Kinship Carers Victoria’s series of Resource Booklets and other resources for carers.
Mental health and family relationships
Emergency and useful contacts for kinship carers
Assistance for those coping with suicide
Children & young people with an emotional or physical disability
LGBTQIA+ families & communities
Grief and loss
Carers’ wellbeing
Diet, nutrition and wellbeing
Relaxation techniques for carers
The importance of quality sleep
Orange Door Services
Local Government
Navigating difficult conversations
Podcast 39
Kinship carers sometimes find themselves in complex situations. Consequently, they might be involved in challenging conversations with schools, case managers, family members and the children in their care. Knowing how to handle these conversations calmly and effectively is a key to making sure a child’s needs are understood and that carers feel respected, supported and empowered.
In this episode KCV speaks with educator and wellbeing consultant Megan Corcoran, Director of the Wagtail Institute, about how kinship carers can approach difficult conversations with clarity and confidence. Megan brings expertise and lived understanding to her work in education, psychology and emotional safety and has a deep understanding of the pressures kinship carers face.
Understanding and embracing autism and neurodiversity in children and young people
Podcast 35
In this podcast, KCV speaks with researcher, writer and educator Dr Emma Goodall, the inaugural Director of South Australia’s Office for Autism. Dr Goodall, who is the parent of an autistic adult, has worked extensively in the area of autism, education, research and public policy, and teacher training.
Dr Goodall defines autism and neurodiversity, explains how autism can present differently in different genders, and outlines key things carers need to understand about neurodivergence in order to better support the children and young people in their care. She also offers some approaches to help autistic and neurodiverse children develop the skills to self-regulate their feelings and emotions to help with everyday tasks and situations.
MORE INFORMATIONCombatting Loneliness
Podcast 34
The effects of loneliness have been studied extensively worldwide, with experts agreeing on the importance of social interaction for our wellbeing.
The research shows that being socially isolated or lonely is as bad for your health as smoking, obesity, substance abuse and other mental health issues.
In previous studies by Kinship Carers Victoria, some carers have described feeling almost complete isolation from their former social circles once they became carers.
In this podcast, KCV speaks with clinical psychologist Dr Michelle Lim, considered the leading Australian scientific expert on loneliness.
Dr Lim discusses the physical and psychological effects of loneliness, the stigma around speaking about it and what carers can do to deal with their own social isolation.
Cyber safety for children and young people
Podcast 31
In this podcast Susan McLean of Cybersafety Solutions answers many questions around helping children and young people to navigate the online world safely. Susan is acknowledged as Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and young people.
Diet and nutrition for neurodiverse children and young people
Podcast 30
Neurodiversity explains that people experience and interact with the world in many varied ways. Nikki Valentini, Clinical Nutritionist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, and Director of SuperNature Nutrition, speaks in depth about the effect of diet and nutrition on children with autism, ADHD, OCD and other manifestations of neurodiversity.
Grief and Loss
Podcast 28
Grief is a part of life that is felt in many different ways. Grandparents, parents or carers face the difficulty of helping children understand their grief. In this podcast we speak with Janice Butera, specialist grief practitioner with Grief Australia, who shares her knowledge about the challenges that can occur for families when faced with loss. Janice also offers strategies for families to use in navigating these difficult periods.
Preparing for Access Visits
Podcast 27
Access or contact visits with biological family can be challenging and may produce a range of emotions in children in kinship care families. In this podcast, Adam Lyons, Managing Director of Lancaster Consulting, addresses the more common issues carers face in preparing the children in their care for access visits and outlines strategies for debriefing children afterwards.
The Benefits of Play
Podcast 26
The February 2023 edition of the Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll – Australian Families: How we play – has produced findings of great interest. In this podcast we speak with paediatrician, researcher and child health advocate Dr Anthea Rhodes, the Founding Director of the poll. Anthea has expertise in child behaviour and development.
The Importance of Quality Sleep
Podcast 23
Sleep plays a vital part in our wellbeing – so how do we get the right amount of it? Clinical psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth, author of Deliberately Better Sleep, talks about the factors affecting our sleep and the effects of not getting enough of it. This podcast includes interviews with carers, who share their stories around how they manage this whilst dealing with their kinship carer responsibilities.
The Benefits of Hobbies & Other Pursuits
Podcast 22
In a recent survey on stress and wellbeing conducted by the Australian Psychological Society, four in five participants found activities like listening to music and spending time on a hobby were effective ways of managing stress. In this latest carer wellbeing podcast, KCV spoke with two carers on their carer circumstances and about what part hobbies and other meaningful pursuits played in their lives and learned about the benefits these activities bring them.
The Benefits of Exercise
Podcast 21
This podcast outlines the benefits of exercise, with suggestions for carers on different types of moderate exercise and how they can incorporate them into their lives. It includes advice from fitness expert Nic Dorian of Castlemaine Women’s Health & Fitness and features interviews with two carers who share details of their own carer experiences and what sorts of exercise they practise.
Relaxation Techniques for Carers
Podcast 20
Deep breathing and meditation can provide you with a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit your emotional wellbeing and overall health. The podcast features an interview with Eliza Terry, from YogaLiving. Eliza has been teaching Iyengar Yoga since 1998, and teaches mindfulness meditation, with a strong focus on breath work for relaxation. The podcast also includes interviews with two carers who share details of their own experiences with trying relaxation and breathing techniques.
Diet and Stress
Podcast 19
In this podcast Kinship Carers Victoria speaks with Clinical Nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner Nikki Valentini, Director of SuperNature Nutrition. Nikki explains how certain foods and nutrients have been shown to help us deal with stress and anxiety while other types of foods and eating patterns have been linked to increases in these feelings – and even to other psychological issues and illness. The podcast also includes interviews with carers who share their relationship to food and some of their dietary patterns.
Connecting with Others
Podcast 18
Carers often mention their isolation. This podcast provides suggestions for kinship carers on how to form meaningful connections with friends, family, neighbours and the community. The podcast also includes interviews with several carers who share their experiences of challenges the carer role has brought up and how they have managed social isolation before, during and after the pandemic.
Self-care for kinship carers and how to prevent burnout
Podcast 15
In this podcast, psychologist, lecturer and researcher Dr Melissa Weinberg, an Honorary Fellow from the Dept of Psychology at Deakin University with expertise in the science of wellbeing and resilience, speaks about the need for carers to monitor their own physical and emotional state and needs.
Sleep and wellbeing
Podcast 13
In this podcast Dr Melissa Weinberg, Honorary Fellow from the Dept of Psychology at Deakin University, discusses the effects sleeping poorly or well can have on a person’s physical and psychological health and suggests tips on how carers can improve their patterns of sleep and those of the children or young people in their care.
Creating happiness
Podcast 12
Dr Sanjiv Chopra is a Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, a best-selling author and sought-after motivational speaker. In an episode of The Bucket Podcast (at thebucket.com) broadcast on 10 October 2019, Dr Chopra spoke about his book, The Two Most Important Days: How to Find Your Purpose and Live a Happy and Healthy Life. This KCV podcast draws both on the contents of his book and that Bucket Podcast to present evidence on how happiness can be a choice in our lives.
The health of children in kinship care
Podcast 10
The health of children in kinship care is of primary concern. In this podcast Dr Karen McLean, paediatrician with the Pathway to Good Health Clinic, the Sleep Disorders Clinic, the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Pediatrics with the University of Melbourne, speaks about the health of children in care.
Kinship carer wellbeing
Podcast 4
This podcast again addresses the issue of carer wellbeing. Director of Kinship Carers Victoria (KCV) Anne McLeish talks about how KCV works to better protect and promote carer wellbeing and about the various projects KCV employs to do so. We visit one of KCV’s artist-in-residence sessions and talk to participants and coordinators about the value of the experience.
The importance of kinship carer wellbeing
Podcast 2
In this podcast, Director of Kinship Carers Victoria (KCV) Anne McLeish talks about why the physical and emotional health of kinship carers and their access to support services is so important and how KCV works to better protect and promote carer wellbeing. Two kinship carers also speak about their personal and professional perspectives on this key element of kinship care.
Welcome to the KCV podcast series
Podcast 1
This program features an interview with Anne McLeish, Director of Kinship Carers Victoria, or KCV. Anne talks today about the aims of this podcast series, plus the mission and scope of activities of KCV, and she touches briefly on the range of issues facing both carers and the children in their care which will be addressed throughout this series.