siegel, D.J. (2009). Emotion as integration: A possible
Porges, S. (2009). Reciprocal influences between the answer to the question, What is emotion? In D. Fosha,
body and brain in the perception and expression of D.J. Siegel and M. Solomon (Eds.), The Healing Power
affect: A polyvagal perspective. In D. Fosha, D.J. Siegel of Emotions: Affective Neuroscience, Development
and M. Solomon (Eds.), The Healing Power of Emotions: and Clinical Practice, (p.145-172). W.W. Norton and
Affective Neuroscience, Development and Clinical Company, New York.
Practice, (p.27-55). W.W. Norton and Company, New
York.

50 Safe & Secure

 references

Southwick, S., Rassmusson, A., Barron, J. and Arnsten, Van der Kolk, B. A. (2003a). The neurobiology of
A. (2005). Neurobiological and neurocognitive childhood trauma and abuse. Child and Adolescent
alteration in PTSD: A focus on Norepinephrin, Serotnin Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 293-317.
and the HPA Axis. In J. Vasterling and C. Brewin (Eds.),
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2003b). Post-traumatic stress
Neuropsychology of PTSD: Biological, Cognitive and
disorder and the nature of trauma. In M. F. Solomon
Clinical Perspectives, 27-58. New York: The Guilford
and D. J. Siegel (Eds.), Healing Trauma: Attachment,
Press.
Mind, Body and Brain (pp. 168-195). New York: W.W.
Thatcher, R.W., Walker, R.A. and Guidice, S. (1987). Norton and Company.
Human cerebral hemispheres develop at different
Veltman, M. and Browne, K. (2001). Three decades
rates and ages. Science, 236, 1110-1113.
of child maltreatment research: Implications for the
Thatcher, R.W. (1992). Cyclic cortical reorganization school years. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 2, 215-239.
during early childhood. Brain and Cognition, 20, 24-50.
White, M. (2004). Working with people who are
Tronick, E. (2009). Multilevel meaning making and suffering the consequences of multiple trauma.
dyadic expansion of consciousness theory: The The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and
emotional and the polymorphic polysemic flow of Community Work, 1, 45-76.
meaning. In D. Fosha, D.J. Siegel and M. Solomon
Wilkinson, M. (2010). Changing Minds in Therapy:
(Eds.), The Healing Power of Emotions: Affective
Emotion, Attachment, Trauma and Neurobiology. W.W.
Neuroscience, Development and Clinical Practice,
Norton and Company, New York.
(p.86-111). W.W. Norton and Company, New York.
Yates, T. (2007). The developmental consequences
Tucci, J., Mitchell, J., Goddard, C.R. and de Bortolli,
of child emotional abuse: A neurodevelopmental
L. (2005). Safe and Sound Services for Children and
perspective. Journal of Emotional Abuse,7, 9- 34.
Young People in Tasmania: Recommending a best
practice model for children and young people who
experience family violence. A Report for Tasmanian
Department of Health and Human Services. Australian
Childhood Foundation, Melbourne.

Safe & Secure 51

Phone: (03) 9259 4200
info@easternfamilyviolencepartnership.org.au
www.easternfamilyviolencepartnership.org.au

PO Box 3335, Richmond Vic 3121

Phone 1300 381 581
info@childhood.org.au
www.childhood.org.au