Practice expertise is knowledge gained from study and experience of direct engagement with clients in a variety of settings and of seeing the results of particular practices and interventions firsthand. It includes knowledge and understanding of what has and hasn’t worked in the past and why, intuition and personal values.
is a visual representation of the logic of a program. It generally shows objectives, inputs, activities, outputs, short term impacts, and longer term outcomes. It can be used as a planning or implementation tool, vehicle for communicating the logic of a program to stakeholders, or a means of facilitating effective evaluation.
is an approach to social justice that provides universally-accessible support with enhanced access for those people requiring more targeted support. The services are universal, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage.
are tools used to measure mental processes including skills, abilities, personality traits and knowledge in a valid and reliable manner. Examples include the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Seeks to create similar groups of participants, with one group receiving the intervention and the other group not receiving it. One strength of this approach is that it does not set up an artificial test environment so responses are likely to be more genuine or authentic. A limitation is that the test groups are not equivalent and pre-existing influences are not taken into account.
are scientific investigations that seek to reduce bias by randomly assigning participants to a treatment or control group. These can sometimes include double blind trials where neither the researchers nor participants know who is taking the treatment or the placebo. One benefit is that it offers the strongest empirical evidence of an intervention’s efficacy. A limitation is that it may not be widely applicable or transferable to other sites or circumstances and may not always reflect 'real 'life' because of its controlled setting.
the child and family services sector includes all organisations that provide support to children, young people and families experiencing vulnerability. It includes universal, targeted and tertiary services and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Shark Cage® is a framework to help prevent, understand, and heal from violence against girls and women. Draws upon multiple psychological modalities for working in trauma informed ways to help women interrupt patterns of abuse and challenge victim blaming.
focuses on the inherent strengths and resources of each individual or community and brings them to the fore rather than focusing on gaps and limitations. This approach was developed in response to approaches that focus on a client’s deficits or limitations rather than on the internal and external resources they already have or can draw on.
