kerrie james MSW MLITT
Kerrie has always been fascinated by relationships - how they develop, how they are maintained, and how they can fall apart. Kerrie grew up in Sydney where she completing her undergraduate social work degree. She then travelled the world and found herself drawn to Calgary, Canada where she trained in family therapy while completing her MSW degree.
Upon her return to Sydney, she joined Relationships Australia (RANSW), where she developed RANSW's first family therapy services In her role as Clinical Director, (1986 -2004), she developed clinical standards and fostered the professional development of clinical staff. In 1999, Kerrie received the Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Award from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.
Her academic rigor, clinical expertise, and love of teaching therapists led her to accept a position as Senior Lecturer in Social Work at UNSW, (2004 to 2023), where she taught trauma counselling and family therapy in the MSW program. With the Centre for Refugee Research, UNSW, Kerrie travelled to New Delhi, India, each year for seven years where she provided training for refugee groups in counselling.
Kerrie’s ability to merge clinical practice and academic knowledge resulted in dozens of academic publications that have had a significant influence in the family therapy field. Kerrie James is a leader in the field of family therapy in Australia.
In her spare time, she loves dancing, travelling and adventure trecks.