New community-based program is bringing Play and Art Therapy directly to vulnerable children, including those impacted by domestic and family violence.
SYDNEY, Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Be Centre has expanded its children’s mental health services across the Central Coast through its Central Coast Outreach Program, taking qualified therapeutic support directly into local communities to make early intervention more accessible for vulnerable children and families.
The program is designed for children who may face barriers accessing traditional clinic-based services and includes group Art Therapy for children impacted by domestic and family violence, delivered in partnership with trusted community organisations.
Since commencing, the program has achieved more than 95% attendance and retention, demonstrating strong engagement from families who are often described as difficult to reach.
Be Centre CEO Tania Taylor says the results are challenging the way Australia thinks about access to children’s mental health services.
“We’ve often asked why vulnerable families don’t access therapy. The better question is whether we’ve designed services that vulnerable families can realistically access.”
Rather than expecting families to navigate transport, appointments and unfamiliar clinical environments, Be Centre’s outreach model brings therapeutic support closer to where children and families already live and feel safe.
The program reflects Be Centre’s broader approach to early intervention: identify emotional needs earlier, work alongside the people already supporting children and create environments where children can communicate in ways that feel natural to them.
That includes recognising that behaviour can be communication.
Children experiencing emotional distress may show it through aggression, withdrawal, anxiety, school refusal, big emotional reactions or changes in behaviour. Play Therapy provides children with a developmentally appropriate way to express feelings, explore experiences and work through emotions when they may not yet have the words to explain what is happening.
Be Centre is also extending this approach into preschools and schools, embedding Play Therapists to support educators in understanding behaviour, building emotional safety and identifying children’s needs earlier.
The demand for services is reflected in Be Centre’s FY2025 results, with 2,403 individual Play, Art and Drama Therapy sessions delivered to 315 children. Fifty-one families received full scholarships during the year, while clinical capacity increased by 51 per cent.
Founder Deb Killelea established Be Centre after discovering the power of Play Therapy to help children heal from trauma.
Taylor says the Central Coast program demonstrates why service delivery needs to be designed around children’s lives.
“If we genuinely believe in early intervention, we have to build services around children’s lives, not expect children to build their lives around our services.”
ABOUT BE CENTRE
Be Centre is a Central Coast-based children’s mental health organisation specialising in Play Therapy and early intervention. Founded in 2008, Be Centre works with children, families, educators and communities to help children experiencing trauma, adversity and emotional challenges.
Website: www.becentre.org.au
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