Bulletin

Issue: November/December 2006

News

Families first: Bouverie Centre celebrates 50 years

La Trobe University’s Bouverie Centre recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary - and the beginning of work on its new building in Brunswick.

Minister Pike, centre, and Dr Riess,
left, at the recent Open Day celebrating
the contribution of the Bouverie Centre.

Announcing its permanent home, in Gardiner St, Brunswick, Health Minister Bronwyn Pike spoke about the Centre’s reputation - and the contribution it has made to mental health services for families.

Victoria’s Family Institute, the Bouverie Centre has been part of the Faculty of Health Sciences since 1996. It began life as the Bouverie Clinic in Carlton in 1956.

Centre Director, Dr Colin Riess, says that with funding from the Department of Human Services in the late 1990s, the Bouverie Centre developed a groundbreaking concept, ‘Family Sensitive Training’, which promotes families as partners and active participants in service provision.

“This work continues with a multitude of training forums, consultations and collaborative projects with carer and consumer organisations, facilitated by the Centre’s Mental Health Program team and the State’s first 'Carer' academic position,” says Dr Riess.

A recent development, in a partnership with the North West Mental Health Service, involves research and intensive training for sustainable family therapy throughout Victoria - a project known as ‘Building Family Skills Together’.

Other work at the ‘extremely challenging’ end of family difficulties includes clinical research relating to the impact of acquired brain injury and such highly sensitive areas as family abuse, neglect and associated trauma. Dr Riess says the Bouverie Centre has never been bound by the constraints of traditional or conventional practice.

“For example, ‘Breaking Through’ - a unique whole-school approach to combating bullying and homophobic harassment through use of role playing using ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ (TOTO) techniques - is today nationally and internationally recognised for its innovative use of families, students and teachers to deliver its message. ”

In the clinical area, the Centre helped develop ‘Single Session Therapy’, an innovative approach using limited counselling resources in the most efficient way. Prior to that, repeated therapy sessions were the norm.

As one of the State’s earliest child guidance clinics, Dr Riess says the Bouverie Centre evolved through the late 1970s, under the leadership of Dr Geoff Goding, into Australia’s first specialised family therapy centre. It began training therapists in the early 1970s.

“This led to a partnership with the Occupational Therapy School at La Trobe, created Australia’s first formal academic course for family therapists in 1989, and prepared the way for the Centre’s move to the Faculty of Health Sciences in 1996.”

The Centre broadened its role in the late 1990s to help people of all age groups experiencing mental health difficulties.

Working with both government and non-government community health sectors, its innovative ideas in clinical training and service development have helped it win many large tenders over the years.

“Plans for expanded clinical training and research will see further expansion of such collaboration.”