Why Pilr?
Kinship carers receive very little support once they are authorised, and any training they undertake occurs before the child has been placed in their care. Initial carer training programs provide a broad overview of caring and their ongoing roles and obligations, with little to no follow up once the child is placed in the home. Any future support the carer receives is typically child-focused and in response to escalating behavioural issues, whereby the carer needs to support the child further through better understanding of trauma and attachment, developing positive parenting skills, or implementing a behaviour management plan.
Respite Care is important as it provides the carer and child with a much needed break. It can give carers the opportunity to rest and regroup, or to spend time with their own family members. Whilst this is recognised as a significant support for carers, it does not address underlying issues that may be impacting or compromising stability of the placement.
Parenting support and training is often needed in instances where carers are finding it difficult to manage certain behaviours or emotional responses of children in their care. Parenting support and training will often focus on what the carer needs to learn or develop in regard to their parenting skills, which may undermine a carer’s sense of confidence in themselves by suggesting that they are doing something wrong or are not doing a good enough job. Whilst this type of support is significant in a practical sense, it does not address a carer’s emotional functioning or needs.
Support groups can be beneficial to carers as it provides them with opportunities to talk with other carers in similar situations and learn from their experiences. Whilst support groups can provide carers with a space to talk about their experiences and feelings, it may be more beneficial for the carer to receive support from a Psychologist or Social Worker who is experienced in the Child Protection and Out of Home Care arena to work through their emotions and develop coping strategies in the context of kinship care.
Why not use a Mental Health Care Plan and Community Psychologist?
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Pilr offers targeted counselling that is focused on the unique experiences and challenges for kinship carers.
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There is no guarantee that community Psychologists and counsellors will have experience in Child Protection and Out of Home Care. Intouch Psychology clinicians will have demonstrated experience and understanding of Child Protection and Out of Home Care, trauma and attachment.
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Pilr acknowledges the many other pressures on carers by working in with their needs when booking appointments. Our clinicians can be flexible and are understanding of the competing needs for carers.
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The weekly modules are completed online and all face-to-face sessions with clinicians are conducted via video-link or phone.
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The Intouch Psychology team will be provided regular training and support that is targeted at developing skills specific to the care experiences for kinship carers.
A Note from the Author
We can’t expect carers to be pillars of strength for the children in their care if the foundations are cracked.
The idea for the Pilr program came about through my experiences in assessment and intervention work with kinship carers and children in Out of Home Care over the past 20 years. My role as a Psychologist has identified a pattern of issues unique to kinship carers that is not necessarily addressed by casework and can underpin the presenting problems in the care situation months and years into the child’s placement.
My experience in working in the Out of Home Care and Child Protection fields has involved talking to carers about their expectations of caring, motivation and commitment to care, and their understanding of the child’s experiences and needs. Too often, these conversations reveal that kinship carers experience a number of difficulties with the reality of caring and the emotional impact that caring for a family member has had or is having on themselves and other household members. It has become clear through my work that there is a need to provide emotional support to kinship carers to explore their experience of caring and help them to develop realistic expectations, build resilience and create positive coping strategies.
We hope that Kinship Carers will be pillars of strength for the children in their care, however the importance of acknowledging and mitigating the emotional impact of caring for a family member should not be overlooked. We want carers to be able to provide a safe, stable and nurturing care environment that meets the child’s permanency needs. The goal of Pilr is to build a solid foundation of care for a child through supporting a carer’s mental health, coping mechanisms and resilience early in their care journey.
- Rachael O'Donnell
BSSc Post Grad Dip (Psych)
Managing Director of Intouch Psychology Services