Children and young people who experience domestic, family, and sexual violence (DFSV) often live with ongoing fear, coercion, and unpredictability. Their experiences are frequently minimised or rendered invisible, particularly when focus remains on the adult victim or presenting behaviours. Yet children are not passive witnesses - they are directly impacted in ways that shape their sense of safety, identity, relationships, and development.

Working therapeutically in this space requires practitioners to move beyond behaviour-focused or talk-based approaches and engage in ways that are developmentally attuned, relational, and responsive to DFSV dynamics. This includes recognising coercive control, the presence of fear, and the ways children adapt to survive within unsafe environments.

This two-day workshop invites practitioners to deepen their understanding of children’s lived experiences of DFSV and strengthen their capacity to respond in trauma-informed, relational, and ethically grounded ways. Participants will reflect on their practice, explore developmentally responsive approaches, and engage in experiential learning.

Grounded in trauma-informed and attachment-focused frameworks, the workshop emphasises creating safe relational spaces where children and young people can express, process, and make meaning of their experiences, while supporting their voice and resilience.

Across the two days, participants will explore key phases of therapeutic work through a reflective and practice-based lens.

Day 1 focuses on engagement and understanding, including recognising invisible impacts of DFSV, building safety and trust, and working alongside children and caregivers in the context of coercion and control. Participants will explore creative and play-based approaches, and ways to respond to trauma responses such as fear, hypervigilance, and survival strategies.

Day 2 shifts to deeper therapeutic work, including supporting children to make sense of their experiences, strengthening protective factors, and exploring themes such as safety, identity, and relationships. The day also includes practitioner wellbeing, supervision, and navigating endings in ways that honour the therapeutic relationship and the child’s experience.

Learning Outcomes

Walking Alongside: Supporting Children and Young People Impacted by Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence

By the end of this two-day workshop series, participants will be able to:

Demonstrate increased confidence in engaging children and young people impacted by DFSV, including building safety, trust, and connection in the context of fear, coercion, and control.
Apply developmentally attuned, trauma-informed approaches to practice, including the use of creative, play-based, and relational methods to support expression and engagement.
Recognise and respond to the impacts of DFSV on children and young people, including the often invisible effects of fear, coercive control, and the way children cope to stay safe.
Work alongside caregivers, understanding the complexities of attachment, safety, and relational dynamics within families impacted by violence.
Support children and young people to make sense of their experiences and strengthen protective factors, including safety, identity, voice, and relationships.
Reflect on practitioner wellbeing and ethical practice, including the role of supervision, self-compassion, and sustainable ways of working with children impacted by trauma.

Event Details

Workshop 1: Monday 7th September 2026

Workshop 2: Tuesday 8th September 2026

Time: 8:30am - 4:30pm AEST (Both days)
Location: Seminar Room 3 - Learning and Business Centre Caboolture HUB
4 Hasking Street, Caboolture QLD 4510

Please note: This is a 2 part series. Participants should attend both sessions.

Who should attend

These workshops are suitable for counsellors, social workers, and other practitioners working in the domestic, family, and sexual violence (DFSV) sector, or in related roles across the community services sector.

It is relevant for practitioners working with children, young people, and families impacted by DFSV who are seeking to deepen their understanding of trauma-informed, relational practice in the context of fear, coercion, and control.

The workshops are designed to support both developing and more experienced practitioners to reflect on and strengthen their practice.

About the facilitators

Tania Felstead

Tania Felstead is an Accredited Social Worker with over 25 years of experience across the social welfare and human services sector. She has worked as a frontline practitioner, supervisor, manager, trainer, and consultant, and now operates her private practice, Wattle Tree Wellness. Through her work, Tania supports individuals, teams, and organisations to engage in ethical, reflective, and trauma-informed practice. She delivers supervision, counselling, coaching, and training with a strong focus on practitioner wellbeing, skill development, and relational, values-based practice in the context of trauma, violence, and complexity.

Kristy Barker
Kristy Barker is a proud Wiradjuri woman who has spent most of her life living and working on Gubbi Gubbi Country on the Sunshine Coast. She is the Manager of the ATSICHS Family Participation Program and is passionate about supporting Aboriginal children, young people and families through culturally responsive, strengths-based practice.

Kristy holds a Bachelor of Human Services and has a strong professional commitment to supporting children, young people and families impacted by domestic and family violence. She is passionate about strengthening the capability of the workforce to recognise and respond to the impacts of violence on children in ways that are safe, culturally responsive, trauma-informed and therapeutically supportive. Kristy is committed to promoting healing, safety and connection for Aboriginal children and families through culturally safe practice.

Contact the host of Walking Alongside: Supporting Children and Young People Impacted by Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence - Caboolture September 2026

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