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 early experience on later childhood and adolescence. Tracy is passionate about helping children and young people who have experienced relational and developmental trauma. She has written a brief guide for parents and carers to help them understand complex trauma and its effects on children. https://childpsychotherapyperth.com.au/2025/06/02/supporting-children-after-trauma/

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 psychiatry and in aged care. Ip-Winfield, V, Grocke, D. (2021). Virtual Group Music and Imagery (Grp MI) with healthcare staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne. Australian Journal of Music Therapy, 32 (1), 97-111 Shoemark, Helen. (2017). Time Together: A Feasible Program to Promote parent-infant Interaction in the NICU. Music Therapy Perspectives. 36. 10.1093/mtp/mix004.

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 forefront of reform with respect to health, welfare and mental health through the development of the Health Issues Centre, as the inaugural chief executive of the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and as a Ministerial Adviser. The official DRC website DRC Volume 7 online:https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/final-report-volume-7-inclusive-education-employment-and-housing Recommendations and summary PDF link:https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-09/Final%20Report%20-%20Volume%207%2C%20Inclusive%20education%2C%20employment%20and%20housing%20-%20Summary%20and%20recommendations.pdf Education:https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-09/Final%20Report%20-%20Volume%207%2C%20Inclusive%20education%2C%20employment%20and%20housing%20-%20Part%20A.pdf All Means All website: https://allmeansall.org.au/

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 development and caregiver relationships by promoting thoughtful individual attention and age-appropriate stimulation. The Watch me Play approach has been manualised and is disseminated across the UK and internationally. References: watchmeplay.info Book chapter: Wakelyn, J. (2019) ‘Developing an intervention for infants and young children in care: Watch Me Play!’ In: Supporting Vulnerable Babies and Young Children, edited by Wendy Bunston and Sarah Jones (Jessica Kingsley).Book: Wakelyn, J. (2020) Therapeutic Approaches with Babies and Young Children in Care: Observation and Attention (Karnac/Routledge). ISBN 978-1-782-20438-1 Recent paper: Wakelyn, J. (2025) Psychoanalytic aspects of the Watch Me Play! approach: the psychic energy of attention, Infant Observation, DOI:10.1080/13698036.2025.2471778

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 workshops for professionals. www.acfd.com.auwww.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 Digital World Beyond Media Panics: Towards a new theory of parental mediation, published by Routledge.www.acfd.com.auwww.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 has a particular interest in the links between psychoanalysis, culture and the arts and making these ideas accessible to a wider audience. References: www.acfd.com.auwww.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 pathologising all things emotional in our world, and how we need to attend to the social determinants of mental health in the community. Talking Child Development is brought to you by the Association of Child and Family Development. References: www.acfd.com.auwww.centreforchildandfamily.com

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. References: www.acfd.com.auwww.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 Development is brought to you by the Association of Child and Family Development. References: www.acfd.com.auwww.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 brought to you by the Association of Child and Family Development. References: www.acfd.com.au www.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 Association of Child and Family Development. References: www.acfd.com.au www.centreforchildandfamily.com

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 is a child psychotherapist, clinical psychologist and educator, who has brought a pioneering approach to clinical work that emphasizes the essential nature of the meaning of behaviour. Talking Child Development is brought to you by the Association of Child and Family Development. References: www.acfd.com.au www.centreforchildandfamily.com