Dr Effie Zafirakis1
1Independent Consultant, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Dr. Zafirakis is a qualified lawyer, forensic psychologist, and art therapist. As a consultant she promotes therapeutic justice reform and has extensively lectured in the tertiary education sector at RMIT University in Melbourne, in the Justice and Legal Studies, Criminology and Psychology and the Juris Doctor in Law programs. Dr. Zafirakis has also practiced as a duty solicitor with Victoria Legal Aid. She is an active committee member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Psychology (ATSIPP) Interest Group, Australian Psychological Society (APS) and of the Reconciliation and Advancement Committee – Law Institute of Victoria (LIV).
Abstract:
Disconcertingly, the primary focus of most family violence and child protection systems to date, has been on risk aversion and compliance. Notably, Aboriginal children and families with complex needs, experiencing family violence and psychological distress, reportedly may experience systemic responses as coercive and non-inclusive. It is argued that systemic reform is urgently needed for enhancing an ethos of ‘responsivity of care’ and reducing ‘systemic stress activation,’ which may inadvertently perpetuate crisis-driven systemic responses and cycles of relational trauma and family violence. In turn this may adversely impact on early intervention and meaningful service engagement and reduce the potential for relational safety and trauma recovery. Now, more than ever before, there is a pressing need to collectively invest in primary prevention and embrace ‘new ways‘ of working together. Integrated Therapeutic Justice Care is a conceptual framework which calls for the co-creation of a ‘safety net of care.’ This aims to collaboratively enhance protective family and community structures and relational processes to reduce stress susceptibility while prioritising competence for relational care and wellbeing. The author briefly reviews the empirical evidence in support of this promising approach and further considers implications for integrated therapeutic justice reform.