Child and Family Practitioners empower families in the community by providing targeted support and early intervention.  

This week, we met with Sophie Leeks, who joined Benevolent in 2019 as a Child and Family Practitioner in the Early Childhood Approach (ECA) program, based in Loganholme, Queensland.   

Sophie recently wrote and published her first book, Parenting after Childhood Trauma: How to Manage Your Anger, Build Healthy Boundaries, and Raise Confident Kids, as a resource for parents who experienced abuse and trauma in their childhood.  

Image: A photo of Sophie smiling

Meet Sophie – Child & Family Practitioner now author 

What inspired you to write your book?  

I wrote this book to support other parents who experienced abuse and trauma in their childhood. Even though I was determined to give my children a loving and safe environment, I was surprised at how quickly I would feel overwhelmed in some situations.  

We can have the best intentions as parents, but if trauma is unresolved, we can unintentionally pass this on to our children. We hear about incidents every day that occur within families, and it is evident that there are many people struggling with unresolved trauma. 

What do you hope parents take away from it?  

I hope parents and carers will understand the impact of trauma on the body, that the body remembers even if the mind has buried the memory, and learn techniques to manage triggers. This includes approaches like stepping away and regaining equilibrium instead of reacting.  

Raising children with love and compassion provides a beautiful opportunity to love and heal ourselves as well as breaking the cycle of abuse.   

What is a day in the life for you at Benevolent as part of the Loganholme team? 

There are currently only three Child and Family Practitioners across the ECA program which covers Beenleigh, Redlands, Brisbane, and Moreton Bay.  

We sit within the intake space, supporting the intake team. We help families experiencing vulnerabilities such as child safety intervention, transient guardians, kinship and informal carers, incarcerated guardians, culturally and linguistically diverse families, families fleeing domestic violence, families experiencing homelessness, and those encountering multiple barriers to services. 

In the past 12 months, what major trends has your team noticed in the support you provide? 

There continues to be an increase in NDIS demand, partly due to limited availability and affordability of other services supporting child development. Our timeframes continue to be pushed out due to this high demand.  

We have also seen more children coming through with anxiety concerns. Families and practitioners often refer children to ECA because they don’t know where else to go for support, or there isn’t anything else available, and ECA isn’t always the most appropriate pathway. 

What do you enjoy the most about your work?  

I enjoy bringing all the ‘pieces’ together, so a child can receive the support they need. For example, bringing all the stakeholders together for the best outcome and ensuring we have all the consents, court orders, supporting evidence, and a meeting time where everyone can participate.  

Where children are not eligible for our service, providing alternative community linkages to parents and carers is rewarding. In cases where we are not the most appropriate service for the child, sometimes the family just needs to be pointed in the right direction for the right support. 

What’s one last thing you’d love people to know about your work? 

If there was more support for parents, a lot of the concerns we see every day would diminish. An early intervention program designed to support families with children from pregnancy up to age two or three could address improving family health, learning/knowledge, and relationships. For example, a voluntary program where practitioners meet with the family monthly in the home to discuss the child’s development so parents understand the developmental stage, what may be underlying behaviour and how best to respond.  

Some countries are already providing such programs with successful outcomes. Research consistently demonstrates that the first 1,000 days - from conception through age two - are critical for a child’s physical, cognitive, and emotional development.  

Providing structured support to families during this period can significantly improve outcomes for children and reduce long-term social and health challenges. 

For more information on our range of Family and Parenting Support services and programs, click here or call us directly on 1800 236 762.