I had the loveliest experience in our local shopping centre last week.  It was one of those visits where you rush in and out.  I’d rushed in, done what I needed to do, grabbed a coffee and was on my way back to my car when I noticed a young mum crouched down next to her child’s stroller (or pushchair if you’re in the UK).  She was talking softly to her toddler who was clearly distressed about something.  I stopped, and not wanting anyone to think I was a stalker, I moved behind one of those...

Over the last few weeks, I’ve facilitated half a dozen workshops for community practitioners, volunteers and lawyers, where ethical decision making has been at the centre.  For the first half of my career as a community psychologist, at least once a week, the team that I led had an ethical dilemma we had to respond to.  We became adept at working these complex issues through where multiple parties had competing needs.  As the leader, my position was statutory so I had to have the final say...

In 2022, according to the Australian Psychological Society  45% of children aged 6-12 showed symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder. Whilst we might look to the pandemic as the reason behind this sharp increase, we cannot blame it entirely.  The Australian National Mental Health Commission  tells us that in general, Anxiety Disorders impact 1 in 4 Australians at some point in their lives.  Approximately 7% or 278,000 children and adolescents aged 4-17, are diagnosed with an Anxiety Disorder. ...