When the Client is the Victim of Coercive Control
23 July 2025 | 3.30-5pm AEST | Free webinar | → Register Now!
Explore how coercive control manifests in the lives of refugee and migrant families, and what it means to respond as a clinician in a culturally safe and trauma-informed way. This free Clinical Master Class will unpack the complex, often hidden dynamics of power, control, and systemic vulnerability affecting women, children, and families from refugee backgrounds.
LEARN FROM LEADING EXPERTS IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND REFUGEE MENTAL HEALTH
Join Professor Manjula Datta O’Connor, psychiatrist and nationally recognised advocate for migrant women’s safety, and Rebecca Wall, STARTTS Counsellor and Mental Health Social Worker, as they share powerful clinical insights and practical tools drawn from frontline work with refugee survivors of coercive control.
WHAT YOU’LL GAIN
✅ A clear understanding of coercive control, how it operates, and why it is difficult to detect
✅ Awareness of how trauma, displacement, migration stressors, and gender roles intersect with DFV risk
✅ A case-based exploration of therapeutic intervention with a 15-year-old refugee client experiencing coercive family dynamics
✅ Strategies for culturally sensitive and trauma-informed engagement, risk assessment, and safety planning
✅ Insights into navigating therapeutic ruptures, ethical responsibilities, and family complexities in cases of active abuse
✅ Direct access to the presenters in a live Q&A panel moderated by Jorge Aroche, STARTTS CEO and Clinical Psychologist
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This webinar is ideal for:
- Mental health professionals including psychologists, counsellors, and social workers
- Domestic and family violence practitioners and caseworkers
- Professionals working with refugee and asylum seeker families
- Therapists supporting children and adolescents affected by family violence
- Clinicians interested in intersectional and culturally responsive trauma care
- Anyone working at the intersection of trauma, migration, and family systems
Dr Manjula Datta O’Connor
Dr Manjula Datta O’Connor is a psychiatrist in private practice with a clinical and research focus on migrant women’s mental health, family violence, complex trauma, and trauma therapy. She is Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, and Adjunct Professor at UNSW’s Department of Social Sciences. Dr Datta O’Connor chairs the RANZCP’s Family Violence Psychiatry Network and co-founded the Australasian Centre for Human Rights and Health (ACHRH). She led the successful dowry abuse law reform campaign in Victoria and continues to advocate for national legislative change addressing coercive control in family and domestic violence contexts.
Rebecca Wall
Rebecca Wall is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker who has worked with STARTTS since 2016. She brings extensive experience in clinical assessment and trauma treatment with individuals from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Based in Wollongong, Rebecca divides her time between STARTTS and her private practice. Her therapeutic approach is grounded in psychodynamic principles and shaped by attachment theory, somatic and neurobiological frameworks, and relational and systemic thinking. Guided by a strong human rights perspective, she acknowledges both the injustice and resilience inherent in her clients’ stories. Rebecca has a special interest in working with children and adolescents, and supports recovery from PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
Jorge Aroche
Jorge Aroche is a clinical psychologist and STARTTS’ Chief Executive Officer. Jorge was born in Uruguay and has worked with migrants and refugee survivors of torture and organized violence since before 1989, when he joined STARTTS. He has led the organization since March 1997, through some of the most challenging times for refugee services in Australia, helping STARTTS grow from a dozen staff to more than 200, assuming a truly state-wide role and becoming a world leader in this field in the process, while continuing to learn from its clients, its culturally diverse staff and the latest scientific advances. Jorge has also held a number of honorary positions in international humanitarian organizations, Australia government advisory bodies and NGO boards. He was the President of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) from 2016 until November 2020.
FORMAT AND INCLUSIONS
Online delivery
Presented by experts in the refugee trauma field
Includes real-life scenarios, practical tips and a Q&A panel
Claim 1.5 CPD points
Receive a certificate of completion and a PDF of the presentation slides
Free access to the webinar recording
SECURE YOUR PLACE NOW
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain essential clinical insights and practical tools for working with coercive control in refugee communities.
23 July 2025 | 3.30-5pm AEST | Free webinar | → Register Now!
CAN’T ATTEND LIVE?
A full recording of the webinar will be made available to all registered participants after the event. Register now to ensure you receive access to the on-demand replay and watch at your convenience. The full catalogue of recorded webinars is available here.
CONTACT US
stts-training@health.nsw.gov.au
(02) 9646 6700 Ask for the Training Administration Officer