Children who experience medical, developmental and psychosocial challenges in their lives are at elevated risk of developing mental health problems and associated poor quality of life. As most children we see at RCH come under this ‘high risk’ umbrella, a focus on child and family mental health needs is of great importance for our campus. This need is increasingly acknowledged by medical, nursing and allied health staff who work with distressed children and families on a day-to-day basis.

RCH Psychologists play a significant role in contributing to the care and treatment of these children and families, providing both preventative and targeted assessment, diagnosis and intervention, and facilitating adjustment and treatment adherence. This presentation will highlight the current evidence based approaches used to improve child and family psychological function within a medical setting, and how RCH psychologists work together with hospital programs to provide these services.

Speaker:Vicki Anderson, PhD Director, Psychology & Deputy Director Integrated Mental Health Program, RCH Director, Critical Care & Neurosciences Research, MCRI NHMRC Fellow Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne