This year, Nicholes Family Lawyers were proud sponsors of the 5th Annual AFCC Australian Conference held in Adelaide from 16-18 August 2018.

The Australian Chapter of AFCC brings together Australian Family Law professionals including judicial officers, lawyers, psychologists, social workers, other mental health professionals, mediators, educators, researchers, academics, welfare groups and administrators to share in formal and informal opportunities for education, training, research and professional collaboration.

The theme of the conference was ‘Alienation? Myths, complexities and possibilities…’

We attended many interesting workshops and seminars which focused on parental alienation and high conflict parenting disputes. We examined alienation from a child’s perspective and learned ways to manage children who resist contact with parents. We learned about different types of family therapies including Reportable Intensive Family Therapy (‘RIFT’) and the Parenting Enhancement Program (‘PEP’). We also learned about evaluating parental capacity and risk of recurrent family violence.

The various workshops and seminars were conducted by respected psychologists, family consultants, judges and lawyers from Australia and around the world, including clinical psychologist Vincent Papaleo from Melbourne, psychologist Dr Robert Simon from USA, Professor Nick Bala from Canada, clinical psychologist Dr Catherine Boland from Sydney, and many Family Court and Federal Circuit Court judges.

The Conference provides a wonderful opportunity for the various family law professionals to come together to discuss different issues and aspects of professional practice. It is fantastic to be able to learn from other professionals working in the area of family law and Nicholes Family Lawyers were honoured to have contributed to the Conference.