Social Work at the University of Melbourne
Social Work at the University of Melbourne
Coordinator:
Dr Louise Harms
School of Social Work
The University of Melbourne 3010
Australia.
+61-3-8344-9413
louisekh@unimelb.edu.au
The Trauma and Resilience Research Unit is established to:
The Trauma and Resilience Research Unit began in 2005, as the sixth practice research unit within the School of Social Work . The Unit brings together work across a number of fields of social work practice, focusing on psychosocial experiences of adversity and adaptation for individuals, families and communities.
The Trauma and Resilience Research Unit has a number of areas of focus:
We are interested in discussing a range of projects aimed at examining both the theoretical and practice/policy aspects of trauma and recovery.
The research methods used by researchers in the Unit include qualitative, quantitative and multimethod approaches.
Australian Research Council Linkage Project
'From colonisation to conciliation: A collaborative exploration of social work practices with Indigenous populations.'
This three year project commenced in 2006, and involves Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics and practitioners in an exploration of the ways in which social work practice is perceived by Indigenous community members, social work practitioners and social work educators. Further details can be found at the project website: www.c2c.unimelb.edu.au
The Alfred Hospital University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant)
'Family adaptation following trauma: The impact of ICU hospital admissions'
Other activities
Other activities include the ongoing supervision of BSW (Honours) and postgraduate theses in relation to trauma, grief and resilience, conference papers, and occasional colloquia and seminars.
(a) Books
Forthcoming: Connolly, M. & Harms, L. (eds) (2008). Social Work: Contexts and Practice. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Harms, L. (2007), Working with people: Communication skills for professional practice. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Weblink: http://au.oup.com/searchbuy/SearchBook.asp?isbn=9780195558821
Harms, L. (2005), Understanding human development: A multidimensional approach , South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Weblink: http://au.oup.com/searchbuy/SearchBook.asp?isbn=9780195517392
(b) Book chapters
Harms, L., Clarke, A. & Whyte, J. (2008) ‘From colonisation to conciliation: Influencing Indigenous health and educational policies’ in Bywaters, P., McLeod, E. & Napier, L. (eds). Social Work and Global Health Inequalities: Policy and Practice Developments. Bristol: Policy Press. In press.
Whyte, J., Clarke, A. & Harms, L. (2008) ‘Preparing social work students to work with
Indigenous Australian communities’ in Ramon, S. (ed) Social work facing political conflict. In Press.
Harms, L. & Whyte, J. ‘Cross-cultural spiritualities: Implications for teaching, learning and practice’, Book from conference: Indigenous Issues in Australian Universities: Teaching, Research, Support. ACU National, Brisbane. In press.
(c) Research Reports
Harms, L. (2002), An analysis of subjective experiences of recovery from road trauma, Doctoral thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Melbourne Metropolitan and Emergency Services Board: Research Contract:
‘An exploration of stress and resilience experiences amongst MFESB workers’
(d) Refereed publications
Harms, L. (2004) “After the accident: Survivors' perceptions of recovery following road trauma” Australian Social Work, 57(2), 161-174.
Harms, L. & McDermott, F. (2003) ‘Trauma: A concept and a practice across borders', Psychotherapy in Australia , 10(1), 32-37.
Harms, L. (1998) “Degrees of Stress: Stress and the University Student ” Health Education Australia, Autumn. pp. 8 - 9.
Edwards, J. & L. Harms. (1997) “Supporting Students at Risk ” Health Education Australia , Summer. pp. 17 - 19.
Harms, L. (1994) “Vanishing Acts - Children of Parents with Disabilities ” The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, Vol. 15, No. 3.
Harms, L. (1993) “Children as Victims of Road Trauma ” Social Work Practice and Road Trauma , A.A.S.W. Publication.
Harms, L. & Ross, K. (1992) “The Shifting Focus of Social Work Interactions and Interventions in a Paediatric Hospital Setting” A.A.S.W. Victorian Branch Newsletter, October.
Conference Papers & Posters
| 2007 | Harms, L., Clarke, A. & Whyte, J. ‘From colonisation to conciliation: A collaborative examination of social work practice with Indigenous communities’. Michigan Indian Day Event, Michigan State University, USA, September 28
|
| 2006 | Harms, L., Rowe, C. & Suss, S. ‘Family adaptation following trauma: The impact of an ICU admission’, Paper accepted for the Fifth International Conference on Health and Mental Health, Hong Kong, 10-14th December.
|
Harms, L., Clarke, A., Whyte, J., Miller, J., Middleton, J., Anderson, G. & Cross, S. ‘From colonisation to conciliation’ Paper accepted for the Fifth International Conference on Health and Mental Health, Hong Kong, 10-14th December.
| |
Harms, L., Clarke, A., Whyte, J., Miller, J., Middleton, J., Anderson, G. & Cross, S. ‘From colonisation to conciliation’ Paper accepted for the Fifth International Conference on Health and Mental Health, Hong Kong, 10-14th December.
| |
Muir, K. et al, ‘Rights, reticence and resilience: Reflections on a hospital study’, Paper accepted for the Fifth International Conference on Health and Mental Health, Hong Kong, 10-14th December.
| |
Rose, D. & Harms, L. ‘Living with drugs in the family’, Paper accepted for the Fifth International Conference on Health and Mental Health, Hong Kong, 10-14th December.
| |
Whyte, J., Harms, L., Clarke, A., Middleton, J. & Miller, J. ‘From colonisation to conciliation: A new project’, Poster accepted for AASW/AASWWE United We Stand National Conference, Perth, November 19-21.
| |
Harms, L. & Middleton, J. ‘From colonisation to conciliation: A collaborative examination of social work practice with Indigenous populations’, Crossing Cultures in Women’s Health Seminar, Mercy Hospital for Women, 21 September.
| |
Clarke, A., Harms, L. & Whyte, J. ‘From colonisation to conciliation’, Raising the Standard and Vision: The Voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Workers, Australian Catholic University, Signadou Campus, Canberra, 3-4 June.
| |
Harms, L. & Rowe, C. ‘Family members’ adaptations following trauma: The impact of ICU hospital admissions’, Allied Health Trauma Research Symposium, National Trauma Research Institute, Alfred Hospital, 8 May.
| |
| 2005 | Harms, L. ‘Managing risk: Leaving grief out of the equation’, The 7th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society, King’s College, London, July 12-15.
|
Harms, L. & Whyte, J. ‘Cross-cultural spiritualities: Implications for teaching, learning and practice’, Indigenous Issues in Australian Universities: Teaching, Research, Support, ACU National, Brisbane, June 16-17.
| |
| 2004 | Harms, L. & Whyte, J. ‘Constructions of spirituality: Assumptions about risks and strengths' Global Social Work Congress 2004, October, Adelaide.
|
Harms, L. & Hudson, S. ‘Risk and resilience in working with trauma' Global Social Work Congress 2004, October, Adelaide.
| |
| 2003 | Harms, L. & Hudson, S. ‘Clinical and research perspectives on employee support in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Melbourne', The Right Response: Australasian Critical Incident Stress Association international conference, Melbourne, October 3-5.
|
| 2002 | Harms, L. & McDermott, F. “Trauma: A concept and a practice across boundaries” Working across borders: AASWWE National/ AASW WA 21 st State Joint Conference, Perth, 29 September – 2 October. |
“Posttraumatic growth: A sign of resilience or risk?” Working across borders: AASWWE National/ AASW WA 21 st State Joint Conference, Perth, 29 September – 2 October.
| |
McDermott, F. & Harms, L. “Trauma and marginalisation: The impact on young people's mental health of an intensive psychotherapy program for marginalised youth. Policy and practice implications” RANZCP Section of Social and Cultural Psychiatry, Setting strategic directions in mental health policy and practice: The challenge of understanding and addressing social determinants, Cairns, September.
| |
| 2001 | Harms, L. “Promoting Growth and Resilience in the Recovery from Road Trauma” 3rd International Conference for Social Work in Health and Mental Health, Tampere, Finland, 1-5 July.
|
| 1998 | Harms, L. “Making Connections: Expectations and Experiences of Orientation into an Australian University Residential College” 3rd Pacific Rim Conference: The First Year in Higher Education. Auckland, New Zealand, July.
|
| 1994 | Harms, L. “Work Injuries and their Impact on Families” Making OH&S Matter - Occupational Health and Safety Week Conference, Regent Hotel, Melbourne, October.
|
| 1993 | Harms, L. “Exploring the Fantasy: A Practitioner's Guide to the Readjustment of Families following Paediatric Traumatic Brain Injury” 2nd International Conference on Recovery from Brain Injury, Canberra, August/September.
|
| 1992 | Harms, L. “Children as Victims of Road Trauma”, Social Work Practice and Road Trauma Bethesda Hospital, December.
|
Course Developments
Within the entry to practice MSW degree, 196-001 Human Resilience across the Lifespan addresses issues of personal adversity and adaptation across the lifespan.
In 2005, the new MSW (Clinical) degree began, including three subjects:
196-520 Advanced Psychodynamic Perspectives
196-521 Advanced Practice with Groups
196-526 Advanced Clinical Practice
Advanced Psychodynamic Perspectives particularly focuses on psychodynamic understandings of trauma, grief and loss and is offered bi-annually.
Australian Association for Traumatic Stress Studies:
http://www.astss.org.au
Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health:
http://www.acpmh.unimelb.edu.au
David Baldwin's trauma pages:
http://www.trauma-pages.com
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS):
http://www.istss.org