Talking Child Development

In this episode of Talking Child Development, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Tracy Christophi. Tracy is a child and adolescent psychotherapist originally from the UK but now based in Western Australia. In her earlier career as a mental health nurse specialist, Tracy has firsthand experience of the devastating impact of traumatic earl...

In this podcast Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Matt Tyler. Matt is the executive director of the Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services in Melbourne. He works with a team committed to reducing violence, preventing sexual abuse and supporting men and boys to flourish. Through leading research, including the Man Box Project , these fi...

In this episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven talks to Vannie Ip-Winfield, a Registered Music Therapist and Vice-President of the Music and Imagery Association of Australia.  Originally trained in classical piano, Vannie has used her skills in music therapy and psychotherapy for over 20 years in a wide range of settings, including an Early Parenting Unit, part of an Allied Health Team, in adult psychiat...

In this episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Dr. Maria Papadima and Catherine Campbell. Maria and Catherine are both UK-based child and adolescent psychotherapists who have developed a successful time-limited model of working with adolescents and their parents in an NHS adolescent crisis team. Their time-limited model considers a...

In this episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks to Rhonda Galbally. They discuss her hugely distinguished career as a tireless advocate for disability reform, starting from her own personal experience and including her roles as a disability Royal Commissioner and on the Board of the Disability Insurance Scheme. Rhonda has also been at the...

In this episode Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks to Dr. Matthew Roberts. Dr. Roberts is a Melbourne based psychiatrist and psychotherapist clinical teacher and writer, and in this episode, he dives deeper into his extensive experience in perinatal mental health, his trauma informed clinical practice, and his father-inclusive work as one of...

In this episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Dr. Jenifer Wakelyn child and adolescent psychotherapist, author and researcher in the UK. She is the founder of the innovative program Watch me Play! This is an intervention for caregivers and their babies and young children that with the support of a practitioner aims to enhance child...

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Meena Singh, Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People in Victoria. Meena is a Yorta Yorta and Indian woman, born, raised and living on the land of the Kulin Nations. Meena commenced her legal career with Victoria Legal Aid where she practiced in human rights and criminal law and was the ina...

In this episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Dr. Fiona Zandt. Dr. Zandt is a clinical psychologist and play therapist who works with children with a wide range of emotional, social and behavioural challenges and their families. Fiona has authored the acclaimed Creative Way series for therapists and runs creative child therapy work...

In this episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks to Liana Buchanan, Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People for the State of Victoria. Liana is also part-time Commissioner of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. She has a background in oversight and system reform for people experiencing disadvantage and those affected by famil...

In this episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven talks to Dr Catherine Page Jeffery, lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of Sydney. Her current research addresses digital media and families with a particular focus on parenting in the digital age and its accompanying anxieties. She is the author of a new book Parenting in a Dig...

In this podcast, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Dr. Catherine Olweny. Catherine is a specialist paediatric anaesthetist who in the course of her work, is aware of the high levels of stress and anxiety experienced by children having surgery and other medical interventions. She has taken the unusual path in addition to her specialist...

In this podcast episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Dr. Judith Edwards about her recently published book Grandmotherland. A far cry from conventional ideas of how to be a grandmother, Judith explores the challenges and risks of this important phase of the family life cycle. Judith has published extensively in the field, and she...

In this podcast episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Journalist Virginia Tapscott who has written extensively about the undervaluing of mothering and the devaluation of caregiving in general. Virginia is based in country New South Wales. She has four children, and her writing and reporting have ranged from agricultural issues to...

In this podcast episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with Dr. Jon Jureidini, Child Psychiatrist and Head of Psychological Medicine at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide. Dr. Jureidini also heads the Critical and Ethical Mental Health Research Group at the University of Adelaide. He explains the problems associated with pa...

In this podcast episode, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven talks with School Psychologist Brydie Huggins about the current problem of school refusal or ‘school can’t’. Brydie has worked across the developmental spectrum from kindergarten to year 12 in public and private school settings. Talking Child Development is brought to you by the Associati...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven speaks with Ryan Carters, father of three, a former professional cricketer and founder of Dadfit. This non-profit organization aims to ‘make dadding a team sport again’ and support dads’ mental and physical health and promote their relationship skills. Talking Child Development is brought to you by the Association of Child and Family Development. Ref...

In this episode Amanda Stone, educationalist and committee member of the Association of Child and Family Development talks to Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven, child and adolescent psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, author, and trainer. They discuss the unique contribution of psychodynamic thinking to the promotion of child, adolescent, adult, and family mental health.   Talking Child Development is br...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven speaks with Dr. Jordana Silverstein, cultural historian, and senior research fellow in the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, in the Melbourne Law School. They speak about her recently published groundbreaking book, Cruel Care: a history of children at our borders, that describes the treatment of child refugees at our borders. Talking Child Deve...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven speaks with Professor Nick Midgley in the UK, a Professor of Psychological Therapies with Children and Young People at University College London and the Anna Freud Centre. This episode discusses the essential links between clinical practice and research. Talking Child Development is brought to you by the Association of Child and Family Development. R...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven speaks with Mary Louise Hatch, a collaboratively trained family lawyer, mediator, and family dispute resolution practitioner. They discuss her work with parents and families going through separation and divorce and how couples can be helped to avoid the emotionally and financially draining experience of going to court.   Talking Child Development is...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven speaks with Dr. Kirsten Meyer, Drama Therapist who has a particular interest in how the Arts can be used to enhance the capacity of care workers to respond to children and young people. Kirsten currently leads a team of creative arts, therapists, and counsellors in a community-based organisation in Melbourne, working with children, young people and t...

In this podcast, Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven sounds a warning about  ADHD as a disposal diagnosis for vulnerable children, adolescents and adults that papers over complex social problems post Covid, and ignores longstanding clinical and research evidence of parent/child relational attachment that underpins the capacity for attention and self-regulation. Talking Child Development is brought to you by the...

In this episode, Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven speaks with Scott Cadby, school counsellor and wellbeing coordinator at an all-boys college in Melbourne. This conversation discusses what helps boys develop positive mental health through adolescence and how much they need their fathers as mentors and supporters in this critical process. Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven is a child psychotherapist, clinical psychologi...

In this episode, Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven presents her talk; It’s not Just Child’s Play: Understanding the meaning of children’s behaviour. Far from being dismissed as a simplistic process, child’s play is part of everyday ‘work’. It is a rich complex and meaningful experience that helps children make sense of their world and helps adults to make sense of children’s behaviour. Dr. Ruth Schmidt Neven...