1. business and industrial
2. business operations
3. business plans

Journey to Recovery
The International Conference of Attachment and Trauma
Informed PracticeTM MCG, Melbourne 5 - 6 March, 2015
2015
Conference
Evaluation
Committee
Conference Partners
Conference Exhibitors
The Expert Advisory Committee
provides specialist sectorial advice to
ensure the conference achieves the
purpose of promoting and advancing
the field of attachment and trauma
informed practice. We wish to thank
the following members for their
innovation and valuable contribution
to the structure, content and ethical
considerations in developing the
Conference.
Anne-Maree Rogers
EACH Social & Community Health
Bronwyn Harrison
OzChild
Merilyn Duff
EACH Social & Community Health
Nicky Bisogni
Adults Surviving Child Abuse, Mental
Health Professional’s Network
Ariane Florent
Lighthouse Foundation
Rudy Gonzalez
Lighthouse Institute
Catherine Keating
Lighthouse Institute
Eleanor Bignell
Lighthouse Institute
This work was partly made possible due to funding from the Australian Government Department of
Health, Mental Health Australia, and MacKillop Family Services.
Report prepared by
Catherine Keating, Learning and Development Manager, Lighthouse Institute
Rudy Gonzalez, Executive Director, Lighthouse Institute
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the presenters and delegates for their participation; evaluation respondents for their valued
feedback; panel delegates for their contributions; ICMS for coordinating the conference; the Mullum Mullum Indigenous
Gathering Place Choir for their wonderful performance; and our Expert Advisory Committee for their wisdom, guidance
and input into the planning and delivery of the conference. We would also like to acknowledge the support of our
community partners: EACH Social and Community Health, OzChild, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare,
Adults Surviving Child Abuse and Mental Health Professionals Network. Thank-you also to our conference exhibitors:
Permanent Care and Adoptive Families, Kimochis, the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Knightlamp
and Lighthouse Foundation. We are also especially grateful to our sponsors who have made this event possible: the
Australian Government Department of Health, Mental Health Australia, and MacKillop Family Services.
I“ came away feeling very inspired and having a lot of new ideas that
has had me still thinking some weeks later. I have been able to bring
many of these ideas and comments to my Management team.”
- Journey to Recovery 2015 Conference delegate
Journey to Recovery 2015
Journey to Recovery: The International Conference of Attachment and Trauma Informed Practice was held
from 5 – 6 March 2015 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In collaboration with our community partners,
Journey to Recovery is an exciting initiative that provides carers, consumers, practitioners, policy makers,
researchers, educators and survivors of trauma an opportunity to come together, share experiences and
to reflect on practice and research into recovery-oriented approaches from an attachment and trauma
informed perspective. The Conference comes at a pivotal time, where trauma informed practice is
becoming increasingly seen as best practice in work with survivors of trauma and offers delegates a unique
platform to reflect on “what has been; what is possible; and what comes next?” in the field of attachment
and trauma informed practice.
Building on the success of the inaugural conference in 2013, we came together again in 2015 to explore
how this work has progressed over the past 18 months, with a major focus on innovations and best
practice across diverse disciplines. We were joined by many experts in the field of attachment and trauma
informed practice and also provided a platform for emerging thinkers in this area to examine what the
current research is saying about trauma recovery, what is best practice at an international level, and how
we can scale up innovation to reach more people? This year, there was a strong emphasis on the role of
culture in attachment and trauma informed practice and also the examination of the unique contribution of
consumer participation and lived experience in the further advancement of this work.
Overall, the Conference aimed to:
•
Bring together national and international leaders in attachment and trauma informed work to showcase advances in best practice and new innovations across a wide range of sectors and disciplines;
•
Provide leaders, practitioners, policy makers, researchers, carers, consumers and survivors of trauma with an opportunity to come together, share experiences, and reflect on practice and research into recovery-oriented approaches from an attachment and
trauma informed perspective;
•
Provide a platform for survivors of trauma/carers/consumers to share their journeys, and to highlight what factors assisted their recovery;
•
Further advance recovery-oriented approaches in mental health care/human services provision;
•
Further advance prevention and early intervention approaches for those at high risk of developing mental health problems combining both emerging scientific knowledge and the expertise of carers and consumers;
•
Improve information sharing and collaboration across services/ sectors/ disciplines;
•
Exhibit current best practice in attachment and trauma informed practice and research;
•
Consolidate what has been learnt to date and discussed where to from here with a strong focus on what needs to happen to achieve collective impact;
•
Provide opportunities for genuine carer and consumer participation across the planning, delivery, attendance and evaluation of the conference.
Over the course of two days, the Conference program comprised of 21 presentations highlighting
innovation and best practice in attachment and trauma informed work in many contexts, with various
populations and across a diverse range of settings. We also had an emotive and insightful presentation
from a trauma survivor/carer who discussed her experience of trauma; the critical elements of her recovery
process and relevant interventions; and the unique role her lived experience has played in being a Carer for
other traumatised young people. We were also privileged to have seven keynote addresses from some of
the world’s greatest thinkers in attachment and trauma related work, including:
•
Ms Sarah Yanosy, Director of the Sanctuary Institute
•
Professor Pat Dudgeon, Psychologist and Research Fellow at the School of
Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia
•
Dr Paul Valent, Psychiatrist and founder and past president of The Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and of The Child Survivor of the Holocaust group
in Melbourne
•
Dr Louise Byrne, Lived Experience Practitioner and Mental Health Academic at
CQ University
•
Dr Judith Lewis Herman, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Training at the Victims of Violence Program at the Cambridge
Health Alliance
•
Dr Michael Merzenich, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience at the University
of California
•
Dr Cathy Kezelman, Medical Practitioner, Mental Health Consumer Advocate, and
President of Adults Surviving Child Abuse.
•
Carol Jarvis, Trauma Survivor and Support Carer, Lighthouse Foundation
In total, 180 people attended the conference, with representation from practitioners, survivors, carers,
primary health, community services, government, and academic sectors. We believe the high level of
interest across such diverse areas reflects a critical mass in demand for training and research in the field,
along with possibilities for cross-sectoral learning and engagement. Delegates attended from every State
and Territory in Australia, in addition to those who attended from the United States, Brunei, Canada, India
and New Zealand.
By providing a valuable opportunity for networking and learning, we believe the Journey to Recovery
Conference has made an important contribution to a growing, interdisciplinary field. Many delegates came
away from the Conference with new connections and networks; new ideas and strategies to enhance
their practice; a renewed enthusiasm for their work; and a strong sense of a paradigm shift and growing
community of practice in this vital work.
We hope to continue to build on the momentum generated by the second instalment of the Journey to
Recovery Conference. We look forward to continuing this international event, which aims to bring together
community, government and academic sectors to reflect on what has been, what is possible and what is
next, in the field of attachment and trauma informed practice.
Program
THURSDAY 05 MARCH 2015
08:00
Registration - Dean Jones Bar
09:00
Opening Address: Kane Bowden, CEO Lighthouse Foundation & Rudy Gonzalez, Executive Director Lighthouse Institute
Welcome to Country: Aunty Georgina Nicholson, Wurundjeri Tribe Council
Room: Members Dining Room
09:30
Keynote Address 1
Ms Sarah Yanosy - Sanctuary: Healing for Clients, Organizations and Systems
Room: Members Dining Room
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
10:30
Morning Tea - Dean Jones Bar
11:00
11:30
12:00
SE-01 Connection & Belonging
Chair: Anne-Maree Rogers, EACH Social
and Community Health
Room: Harrison Room A
SE-02 Culture
Chair: Merilyn Duff, EACH Aboriginal
Community Health
Room: Members Dining Room
SE-03 Education
Chair: Bronwyn Harrison, OzChild
Room: Harrison Room B
Presentation 1
Finding the hero within: A journey from
shame to vulnerability with youth affected
by trauma
Presentation 4
‘What accent? I don’t have an accent –
everyone else does.’ Why aren’t we talking
about culture, trauma and attachment?
Presentation 7
Smarter schools can reduce the impact of
broken attachments
Tania Blomfield, choosetochange
Helen Lenga, Private Practitioner
Gregory Nicolau, Australian Childhood
Trauma Group
Presentation 2
“True North” A model of integration and
connection for those who are moving out of
homelessness into a supported non exclusionary adult residential community
Presentation 5
Exploring ‘attachment’ and parenting
perspectives with Aboriginal and other
socio-cultural experiences
Presentation 8
The wellbeing classroom
Amanda Smith & Stephanie Winton,
Mission Australia
Dr Jenine Godwin-Thompson,
Lighthouse Institute
Michael Edgecomb, SMG Community
Services
Presentation 3
Being a/part : A study of young people’s
experience of belonging
Presentation 6
Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD) in residential out-of-home care settings: A case-study.
Presentation 9
Anglicare Victoria’s ‘TEACHaR’ program
– closing the ‘education gap’ for children
in care and the value of research-informed
innovation
Dr Tatiana Corrales, Anglicare Victoria
Tymur Hussein
Clinical Care Manager, Lighthouse
Foundation
Laura David, Anglicare Victoria
12:30
Keynote Address 2
Professor Pat Dudgeon - The National Empowerment Project, Promoting Cultural, Social and Emotional Wellbeing to
Strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
13:30
Performance - Members Dining Room
The Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place Choir
13:40
Lunch - Dean Jones Bar
14:30
Keynote Address 3
Dr Paul Valent - Back to Basics: Attachment Trauma and Fulfilment
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
15:30
Survivor Story
Carol Jarvis, Support Carer, Lighthouse Foundation
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
15:45
Afternoon Tea - Dean Jones Bar
16:15
Keynote Address 4
Dr Louise Byrne - Recovery Expertise: Gained by Experience
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
17:15
Closing Address - Members Dining Room
FRIDAY 06 MARCH 2015
08:30
Registration - Dean Jones Bar
09:15
Opening Address: Rudy Gonzalez, Executive Director Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
09:30
Keynote Address 5
Dr Judith Lewis Herman (via video link) - Empowerment and Recovery for Trauma Survivors
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
10:30
Morning Tea - Dean Jones Bar
11:00
11:30
SE-04 Impacts of Childhood Trauma in
Adulthood
Chair: Ariane Florent, Lighthouse
Foundation
Room: Harrison Room A
SE-05 Trauma Informed Practice
Models
Chair: Moira Kairys, Centre for Excellence
in Child and Family Welfare, Inc.
Room: Members Dining Room
SE-06 Mental Health
Chair: Cathy Kezelman, Adults Surviving
Child Abuse
Room: Harrison Room B
Presentation 10
Adult attachment in looked after children
and their mental health: Exploring the link
between childhood adversity and the development of psychiatric disorders
Presentation 14
Therapeutic Family Model of Care™: An
attachment and trauma informed approach
to practice
Presentation 18
Hidden in plain sight: Creating a trauma
informed child and adolescent mental
health service
Carly Cameron, PhD., Deakin University
Tymur Hussein, Lighthouse Foundation
Nicola Palfrey & Velissa Aplin, ACT Health
Presentation 11
Udayan Care’s (Sunshine Homes) After
Care Program: A unique model of transition
from children’s homes to independence
Presentation 15
“Special consideration”: Supporting trauma
informed practice with people with disabilities
Presentation 19
The Ripple Intervention – a local tertiary
mental health service collaboration to
enhance the mental health of young people
in OoHC
Dr Kiran Modi, Udayan Care
Sarah Waters, Berry Street
A/Prof Annette Jackson, Berry St Take Two
Stephen Halperin, Orygen Youth Health
Clinical Program
Tony Glynn, Royal Childrens Hospital
12:00
12:30
Presentation 12
Presentation 16
Therapeutic approaches to the treatment of Building trauma-informed practice:
trauma and addiction
Implementation of the Sanctuary Model at
MacKillop Family Services
Presentation 20
Who wants to go on an adventure? The
journey of an inner cities adult persons
residential service combining Bush Adventure Therapy and Trauma Informed Care
(BAT-TIC) for people seeking meaningful
recovery
Nigel Joseph, Substance Use Recovery
(SURe) consortium, EACH Social and
Community Health
Julie Avery, MacKillop Family Services
Amanda Smith & Sue Cramb, Mission
Australia – Roma House
Presentation 13
“Where’s the therapy?”
Why sessional counselling has limited
impact in developmental trauma
Presentation 17
Not in isolation: The importance of
relationships in healing childhood trauma
Presentation 21
Trauma for practitioners: Looking after us
Adela Holmes & Stephan Friedrich,
Knightlamp
Michelle Taylor, Blossomtree Psychology
Jessica Perring, Bravehearts, Inc.
13:00
Lunch - Dean Jones Bar
14:00
Keynote Address 6
Dr Michael Merzenich - Brain Plasticity-Based Training in Child Populations
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
15:00
Afternoon Tea - Dean Jones Bar
15:30
Keynote Address 7
Dr Cathy Kezelman - Supporting Trauma Survivors Makes Good Economic Sense
Chair: Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Room: Members Dining Room
16:30
Panel Discussion - Dr Michael Merzenich, Dr Cathy Kezelman, Ms Sarah Yanosy, Dr Paul Valent, Tymur Hussein
Chair: Peter Streker, Community Stars
Room: Members Dining Room
17:00
Conference Close - Rudy Gonzalez, Lighthouse Institute
Poster Presentation
Visualing Ritual Trauma: The Paintings of Francis Bacon
(1909-1992)
Lynn Brunet, Independent Scholar
When they first appeared in public, the paintings of the British
artist Francis Bacon were regarded as some of the most disturbing images to have come out of the twentieth century. The
artist grew up in a military household in Ireland
during the Irish Civil War and later admitted that throughout his
childhood he was sexually abused and regularly beaten. Many
of his painting convey a sense of foreboding and confinement
in bleak, ritualistic spaces, though when pressed for explanations for these works the artist always claimed that he did not
know what they meant. He often said that they represented
the patterns of his nervous system projected onto the canvas
and stated, ‘images just drop in as if they were handed down
to me’. My research examines the spaces and activities the
artist evokes in his images and applies insights from the field of
trauma studies to ask whether the sense of disturbance created in Bacon’s work could be associated with traumatic exposure to initatory rites that were commonly practised by many
fraternities and secret societies in the Ireland of his childhood.
The paper is drawn frm my book entitled ‘A Course of Severe
and Arduous Trials: Bacon, Beckett and Spurious Freemasonry
in Early Twentieth Century Ireland’ (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2009)
which also asks similar questions about the plays and novel of
Samual Beckett.
To view conference slides and the photo gallery, please visit:
www.lighthouseinstitute.org.au
Keynote Speakers
MS SARAH YANOSY
Director of the Sanctuary Institute
Ms Sarah M. Yanosy, LCSW is the Director of the Sanctuary Institute at ANDRUS in Yonkers, NY.
As a clinical practitioner of the Sanctuary Model in her work with children and families, Ms. Yanosy
collaborated with Dr. Sandra Bloom and colleagues to create the Sanctuary Institute. In her role as
Director, Ms. Yanosy has overseen the implementation of this system-wide holistic organizational
intervention for over 300 organizations, including residential treatment, D&A treatment, domestic
violence, and juvenile justice programs in addition to hospital, community based and school settings
across the United States and in seven other countries. She has been a keynote and featured speaker
on trauma and organizational culture at both national and international conferences. Her most recent
publication is an article co-authored with Landa Harrison entitled “Traumatic Reenactment: How This
Triangle Can Sabotage Intervention and Treatment” The International Society for Prevention of Child
Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) (2011).
Sponsored by MacKillop Family Services
PROF PAT DUDGEON
Professor Pat Dudgeon is from the Bardi people of the Kimberly area in Western Australia. She is a
psychologist and research fellow at the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western
Australia. Her area of research includes social and emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention.
Amongst her many commitments, she is a Commissioner of the Australian National Mental Health
Commission, on the executive board of the Australian Indigenous Psychologist’s Association, and
co-chair of the commonwealth Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Advisory Group. She is currently the project leader of the National Empowerment Project: an
Indigenous suicide prevention project working with Aboriginal communities across the country. She
has many publications in Indigenous mental health in particular, the Working Together: Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice. She is actively involved with
the Aboriginal community and has a commitment to social justice for Indigenous people.
DR PAUL VALENT
Dr Paul Valent is a psychiatrist who graduated in medicine at the University of Melbourne, and in
Psychiatry in London. He has many years’ experience in his specialties of psychotherapy, liaison
psychiatry and traumatology.
He is a founder and past president of The Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and of The
Child Survivor of the Holocaust group in Melbourne.
Dr Valent has written many articles, chapters, encyclopaedia entries, and has contributed to the
recently launched Trauma Online course.
He has written a number of books – Child Survivors of the Holocaust; From Survival to Fulfilment;
Trauma and Fulfilment Therapy; and In Two Minds; Tales of a Psychotherapist.
Dr Valent is a world leader in trauma theory. Attachment is a vital ingredient in his survival strategies
framework.
DR LOUISE BYRNE
Dr Louise Byrne works within the mental health sector from the perspective of her own experience of
significant mental health challenges, service use and Recovery. For over 15 years Louise experienced
hospitalisation and extended periods of debilitating mental unwellness, before finding her niche as
a lived experience practitioner - helping to bridge the gap between the experiences of people using
mental health services and the perceptions of service providers.
Louise has worked from her lived experience in a variety of roles in government, non-government and
tertiary settings since 2005. Her current position is at CQUniversity, Australia where she is employed
as a fulltime lived experience in mental health academic. Louise’s PhD explored the emerging lived
experience workforce in Australia. Louise teaches the Recovery approach in mental health from
the perspective of her lived understanding. Research has found great benefit to students in lived
experience teaching of the concepts including, an increased interest in working in mental health and a
reduction in stigmatising attitudes.
DR JUDITH LEWIS HERMAN M.D (via video link)
Dr Judith Lewis Herman M.D. is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and
Director of Training at the Victims of Violence Program at The Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge,
MA. Dr. Herman received her medical degree at Harvard Medical School and her training in general
and community psychiatry at Boston University Medical Center. She is the author of two awardwinning books: Father-Daughter Incest (Harvard University Press, 1981), and Trauma and Recovery
(Basic Books, 1992), and co-author of The Trauma Recovery Group: A Guide for Practitioners (Guilford
2011). She has lectured and written widely on the subject of sexual and domestic violence. She is
the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the International Society for Traumatic Stress
Studies (1996) and the Trauma Psychology division of the American Psychological Association (2011).
In 2007 she was named a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
DR CATHY KEZELMAN
Dr. Cathy Kezelman is a medical practitioner, mental health consumer advocate, President of Adults
Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA) , director of Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC), foundation
member of the national Trauma Informed Care and Practice Advisory working Group, member of the
Mental Health Community Advisory Council (NSW), and on the Advisory Panel of Tzedek. Under her
stewardship ASCA has grown from a peer support organisation to a leading national organisation
combining a prominent consumer voice with that of researchers, academics and clinicians advocating
for socio-political change and informed responsiveness to complex trauma. She is a prominent voice in
the media and at conferences, as well as author of a memoir chronicling her journey of recovery from
child sexual abuse: Innocence Revisited- a tale in parts. She is co-author of the ASCA document Practice Guidelines for Treatment of Complex trauma and Trauma Informed Care and Service Delivery.
DR MICHAEL MERZENICH, PhD
Dr. Merzenich is the brain behind BrainHQ and the author of Soft-Wired: How the New Science of
Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life. For nearly five decades, he has been a leading pioneer in brain
plasticity research. As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Posit Science, Michael Merzenich
heads the company’s science team. Dr. Merzenich has published more than 150 articles in leading
peer-reviewed journals (such as Science and Nature), received numerous awards and prizes (including
the Ipsen Prize, Zülch Prize, Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and Purkinje Medal), and been granted
nearly 100 patents for his work. He and his work have been highlighted in hundreds of books about
the brain, learning, rehabilitation, and plasticity.
Dr. Merzenich’s work is also often covered in the popular press, including the New York Times, the
Wall Street Journal, Time, Wired, Forbes, Discover, and Newsweek. He has appeared extensively
on television. He is the scientific consultant and provided the brain assessments and brain training
exercises for the Discovery Channel show “Hack My Brain” (which aired in Australia as “Redesign My
Brain.”) His work has also been featured on four PBS specials: “The Brain Fitness Program,” “Brain
Fitness 2: Sight and Sound,” “The New Science of Learning,” and “Brain Fitness Frontiers.”
Dr. Merzenich earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Portland and his PhD at Johns Hopkins.
He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin in Madison before becoming
a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2007, he retired from his long career at
UCSF as Francis A. Sooy Professor and Co-Director of the Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience.
He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 and the Institute of Medicine in 2008.
In the late 1980s, Dr. Merzenich was on the team that invented the cochlear implant, now distributed
by market leader Advanced Bionics. In 1996, Dr. Merzenich was the founding CEO of Scientific
Learning Corporation (Nasdaq: SCIL), which markets and distributes software that applies principles of
brain plasticity to assist children with language learning and reading.
Evaluation Results
An independent evaluation of the Conference was carried out by ICMS, between 10 March 2015 and 02 April 2015.
Eighty five respondents completed the survey out of 180 Conference delegates. The following provides a summary of
the key results and feedback.
Promotion of the Conference
The majority of the evaluation respondents first heard about the Conference through a colleague or word of mouth
(41.18%); or via email communications from Lighthouse Institute (32.94%). Other respondents heard about the
conference via email communication from a conference partner organisation (8.23%), the conference website (7.06%),
social media (3.45%), or by some other means (7.06%).
Figure 1. How did you hear about the conference?
50%
41.56%
23.28%
14.29%
9.09%
7.79%
3.90%
0%
Lighthouse Institute
mailing list
communications
Lighthouse Institute
partner organisations
Word of
mouth/colleague
Conference website
Social Media Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn etc.
Other
Conference Organisation, Venue and Catering
Overall, respondents were very satisfied with the organisation of the Conference, including the registration process;
website and pre-conference information; conference location, venue and catering; the audio-visual equipment used,
exhibitors and layout of the exhibition area.
The majority of respondents (71.43%) rated the organisation of the Conference as ‘excellent’. Most respondents
(71.43%) felt that the ease of the registration process was ‘excellent’, and the respondents reported that the usefulness
of the website and general pre-conference information was ‘excellent’ (50.00%) or ‘good’ (41.67%).
Figure 2. Average satisfaction rating with conference organisations, ease of registration process and usefulness of
website & information
Average rating
0 = Very Poor 5 = Excellent
5
4
3
2
1
0
The conference was
well organised
Ease of the
registration process
Usefulness of website
and general
pre-conference
information
Satisfaction with the catering provided was rated as ‘excellent’ (60.71%) or ‘good’ (35.71%). The majority of respondents thought the conference location was excellent (69.05%); and nearly 67% of respondents thought the conference
venue was ‘excellent’. In fact, when asked to recommend another location or venue for future conferences, of the 43
people who responded to this question, 76.74% said the MCG was an excellent venue/location.
“Love the MCG!”
“The MCG was a fantastic location.”
“The location is alright for me, excellent choice, wide space.”
Figure 3. Average satisfaction with the Conference location, venue and catering
Average rating
0 = Very Poor 5 = Excellent
5
4
3
2
1
0
Satisfation with the
catering provided
Satisfaction with the
conference location
Satisfaction with the
conference venue
The majority of respondents stated that the audio-visual equipment used and support was ‘excellent’ (51.22%) or ‘good’
(40.24%); results were a little more mixed with regards to the quality of exhibitors and the information they provided with
the majority reporting it was ‘good’ (53.66%) or ‘excellent’ (28.05%); and similarly, most respondents thought the layout
and use of the exhibition area was ‘good’ (58.54%) or ‘excellent’ (26.83%).
Figure 4. Average satisfaction rating with audio-visual equipment used and support, exhibitors, and the layout and use of the
exhibition space
Average rating
0 = Very Poor 5 = Excellent
5
4
3
2
1
0
Audio-visual equipment
used and support
Quality of exhibitors
and information
they provided
Layout and use
of the exhibition area
Design of the conference program
The feedback from respondents suggested a high level of satisfaction with the overall design and quality of the two day
conference program.
The majority (81.93%) of respondents felt that the number of concurrent sessions was ‘just right’, as was the length
of the presentations in the concurrent sessions (74.70%). Similarly, most respondents (84.34%) felt that the number of
keynote addresses was ‘just right’ and that the length of their presentations was ‘just right’ (91.57%). Respondents
generally felt that the expertise of the speakers was either ‘excellent’ (58.54%) or ‘good’ (39.02%); and that the quality
of the presentation content was ‘excellent’ (47.56%) or ‘good’ (47.56%).
Figure 5. Satisfaction with number of Concurrent sessions, number of keynote presentations, length of presentations in concurrent
sessions and length of keynote presentations
100%
t
igh
tr
s
Ju
st
Ju
t
us
ht
rig
J
t
us
J
o
To
0%
y
an
m
t
No
Number of
concurrent sessions
h
ug
o
en
o
To
y
an
m
Number of
keynote presentations
ht
rig
t
or
sh
ou
n
te
No
gh
o
To
o
To
g
lon
Length of presenations
in concurrent sesions
Figure 6. Average satisfation rating with expertise of speakers and quality of presentation content
Average rating
0 = Very Poor 5 = Excellent
5
4
3
2
1
0
Speaker Expertise
ht
rig
Quality of presentation content
o
To
t
or
sh
o
To
Length of keynote
presentations
g
lon
The majority of respondents (54.88%) reported that the range of cross-sectorial and multidisciplinary presentation topics
was ‘good’, with an additional 32.93% saying it was ‘excellent’; and more than 60% of respondents thought that the
wellness program and general approach to safety and wellbeing was ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ (34.94%).
Figure 7. Average satisfaction with wellness program, and range of cross-sectorial and multidisciplinary presentation topics
Average rating
0 = Very Poor 5 = Excellent
5
4
3
2
1
0
Satisfaction with wellness
program & general
approach to safety and
wellbeing
Range of cross-sectorial
and multidisciplinary
presentation topics
Overall, the majority of respondents (78.05%) thought the length of the conference was ‘just right’, however a small
proportion would have preferred that it was longer (14.63%) and
Figure 8. Satisfaction with length of the conference
100%
78.05%
41.56%
0%
Prefer it was longer
7.32%
Just right
Could be shorter
Overall, the majority of respondents (96.15%) reported that they would recommend this Conference to
others in the future; and 94.87% of respondent said that they themselves would attend this Conference
again in the future.
Key Learnings from the Conference
The evaluation survey sought detailed written feedback on respondents’ expectations of the conference, what they
gained from it, and recommendations and suggestions. The results are presented below.
Question 1. What did you hope to gain from the Conference?
There was a very strong theme of respondent’s (84%) wanting to broaden their knowledge, understanding
and application of attachment and trauma informed practice; and that they hoped to gain greater
confidence in their work through new ideas, skills and strategies.
“Increased understanding of ways to work with trauma affected people.”
“Improved understanding of trauma-informed practice and what is happening in this space.”
“Confidence in providing trauma counselling.”
“Additional strategies to embed trauma informed practice into the workplace.”
“Ideas in improving my ability to assist people in moving towards recovery.”
“Increased practitioner knowledge and confidence.”
“Greater understanding of trauma theory and application in practice.”
“The new knowledge that I gain, I would like to adapt some of it to the areas of working in my country.”
“Learning more about best practice in relation to trauma and attachment.”
A minor theme also emerged in relation to networking and respondents (19.5%) wanting to build a
community of practice committed to trauma informed work.
“Build network of practitioners working from trauma informed models.”
“Inspiration, new research knowledge, contacts and networking.”
“Good networking and audience for ideas.”
“To learn about how various people/organisations are applying an attachment and trauma informed approach in their respective settings. To network with other people committed to attachment and trauma informed work and to take back some innovative ideas to my own workplace.”
“Innovations, networking, community.”
Question 2. What did you take away from the Conference?
Most respondents felt that their expectations as to what they hoped to gain at the conference were met
or exceeded. In particular, respondents reported that they took away with them an increased knowledge
and deeper understanding of the work; new ideas and skills for practice; and felt that the Conference had
reaffirmed the importance of their work and improved confidence in their skills (77.4%). They also felt that
the conference was a great networking opportunity and enhanced their sense of connection with others in
the field (24.2%); and also that the Conference left them feeling inspired and with a strong sense of hope in
that recovery is possible (24.2%).
“New knowledge, inspiration to change my professional and personal practice.”
“Inspiration, new research knowledge, contacts and networking.”
“I came away feeling inspired and having a lot of new ideas that has me still thinking some weeks later.
I have been able to bring many of these ideas and comments to my Management team.”
“New learning and extended knowledge on previously known topics, refreshed enthusiasm to work in a challenging field.”
“Lots! I came away feeling very stimulated and inspired. Good insights, new knowledge and awareness.”
“Better networks and contacts. Discussion points to have with other staff members regarding staff professional development.”
“Exactly what I needed. Great networking opportunities, learning and talking about trauma informed practice in a cross cultural sense.”
“Networks, ideas for my own practice.”
“Lots of great new ideas with high applicability in my practice, a renewed lens on the value of LEP (lived experience practice), thanks Louise, a reaffirmation of my skills – important for days when things don’t go to plan.”
“Books bought, leaflets, pamphlets, new friends, more knowledge about NGOs here in Australia, and the knowledge about trauma informed practice.”
“Lots of contacts, reinforcement of professional knowledge.”
“New information, hope.”
“Hope, belief and keenness to read more on the subject.”
“Lots of information, insights, positive statements about recovery.”
Question 3. What issues, topics or ideas would you like to see addressed the next Conference?
Many respondents wanted to build on this Conference in more depth, either through workshops, group discussions and/or detailed consideration of practice issues, international models, and case examples.
“Keynote speakers who have or are working in therapeutic models at the international level, particularly from the UK.”
“More practical application of the Sanctuary Models and new methods.”
“More group discussions – learning from each other.”
“Practice issues.”
“Is it possible to build on this conference, some more case examples?”
“An extension/ update on what was presented at this conference.”
“More in depth practice as a build on this conference.”
“Examples of trauma informed practice in greater depth, with the opportunity for interactive discussion. The short sessions were very interesting and informative, and are valuable, but would value chance to unpack it more.”
A greater focus on trauma informed practice in mental health and substance abuse also emerged as a
theme.
“Relationship between trauma and mental health diagnoses.”
“Impact of childhood trauma on adult mental health – in particular people who hear voices, and EBP to assist people to recover.”
“Psychological/ mental health assessments; their use and application.”
“More around comorbidity – mental health and substance abuse.”
“Personality disorders and how they are present in conjunction with trauma.”
“Addiction/ substance use.”
“Trauma and the impact on adult mental health and the appropriate psychosocial support.”
Other feedback was quite broad and generally reflected the diversity of sectors and disciplines represented
at this
Conference.
“Childhood trauma and residential provision.”
“More information on current practice around youth homelessness.”
“Connection of PTSD in war survivors, veterans and refugees. Transgenerational trauma.”
“Some more information on domestic abuse outside of women and children (men and boys) and any other information on effects.”
“More cross cultural information.”
“More survivor stories; stories from parent’s perspectives on trauma cases.”
“The role of lived experience in support work.”
“More on how to treat perpetrators.”
“How a greater interrelationship and dialogue between the government and non-government sector could be achieved.”
“The identification of the causes of the abuse of children, the identification of social structures that permit the physical and psychological sacrifices of the child and the issue of prevention.”
“A broad spectrum, self-harm, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.”
“Gender specific tools/programs to assist in the recovery process for boys and girls.”
“I was surprised at the lack of Child Protection professionals present at this conference – seems the
content would be most important to their work.”
“A greater emphasis on clinical work.”
Question 4. How could the Conference be improved?
Overall, the respondents were positive in their feedback about the Conference.
“It was great.”
“I think the conference was really well organised and congratulate you on your event.”
“Not sure, it was great.”
“No improvements, I thought it was great.”
There were however a number of areas where suggestions for improvements were made, particularly with
regards to the program design (54.7%); and the catering and venue (23.1%).
“One or two longer workshops.”
“I would have built a little more time for people to swap rooms between the concurrent presentations.”
“Workshops perhaps.”
“More interactive sessions would be valuable and help break up the information overload. For me it was too much being ‘talked at’.”
“A greater range of activities in the wellness room, various tasks to suit a range of interests
and activities.”
“Have much more consumer involvement and lead in all aspects.”
“More practical application of the Sanctuary Models and new method.”
“Tea and coffee in the mornings! Live demos if possible about application.”
“More world renowned specialists in trauma work.”
Reflections on Journey to Recovery 2015
Over the course of the Journey to Recovery Conference, we were able to draw inspiration and insight from the stories
and expertise of survivors, carers, researchers, and practitioners – all of whom are leading the way in informing and
developing recovery-oriented interventions, creating social and political reform, and changing lives. As one delegate
stated:
“…there are many great people out there, in varied fields, all passionate about supporting those who have suffered trauma in their lives and are working on ways to better their care and recovery.”
What stood out about the Conference was an overwhelming recognition of the relevancy of this work across such a
broad range of sectors and disciplines; the valuable contribution of cross-sectorial collaboration and learning; and of a
rapidly growing community of practice firmly committed to the advancement of attachment and trauma-informed work:
“Increased knowledge in the area of complex trauma, plus a great sense of the community of trauma informed practitioners or supporters thereof.”
“Benefit of trauma informed knowledge to all sectors.”
“What other people in the sector are doing or have done.”
“A sense that there has been a significant paradigm shift in how we understand the experience of and work with those impacted by trauma and attachment disruptions, but also where there are still some significant gaps and room for improvement.”
“A much better understanding of the growing move towards working from a trauma-informed perspective, and also a better understanding of the resistance in the community field towards working this way.”
It was great to observe and to hear from delegates that the atmosphere of the Conference strongly reflected that of a
trauma-informed setting and quickly became a space of nurture, caring and safety – a therapeutic environment in which
delegates were encouraged and supported to respond to the potential negative consequences of the traumatic material
being discussed. This was captured in some of the comments from delegates when asked about what they took away
with them from the Conference:
“The importance of the wellbeing room.”
“Further development of and integration of my clinical skill and wonderful, surprising addition to my discussions in my organisation about vicarious trauma, self-care, etc. Trauma informed and sensitive organisation wonderful. Also hope and creativity and cooperative interventions. Up front about wellness
and potential impact of material”.
“Refresher on trauma theories, new concepts, new networks, importance of wellbeing and self-care when working in this field.”
Reassuringly, several key messages were reinforced time and time again throughout the various presentations across
the 2 days.
Firstly, there was a strong focus on the process of recovery and the environments in which healing occurs. In discussing
attachment and separation, Dr Paul Valent stated that “recovery has to begin with a person, not an institution. That’s
where it all began, with the absence of a person.” In discussing engagement with mental health services, Dr Louise
Byrne talked about how the environment is often created to make staff feel more comfortable and safe, not necessarily
the service user and addressed the feeling of extreme powerlessness experienced by service users - a sentiment
beautifully captured by Ms Sarah Yanosy who stated that “we cannot hope to change the lives of the people we serve
if we cannot change the environment in which we serve”. She also posited that in any treatment community we need to
reframe how we think and say to ourselves “ I am the treatment.”
There was also an emphasis on the need to address trauma holistically. The Conference program emphasised the
multiple contexts in which trauma occurs, and the multiple points of intervention that can and should be considered.
As Sarah Yanosy stated: “trauma informed practice requires a paradigm shift from clients being viewed as the only
point of intervention” and that we need to understand treatment in terms of a “community of care”. Dr Judith Lewis
Herman asserted that “violence is transmitted from the political world to the personal” and that “the survivor’s social
world can influence the eventual outcomes of trauma.” Dr Cathy Kezelman’s presentation highlighted the startling social,
economic and psychological cost of trauma and demonstrated just why a systems approach to treatment and recovery
is required. The Conference program also showcased the way multiple modalities and approaches can respond to the
various needs of individuals and communities and the resounding lesson was that we need to continue to strengthen
how we work across multiple layers - engaging survivors not only at the individual level, but also focusing on the
interrelational transactions between multiple systems at the familial, group, organisational, community and social policy
levels. This was a topic that some respondents felt could be explored in greater depth at future conferences:
“…more thought needs to be given to the way trauma is integrated into mental health care.”
“The identification of the causes of the abuse of children, the identification of social structures that permit the physical and psychological sacrifice of the child and the issue of prevention.”
“The importance of community in raising awareness about complex trauma and how vital community is in the healing process.”
“…finally, the sector is starting to take notice of the underlying causes of mental and related illnesses and ask sufferers the right questions.”
In response to the feedback from the previous Conference, this time around there was an intentional focus on the
importance of culture and multiple world views in enhancing how we conceptualise and understand attachment and
trauma in various groups and contexts. As Dr Paul Valent pointed out: “the words of attachment and trauma are still
not recognised in many languages and we are just starting to understand what they really mean.” At an individual level,
Helen Lenga talked about how we often apply culture to ‘others’ and challenged us to examine our own culture and
how it influences our worldview, and ultimately how we work with our clients; whilst at the macro level, Jenine GodwinThompson asserted that worldviews even within Aboriginal culture differs quite drastically and that overall, Aboriginal
worldview has been lost in social policy. Professor Pat Dudgeon cautioned us to move beyond cultural awareness to
cultural responsiveness and to find a balance between labelling and not labelling (which does not acknowledge that
inequalities exist); and highlighted that Aboriginal healing is a spiritual journey that involves reconnection to family,
community, culture and country (land).
We examined the critical role of lived experience and consumer participation in enhancing attachment and trauma
informed work and asked the question: “how can we invest further in consumer-led initiatives”? We were fortunate to
have consumer participation in the planning and development of the conference and approximately 40% of our delegate
base was comprised of Carers charged with the critical task of providing stable, consistent and loving relationships for
some of our most vulnerable young people. We heard from Dr Louise Byrne who spoke about the rights of survivors
and the need for a stronger consumer voice in the mental health space. She also articulated that the expertise of lived
experience practitioners lies in “having been oppressed and then transcending that” and shined a light on the important
role they have in helping others to “find their gold” and to “discover what they can do with it”. We also heard the highly
emotive and thought provoking story of Carol Jarvis’ who shared with us her own journey to recovery. Her presentation
reminded us of the importance of not censoring survivors despite how uncomfortable their story may be to hear. It also
gave pause to consider our own woundedness as a metaphor for our humanness and to think about the use of self in
trauma recovery work. Again, some respondents felt this was an area that could be explored in more depth:
“I really enjoyed the consumer, peer support, lived experience perspective represented and would hope this continues.”
“More survivor stories; stories from parent’s perspectives on trauma cases”
“Much more consumer-led initiatives, with an acknowledgment that consumers are the experts
and professionals.”
Finally, we reflected on the gradual paradigm shift occurring in this space and the importance of hope in attachment and
trauma informed work. Ms Sarah Yanosy and Dr Michael Merzenich discussed the hope that comes with now knowing
that we can re-shape the brain and that brain plasticity can be driven in a negative or positive direction; whereas Dr
Judith Lewis Herman reported that despite experiences of trauma, “people maintain a sense of fairness and if you can
appeal to that sense of fairness, you can begin to build a relationship and start those attachment bonds.”
We talked about how organisations and opportunities like the Conference can develop a community of practice where
the intention is to create a gravitational pull into this therapeutic movement, but also questioned how we can scale up
our efforts to educate the broader community in order to create what Dr Cathy Kezelman termed “a trauma-informed
society” - a society primed to protect people from harm. Holding hope for our clients can be a difficult task, but when
we feel more connected to a network of supportive colleagues with shared values and commitments, we are much
better equipped to positively contribute to a cause. Overall, many respondents felt that this was the most important
thing they took away with them – a sense of hope that recovery is possible; a renewed enthusiasm for their work; and
finally, a feeling of being connected to a group of people committed to the advancement of attachment and trauma
informed practice.
We thank you for your participation in this Conference and look forward to you continuing on this journey with us.
Catherine Keating, Learning and Development Manager, Lighthouse Institute
Rudy Gonzalez, Executive Director, Lighthouse Institute
P. 03 9093 7500 F. 03 9093 7555
[email protected]
www.lighthouseinstitute.org.au