About the Bouverie Centre

We are an integrated practice-research organisation that draws on our history of bringing family therapy to Australia to promote healthy relationships in families, organisations and communities.

The Victorian Department of Health funds us to research the development, translation and implementation of family-sensitive, trauma informed models of practice with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of individuals and families experiencing mental health (MH) and substance use issues.

We are a values-based learning organisation and provide integrated services. We combine:

  • clinical family therapy
  • model development
  • academic teaching
  • qualitative and quantitative research
  • workforce development
  • community education.

Our integrated model means that our clinical work is also a site for clinical research and clinical model development. Our models and research findings are disseminated through our academic courses and put into practice through our workforce development programs.

Our research team draws on action research methods to help our workforce development teams translate our ideas and models into practice, which helps to improve implementation outcomes.

The research findings drawn from this work feeds back into the clinical program and our academic program, keeping them up-to-date and relevant.

Our approach is to work collaboratively with our colleagues in the field, influencing and supporting them and being equally supported and influenced by them.

Our vision

Healthy relationships in families, organisations and communities.

Our aims

Our Systemic Practice-Research Centre aims to understand and enhance social and emotional health in context, across all life stages and generations, through the promotion of relational health, and healing of relational trauma.

We collaborate in knowledge generation, and prioritise research translation that better equips communities, organisations and workforces to support the wellbeing of families.

These developments will be guided by the following principles:

  • a systemic perspective that appreciates relationship and context
  • a non-blaming appreciation of complexity
  • a recognition of the importance of culture, trauma and family sensitivity
  • integration of evidence-based practice; practice-based evidence and values-based practice
  • collaborative processes such as co-design, co-production and co-evaluation
  • the valuing of lived experience.

Further informing our approach is the Reconciliation Action Plan [PDF 6.2MB] developed as part of our commitment to provide a culturally safe and welcoming place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; and support the development of the collaborative black and white models for teaching and family therapy.