Our Team

We are a group of highly skilled counsellors who are passionate and dedicated to our work.
We work with people from different cultural heritage, religious beliefs, race, gender, disability, family structure and sexual orientation.
We promote and practice respect, empathy, integrity, social justice and safety.
We believe that all our clients have the rights to be believed, heard and supported.
In regards to our practice, as counsellors, we consult with each other, with other professionals through supervision and attend on-going training.

Our History

In 1983 a group of women in Mt Druitt, both workers and community members, came together to increase community awareness about the prevalence of child sexual assault.

From their gatherings they also advocated for the need to establish a specialist service for children, young people and family members impacted by child sexual assault.

In 1986 Rosie’s Place opened its doors to the community. At that time it was one of only four community based sexual assault services in NSW.

Rosie’s Place was named after one of the very first clients who attended the service and has proudly kept that name to ensure we hold all our clients at the centre of our practice. Rosie’s Place honours all the children, young people, and adults (past, present and future) who have visited or will visit this place…their place.

Our Way Forward

The highest priority of this service remains the promotion of the ongoing protection of children and young people’s safety and well being.

Our primary focus will always remain the best interests of the child or young person as the primary client with the inclusion of and therapeutic support provided to parents and carers geared to their role as members of what Bruce Perry has called, “the therapeutic web”.

The overwhelming evidence regarding therapeutic approaches to complex trauma identifies a practice response that is family centred, not only in regard to responding to children and young people, but also mindful of the impact of trauma on parenting capacity and parent-child relationships. The overwhelming evidence singly identifies the significance of the parent or significant carer to the ongoing protection of children and their well being.

Rosie’s Place has adhered to the importance of a therapeutic “wrap around” response to families and, despite the limits of funding and resources, has attempted over the years to build such a model by:

Increasing worker knowledge and skills through professional development.
Undertaking comprehensive assessments and case plans and Working closely with allied services to connect families to an array of different services and resources that will further address their needs.

Rosie’s Place envisages a future for the service that strives to continue to achieve such objectives and maintain the standard of practice that has gained for the organisation a reputation as a strong and professional service in both the community it serves and throughout the state.

Rosie’s Place Collective Management

Rosie’s Place is run by a collective management committee. A collective management is a non-hierarchical management which emphasise the power of collective bargaining, group decision making, open debate, sharing information and valuing the contributions of all members. The principle of collective management shows a strong link between feminist principles and violence against women and children. We keep this collective structure as a philosophical commitment to this principle. To this end Rosie’s Place continues to be managed by a collective, comprising of women in the community who have devoted hours of support to the ongoing running of the service.