Conference Themes

We invite abstracts for papers, seminars and poster presentations, which will expand in relation to the following themes:

Theme 1: Connections with families

This stream will draw on the lived experience of families. It includes an acknowledgement of the needs of siblings and incorporating their ‘voice’ into the development of sibling support services. This stream might include the following considerations:

• Sibling stories
• Mental Health Promotion/Prevention
• Parent perspectives
• A lifelong relationship
• Adult siblings and ageing carers
• Planning for the future
• Siblings of people with Mental Illness

Theme 2: Connections with providers/researchers

This stream will draw on the experience of providers and researchers and will include:

• Networking amongst providers to improve availability and quality of sibling support
• How can researchers and providers learn from each other in order to develop best practice?
• What measures can be used by providers to develop evaluation strategies?
• How do we develop ‘best practice’ in this area?
• Workforce development across various sectors eg health, disability, mental health, community services, education
• Training at the undergraduate level

Theme 3: Connections with the community

This stream will explore the various ways in which those working in sibling support might collaborate with members of the community and could include:

• Community partnerships
• Business partnerships
• The use of media
• Social networking
• Sibling support in schools
• Mentoring programs for siblings

Theme 4: Connections for the future

This stream is about putting it all together and thinking about future directions for both research and service provision and will include consideration of:

• Policy issues
• Research gaps
• Service provision gaps
• Developing ‘best practice’ guidelines and policies for sibling programs
• Other areas of government/community that need to be included

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