National Youth Mental Health Framework for Maltreatment Healing
A national two-year research partnership between Queensland Family and Child Commission, PeakCare and Australian Catholic University
This project will contribute to the growing evidence on what policy and practice change is needed to ensure that the complex mental health needs of children and young people who have experienced childhood maltreatment are effectively and proactively addressed. We are developing a national mental health framework grounded in research, practitioner expertise and the lived experiences of children, young people and their caregivers. The framework will drive a whole-of-system response to the complex, transdiagnostic nature of maltreatment-related mental distress.
Context
Despite decades of reform efforts, Australia’s child welfare and mental health systems remain poorly aligned with the developmental and relational needs of children who have experienced maltreatment. Childhood maltreatment remains one of the most significant and widespread drivers of mental health vulnerability for children and young people across Australia. Currently there is limited evidence base that specifies the system conditions, sector responsibilities, and structural resources required to make therapeutic mental health care possible in practice.
This joint research project aims to address this challenge through the development of a national framework to support healing for children who have experienced maltreatment.
Get involved
Want to help shape what this looks like in practice? We are seeking participants for upcoming focus groups that will explore how to apply the project findings in real-world settings across Queensland.
If you would like to contribute your expertise or lived experience, please contact office@peakcare.org.au or lead researcher, Lottie Harris at lottie.harris@acu.edu.au.
