Specialist Therapy Services (STS)
Our Specialist Therapy Service is a therapeutic service that adapts evidence-based interventions to respond to children and young people that have been impacted by unwanted sexual experiences or those who display harmful sexual behaviours.
Our services are tailored to meet the individual needs of children, young people and their families.
The program is funded by the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women and takes referrals from families, young people, and services (government and non-government).
How we help
We help children and young people understand that what happened wasn’t their fault, and work with them on ways that they can reclaim their physical and emotional space and confidence. We also assist children, young people and their caregivers to act protectively.
Our service has family and individual counselling rooms, but we can also meet people at a school or at their home. We meet with children, young people and their families where they feel most comfortable.
We help develop responses to unwanted sexual experiences and help those that display harmful sexual behaviours by:
- Providing a safe place to express and process difficult thoughts and feelings
- Giving children and young people the opportunity to explore the impact of their experiences
- Supporting children and young people to develop skills for managing unpleasant physical sensations
- Empowering parents and care givers to help them deal with the complexity of the situation and any challenging behaviours of the child or young person.
Goals may include:
- Lessening the negative impacts of their sexual abuse experience
- Encouraging open communication within the family
- Equipping parents or carers to support the child involved
- Improving the child, young person and parent’s ability to create a safe environment
- Addressing sexually harmful behaviour
Referrals
If you have any questions or would like to access our free Integrated Therapy Service, please call us directly to discuss or make an appointment. Completed referral forms can be emailed to the relevant centres.
Changing the lives of kids in Australia
Five-year-old Maddie was physically, emotionally and verbally abused by her parents from birth, witnessing severe domestic violence and substance abuse, including Ice.
For the first six years of his little life, eight-year-old Aiden was beaten, burned, threatened, and degraded.