2. Explorer
Menu of 3-hour IMPACT professional development workshops and 90 minute coaching modules. Available online and face-to-face. Fee-for-service.
Intent
The Explorer Step is designed for caregivers, teachers, supporting adults, practitioners and communities who seek best-practice content on a specific professional development area.
It affords communities the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the IMPACT Program—its language, intent, scope and the breadth of its practical application.
Key Features
This step offers fee-for-service IMPACT Coaching Modules (90-minutes) and Specialist Workshops (3-hours), selected from a flexible menu of professional development options. Each session is tailored to the unique needs and context of the program, agency, school or community.
Workshops are delivered by a LBI accredited and supervised IMPACT Trainer with relevant expertise in both the content and context of delivery.
You and Your Community
For further information on how these professional development opportunities are tailored to the needs and context of specific communities, click the link below.
Professional Development Menu
3-Hour Workshops
The Foundations of Trauma-Responsive Practice (3 Hour Workshop)
- Grow awareness of trauma-responsive practices, and taking a personalised approach to trauma impact and associated responses.
- Grow awareness of the types of trauma and its developmental impact on a person’s physical, brain, social, emotional and cognitive development.
- Grow an awareness of the under the surface impact of trauma.
- Grow awareness of foundational building blocks of growth intent (mapped to a context of trauma).
- Grow awareness of foundational “how” scripts and strategies and how to work with others in shared intent.
Trauma and Its Impact (Advanced Under the Surface): IMPACT Specialist Module 1
- Grow an awareness of trauma impact on a person’s physical, brain, social, emotional, identity and cognitive development.
- Grow an awareness of the brain, its functioning and the impact of experiences at a deeper or more advanced level (beyond frontal lobe versus emotional brain areas).
- Grow the skills to assess the potential ‘under the surface’ impact of trauma or developmental experiences on a child’s development and brain functioning.
- Grow awareness of foundational building blocks of growth intent (mapped to a context of trauma).
- Grow awareness of foundational “how” scripts and strategies, and how to work with others in shared intent.
Attachment Theory and Attachment Responsive Strategies: IMPACT Specialist Module 2
- Grow an awareness of attachment theory, including avoidant, ambivalent, secure and disorganised attachment patterns, and the different behavioural actions and ‘under the surface factors’ related to each pattern.
- Grow an awareness of the developmental, contextual and other factors that impact on attachment.
- Grow an awareness of how one’s own attachment style impacts on how they relate to others, with a focus on children and young people.
- Grow an awareness of attachment responsive caregiving, teaching and support (being the ‘safe-base’), including how to individually tailor these responses to different children’s needs through intentional planning and actions.
Developmental Stages and Intentional Adult Support: IMPACT Specialist Module 3
- Grow an awareness of developmental trajectories and how these map to the brain functioning (neuro-sequential).
- Grow an awareness of physical, social, emotional, psychological, identity and cognitive developmental milestones for children at different age ranges.
- Grow awareness of the impact of experiences (e.g., trauma) on specific developmental periods.
- Grow an awareness of the differences between ‘chronological’ and ‘developmental’ age.
- Grow the skills to understand a child’s developmental functioning (within individual domains).
- Grow the skills to identify a range of building blocks of ‘growth intent’ (or developmental growth targets) for a specific child or young person.
Understanding Child and Youth Mental Health Diagnoses: IMPACT Specialist Module 4
- Grow an awareness of ‘what are diagnoses’ for children and young people.
- Grow an awareness of the risks and benefits of diagnoses.
- Grow an awareness of what is ‘reactive attachment disorder’, ‘autism spectrum disorder’, ‘oppositional defiant disorder’, ‘conduct disorder’ and other key disorders for children and young people.
- Grow the mindset “I need to bring my focus to a child’s development or ‘under the surface’ needs, not be preoccupied with a label”.
Growing Healthy Sexual Expression: IMPACT Specialist Module 5
- Grow awareness of sexual expression within a developmental context, and the difference between normal/healthy and abnormal/unhealthy sexual expression, across different developmental ages.
- Grow awareness of the developmental, contextual and other factors that lead to children and young people presenting with unhealthy sexual expression.
- Grow awareness of ‘under the surface’ factors that drive healthy versus unhealthy sexual expression.
- Grow skills to implement intentionally delivered strategies to foster and grow healthy sexual expression and identity, across different developmental periods (including balancing risk and supporting growth).
Disentangling Trauma and Neurodivergence: IMPACT Specialist Module 6
- Grow an awareness of what is both trauma and neurodiversity.
- Grow the awareness and skills to adopt a personalised, growth-focused and intentional approach to understanding and responding to children and young people with backgrounds of trauma and neurodivergence.
- Grow an awareness of the developmental interface between trauma and neurodivergence.
- Grow an awareness of the shared and individualised best-practice growth intents for contexts of trauma and neurodiversity.
- Grow an awareness of relationship-focused and trauma-informed scripts, strategies and methods to ‘respond to the developmental needs’ of children and young people in an intentional, growth-focused and neuro-sequential manner.
- Grow an awareness of specific neurodiversity-affirming best-practice strategies for children and young people, clients of all ages, adult supporters and wellbeing-responsive communities.
Children and Young People Who Hurt Others (Growing Empathy): IMPACT Specialist Module 7
- Grow an awareness of the developmental and contextual factors that influence ‘why’ children hurt others.
- Grow an awareness of the ‘under the surface’ factors that drive hurtful or aggressive behaviour.
- Grow an awareness of ‘proactive’ versus ‘reactive’ aggression.
- Grow an awareness of how empathy and guilt develop.
- Grow an awareness of how empathy (or perspective taking) can be grown in children and young people.
- Grow awareness and skills to ‘manage risk’ and ‘respond to need’ (or grow children) for children who hurt others through intentional planning and support actions.
Thriving Versus Surviving Family Contact: IMPACT Specialist Module 8
- Grow an awareness of the role and importance of family contact in the lives of children and young people.
- Grow an awareness that ‘adjustment’, ‘grief’ or ‘pain-based’ responses are expected after access, and this can still represent an opportunity to grow a child’s capacity for future positive thriving outcomes.
- Grow an awareness of the mechanisms to support children to learn to develop a healthy relationship with both biological family and carers at the same time (no ‘splitting’ or an attachment to both).
- Grow awareness and skills to support children and young people to ‘thrive’ (or grow), as opposed to ‘survive’, family contact through intentional planning and actions.
- Grow awareness and skills for carers and support staff to positively advocate for family contact review, where there are concerns regarding the growth potential (or harm) of family contact.
- Grow the mindset “family contact can have significant growth potential for my child, but there is always the risk that this might not occur, but I need to be open to all possibilities”.
Supporting, Parenting and Teaching Adolescents With Complex Needs: IMPACT Specialist Module 9
- Grow an awareness of ‘normal’ adolescent development, including behaviour, developmental tasks and risk-taking processes.
- Grow an awareness of the impact of historical experiences on this developmental transition.
- Grow an awareness of foundational processes, strategies and principles that underpin trauma-informed caregiving responses for adolescents.
- Grow awareness of the importance of managing expectations and bringing flexibility to caregiving.
- Grow skills to implement intentional plans and actions for different adolescent behaviours.
Self-Harm and Suicide: IMPACT Specialist Module 10
- Grow an awareness of what are self-harm, suicidal ideation.
- Grow an awareness of the developmental and contextual factors that influence the presentation of behaviour.
- Grow an awareness of the ‘under the surface’ factors that drive self-harming and suicidal behaviour.
- Grow the awareness and skills to assess self-harm and suicide risk.
- Grow the skills to communicate with young people who are actively self-harming.
- Grow the awareness and skills to ‘manage risk’ and ‘respond to need’ (or grow children) for children who hurt themselves.
- Grow awareness and skills to implement evidence-based approaches to responding to children and young people who present with self-harming and suicidal ideation.
Grief and Loss (Children and Caregivers): IMPACT Specialist Module 11
- Grow an awareness of what is grief and loss, and the variety of ‘grief objects’ that are present for children and caregivers in the care system.
- Grow an awareness of the behavioural and ‘under the surface’ impacts of grief and loss for both children and caregivers in the care system.
- Grow an awareness of the key areas of growth intent for children and caregivers who have been exposed to grief and loss within the care system.
- Grow an awareness of the key ‘how’ scripts and strategies that are central to the healthy and adaptive coping of grief and loss for children and caregivers in the system.
- Grow the mindset “grief and loss is an expected part of the care system, everyone needs to be mindful of how it unfolds for themselves and others”.
Stress, Vicarious Trauma, Burnout and Compassion Fatigue: IMPACT Specialist Module 12
- Grow an awareness of what is ‘stress’, ‘vicarious trauma’, ‘compassion fatigue’ and ‘burnout’ and its potential impact on supporting adults.
- Grow an awareness of events that may manifest in vicarious trauma experiences and compassion fatigue.
- Grow the skills to be aware of when the impact of ‘vicarious trauma’ (burnout or compassion fatigue) may be present in one’s life.
- Grow an awareness of key strategies to proactively minimise (or reduce risk of vicarious trauma) and then respond to early and later onset symptoms.
Placement Matching: IMPACT Specialist Module 13
- Grow an awareness of key principles to guide placement matching and review processes, which are likely to increase the capacity of the placement to have a ‘growth’ effect.
- Grow the skills to conduct a structured placement assessment matching process (using a tool) which assesses a child’s needs against the capacity (awareness, skills, mindsets, resources) of a placement.
Neurodivergence, Autism and ADHD – Understanding to Action: IMPACT Specialist Module 14
- Grow awareness of the developmental context (how and why) of neurodivergence and ‘spiky’ developmental profile.
- Grow awareness of what is under the surface and core developmental “needs”.
- Grow the awareness and skills to employ a personalised, growth-focused and intentional approach to understanding and responding to children and young people with contexts of neurodivergence.
- Grow an awareness of the shared and individualised neurodiversity-affirming, best-practice growth intents.
- Grow an awareness of the foundations and features of neuro-affirming safe-base relationships.
- Grow an awareness of specific neurodiversity-affirming best-practice strategies for children and young people.
Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed Growth Action Planning: IMPACT Specialist Module 15
- What is culturally sensitive growth planning and practice in action — the ability to design and implement growth planning that is culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and grounded in lived context to ensure safety, inclusion and meaningful engagement.
- Conducting deep, first-person and non-judgemental observations — recognising behaviour as communication shaped by culture, history, identity, safety, and lived experience.
- Deep understanding of the socio-cultural, contextual and historical experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — including intergenerational trauma, racism, grief and loss, and disconnection from land, culture, language, and community, and how these shape trust, identity, engagement and growth needs.
- Historical and lived contextual understanding of diverse non-Anglo-Saxon people in Australia — including migration, displacement, discrimination, cultural preservation and identity, and how these impact on growth pathways.
- Recognising under-the-surface drivers and needs — identifying emotional, cultural, relational, and trauma-based factors shaping behaviour and effective side-by-side growth planning.
- Co-designed or side-by-side growth action planning — building collaborative shared intent, ownership, trust and culturally meaningful pathways forward.
- Culturally sensitive “how” language, scripts, strategies and responses — using relational, respectful and safety-building communication.
Preventing and Responding to Child/Youth Anxiety and Depression: IMPACT Specialist Module 16
- Grow an awareness of what is ‘wellbeing’, ‘mental illness’, ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ for children and young people, and different types of diagnoses.
- Grow awareness of how anxiety and depression manifest and express itself in children and young people (from 5 years to 18 years).
- Grow awareness of the current and emergent at-risk groups for anxiety and depression.
- Grow awareness of ‘wellbeing-responsive practice’ as a method to prevent anxiety/depression, and to proactively respond to early warning mental health signs.
- Grow awareness of the key teacher, caregiver and supporting adult strategies aligned to the five principles of ‘wellbeing-and-trauma responsive practice’, and to growth optimal mental health and wellbeing.
- Grow awareness of “how” teachers, caregivers, supporting adult and care teams can work side-by-side together, and in partnership with children and young people, in the prevention and management of anxiety and depression symptoms.
Motivating Clients for Intentional Change: IMPACT Specialist Module 17
- Grow awareness of the “Stages of Change” model – including the pre-contemplative, contemplative, preparation, action and maintenance stages.
- Grow awareness and skills on how you can draw upon the “Stages of Change” model to support and grow clients (children, young people and adults).
- Grow awareness of key areas of growth intent for clients at different stages of change.
- Grow awareness of ‘how’ scripts and strategies as mapped to different stages of change (drawing upon motivational interviewing scripts and strategies).
- Grow skills to develop an intentional support plan founded upon the Stages of Change Model.
Growing Healthy Relationship With Food (Eating Disorders and Children): IMPACT Specialist Module 18
- Grow an awareness of food, eating, health behaviour and eating disorders as coping responses.
- Grow an awareness of the developmental and contextual factors that influence the presentation of behaviour, including the deeper ‘under the surface’ factors.
- Grow an awareness of what are eating disorders and body dysmorphia, and the factors that are linked to these behaviours.
- Grow awareness of foundational building blocks of growth intent to build healthy self-concept, relationship with food and health, and proactively respond to problematic eating and health behaviour.
- Grow awareness of foundational “how” scripts and strategies to promote healthy relationship with food and body, and to work with children and third parties in “shared intent” to respond to unhealthy or clinical features when present.
Growing a Successful Transition to Independent Living: IMPACT Specialist Module 19
- Grow awareness of the role and impact of transitioning from out-of-home care into independent living for young people.
- Grow awareness of the under-the-surface impacts of this transition — including identity formation, re-experiencing feelings of abandonment, grief and loss, and related emotional factors.
- Grow awareness of how to take a personalised and growth-focused approach to supporting independence.
- Grow awareness and skills to assess and understand a young person’s readiness for independence.
- Grow awareness of the foundational growth intents that care communities can prioritise during the transition process.
- Grow awareness of the core “how” processes — including preparation, planning, shared communication, and working side-by-side with young people through every stage of transition.
Working With Others Around a Shared Intent: IMPACT Specialist Module 20
- Grow an awareness of the factors that impact on the development of collaborative ‘care’ or ‘support’ community responses.
- Grow an awareness of ‘what is a shared intent’, and the role and importance of having a shared ‘language’, ‘knowledge, ‘skills’ and set of ‘methods’.
- Grow awareness of the core approach and principles underpinning a ‘shared intent’. Grow awareness of the role of solution focused and assertive communication skills.
- Grow awareness of core language and methods to foster a shared intent.
- Grow awareness of how to apply the “what-what-how” to foster a shared intent, including across a variety of contexts and settings.
90-Minute Coaching Modules
Grounded
- Grow an awareness of the role and importance of being ‘grounded’ in caregiving or supporting adult roles.
- Grow the mindset that being grounded (or present, mindful, responding and not reacting) is a key strategy in its own right.
- Grow an awareness of ‘mirror neurons’ as a key reason for why being grounded is so important.
- Grow the skills to apply physical (e.g., breath) and cognitive (e.g., affirmation, thought) grounding strategies.
Responding to Need
- Grow an awareness of caregiving and supporting adult responses that are ‘responding’ versus ‘reacting’.
- Grow an awareness of ‘needs’ versus ‘behaviour’.
- Grow the mindset that “trauma-informed caregiving and support is ‘responding’ to need, and not reacting to behaviour”.
- Grow the skills to self-identify when one is ‘responding’ versus ‘reacting’.
- Grow an awareness of key strategies to ‘respond’ rather than ‘react’ to different child behaviours, as made practical through a What-What-How framework.
Further Information
Please feel free to email us at info@lbi.org.au for further information.
We are happy to offer fixed costings based upon (1) online versus face-to-face, (2) size of group and (3) travel requirements.