Take Two
Berry Street's Take Two program is a Victoria-wide therapeutic service helping to address the impact on children of the trauma they have experienced from abuse, neglect or adverse experiences.
At Take Two we see who the child is, not just the behaviour.
How Take Two works
We partner with other services in working with families and caregivers nurturing babies, children and young people. Clinical frameworks, neurobiological research and evidence-informed approaches are used to understand the child’s experience.
Real change can happen when key adults in a child’s life understand what the child needs. Damage done from within relationships can only be healed within relationships, so we work to repair or create new caring relationships in the child’s life.
By respectfully listening and reflecting, we see the child rather than just the behaviours. We help them understand their feelings and see their strengths and hopes for the future.
Children are not to blame for the trauma they are now suffering. All babies, children and young people have the right to feel safe, loved and valued.
Take Two also provides training, research and consultancy.
About the Take Two partnership
Berry Street’s Take Two Program is a partnership with:
- La Trobe University: Social Work and Social Policy, Department of Community and Allied Health
- Mindful Centre for Training and Research in Developmental Health, and
- Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA)
We partner with dozens of other community service organisations across the state to deliver our services.
Take Two therapeutic services
Berry Street Take Two comprises several therapeutic services.
We provide the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) intensive therapeutic service for babies, children and young people who have experienced developmental trauma and are receiving child protection services.
Take Two also provides DHHS-supported services with children and families in:
- therapeutic foster care through the Circle program
- Aboriginal therapeutic home-based care
- therapeutic residential care units
- the Stronger Families program (for children at risk of being removed from their family or returning to their family’s care)
- for young people who are placed in DHHS secure welfare services.
Referrals
Referrals for these services can only be made by DHHS.
If you or a child you’re caring for has been referred to Take Two and wants more information, please contact your case manager, care team or Take Two clinician directly.
Our clinical approach
Take Two uses a range of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions with the babies, children, young people and families we work with, including:
- Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- play therapy
- art therapy
- psychotherapy.
Take Two has a Developmental Specialists Team who provide:
- Speech Pathology
- Neuropsychology
- Occupational Therapy.
Training & consultancy
Take Two can provide training and consultancy services for organisations around Australia who require a specialist therapeutic expertise.
- Training courses (note: currently online only due to COVID-19).
- NMT-informed Secondary Consultations for those working with babies, children and young people.
- Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Neuropsychology clinical assessments and consultancy services.
- Reflective practice for other organisations (particularly residential care providers and other child-focussed services).
- Tailored in-house professional development or online training.
We’ve previously worked with courts, other community and family services, government departments and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs).
Research and evaluation
Our research partner La Trobe University supports our research and evaluation and provides our research ethics oversight. Read more about how we store and handle personal information in our Privacy Statement. You can also contact us for more information.
More information
To find out more about what we’re working on in Take Two, have a look at our blog and subscribe to our Take Two Relate eNews.
Read more about Take Two’s research reports, resources and FAQs.
Strategic Plan
Read Berry Street’s Take Two Strategic Plan 2020–2022.
Work with us
We recruit staff across Victoria from a range of disciplines including social work and psychology. Find out more information about working with Take Two.
Get in touch
Berry Street Take Two
P: 03 9450 4700
E: taketwo@berrystreet.org.au