Committed to developing strong families, resilient humans, confident practitioners, and trauma-responsive organisations
Secure Start® is the independent psychology practice of Clinical Psychologist, Author, and Trainer, Colby Pearce. Through Secure Start Colby offers a range of services, including:
- Psychological intervention for children, teens and families;
- Consultancy services in child protection, out-of-home care, and mental health service provision;
- Teaching, training, and supervision; and
- Program development, implementation and evaluation.
Across the past thirty years Colby has contributed to professional and community knowledge and practice in the areas of:
- Teen mental health and suicide prevention;
- Childhood attachment and resilience;
- Psychological intervention with children who have experienced abuse, neglect and family/relationship trauma;
- Therapeutic care and management of children and teens who are recovering from early adversity, abuse, and neglect;
- Trauma-informed practice in schools and community organisations.
Whether you are a parent, foster parent, kinship carer, teacher, youth worker, early childhood educator, or other professional or organisation supporting those who are recovering from a tough start to life, Colby can help you develop answers and strategies to address these three key questions:
Important Information:
Secure Start is a psychology service that consults from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. All contact with our service outside of these times will be responded to as soon as we are able to during normal business hours. If you need urgent help outside of these hours, we suggest that you consider contacting the following services:
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Mental Health Triage Service (SA) – 13 14 65 (Adults)
Since June 2020 Secure Start has been providing an accessible, in-person psychology service to children and young people for whom the Department for Child Protection has an authority to place, in Kadina. This service has been delivered on Thursdays. In December 2020 the service expanded to Port Pirie to cater to local need. The service is conducted through the local offices of the Department for Child Protection.
From May 2021, the service expanded to include two Fridays per month. As the service followed closely the end of the Kinship CARE Project, we have been able to manage this service without impacting our service recipients who are seen through our Belair rooms.
Secure Start has a long history of providing accessible psychology services in regional areas and outer metropolitan Adelaide. This reflects our commitment to providing a psychology service in communities in need. We will continue to offer psychology services through our Belair rooms for those who already receive a service there and for whom travel is not a restricting factor, on Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
Secure Start continues to be involved in the delivery of training and support in Aboriginal Kinship Care. Our Principal Clinical Psychologist also maintains training and mentoring commitments in Australia and Ireland, and statutory commitments. In 2023, these statutory commitments in the regulation of the Psychology profession have expanded. We appreciate the understanding of our service recipients regarding our commitments and how they are reflected in our service delivery schedule.
Sam’s Story (a story about children and young people who are recovering from a tough start to life, in out-of-home care)
Colby developed the video below, and the story that accompanies it, to help young people, and adults who interact with them, to better understand the impact of attachment trauma and their development and approach to life and relationships.