More about Graeme Baird

I'm a registered psychologist based in Melbourne, Victoria. I split my time between private practice at Bluff Road Psychology Clinic and working directly with Special Assistance Schools across the country.

Career highlights in Special Assistance Schools

Since 2014, I've worked with or consulted to 12 Special Assistance Schools across four Australian states, including:

• EREA Flexible Learning Centres (Australia-wide) — designed and delivered the 4-day Foundation Skills Program for all new EREA staff. Twice a year, every January and July, new recruits from EREA schools across the country come together in a capital city for this training.
• Cire Schools (Victoria) — created The Cire Framework for Trauma-Informed Practice and the Cire Trauma-Informed Staff Development and Coaching Manual.
• Berry Street Schools — implemented their Verbal De-escalation program.
• Collaborative Problem-Solving as an alternative to restorative justice — traditional restorative justice asks a young person to own the harm they've caused, which can be too much to ask of a traumatised young person. CPS takes a different path: it focuses on changing future behaviour rather than dwelling on past harm.
• Saints College — built the training program for their Operation By Principle approach, a philosophy (developed by Edmund Rice) where staff “walk alongside” young people as equals rather than as authority figures. I turned that philosophy into a practical, skills-based training program still in use today.