Gabriel Carazo –

 

Father Activation Specialist & Outdoor Therapeutic Innovation Pioneer

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Founder & Clinical Director, RAD DADS | ACA-Accredited Relationship Counsellor & Family Therapist | Victorian Father of the Year
 

Gabriel Carazo is pioneering a new category of early intervention delivery through RAD DADS, Australia's first council-funded father-specific program that establishes bush and adventure programming as evidence-based therapeutic modalities. As an Australian Counselling Association accredited Relationship Counsellor and Family Therapist with over a decade of clinical experience, Gabriel has created original frameworks that translate cutting-edge developmental neuroscience into scalable outdoor community interventions, serving 200+ families across the Macedon Ranges, Victoria.

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Professional Innovation

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Gabriel's work addresses a critical gap in early childhood services: while maternal attachment receives extensive clinical focus, fathers' unique contributions through activation relationships remain systematically overlooked. His innovation transforms fathers from "passenger parents"—physically present but emotionally disengaged—into activation specialists who provide the challenge-based developmental support that drives emotional regulation, exploratory confidence, and stress resilience during the critical first 1000 days.

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Through comprehensive community programming—including Bush Playgroups, Adventure Groups, School Ready Riders (cycling programs), Sensory Play sessions, and Bubs & Pubs gatherings—Gabriel proves that outdoor settings deliver developmental outcomes traditional clinical environments cannot replicate. His programming reaches families that traditional services miss, delivered through accessible, stigma-free outdoor models that scale beyond metropolitan consulting rooms.

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Theoretical Contribution: Neuro-Relational Sensitive Challenging Play

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Gabriel has advanced risky play theory through his neuro-relational sensitive challenging play framework—an original synthesis integrating:

• Activation Relationship Theory (Daniel Paquette): Fathers' specialized role in opening children to the world through stimulating, challenging interactions

• Security of Exploration Research (Klaus and Karin Grossmann): How father-child relationships uniquely support confident exploration and stress regulation

• Biobehavioral Synchrony (Ruth Feldman): The co-regulatory mechanisms that develop through synchronized challenge experiences

This framework represents Gabriel's distinctive contribution to early intervention science: demonstrating that outdoor challenge-based programming, when designed through neuro-relational principles, delivers measurable developmental outcomes. His neurorelational play therapy practice is guided by Play Strong Institute principles, informing his approach to developmental assessment and parent-child attachment repair through play-based interventions.

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Central to his work is the concept of "switching off the attachment system and switching on the activation relationship," positioning fathers as uniquely important catalysts for children's exploration, confidence, and resilience.

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Clinical Expertise & Professional Experience

Gabriel has built his distinguished career through Axis Therapeutic Services in the Macedon Ranges, developing deep expertise in attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and family systems approaches. His clinical foundation includes specialized training in:

• Gottman Method Couples Therapy

• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Play Therapy (Play Strong Institute practices)

• Bringing Baby Home Certified Facilitator

• Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Practitioner

Gabriel's experience extends to forensic disability and working with individuals presenting with significant behaviours of concern. As a PBS practitioner, he brings sophisticated understanding of how relational attunement, safe challenge, and activation-based approaches can transform outcomes for children and families navigating complex behavioural and developmental presentations. This expertise uniquely positions RAD DADS to serve vulnerable families with complex needs—populations often excluded from traditional early intervention services.

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What Makes Gabriel's Approach Unique

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RAD DADS benefits from Gabriel's distinctive combination of clinical sophistication and hands-on community facilitation. His background as a relationship and family therapist brings deep understanding of relational dynamics, emotional attunement, and family systems—enabling him to address not only the practical dimensions of father engagement but the deeper relational patterns that shape fatherhood. Combined with his direct facilitation of father groups and extensive experience with vulnerable populations, Gabriel understands fathers' lived experiences, resistances, and aspirations firsthand.

This dual expertise—clinical rigor paired with authentic community engagement—positions Gabriel and RAD DADS as uniquely attuned to both the evidence base and the real-world needs of fathers and families. His ability to translate complex neuroscience into accessible, engaging outdoor programming creates interventions that fathers actually show up for—and that deliver the developmental outcomes research predicts.

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Original Frameworks & Assessment Tools

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Gabriel has developed practical tools that make activation relationship theory measurable and actionable:

• RAD Framework (Relational, Activation, Developmental): Five pillars including Play, Activation, Exploration, Co-Regulation, and Integration

• "Two Systems, One Child" Model: Framework explaining how maternal attachment security and paternal activation relationships function as complementary developmental systems

• Activation Developmental Ratio: Assessment tool measuring the balance between challenge and support in father-child interactions

• Passenger Parent Phenomenon: Clinical construct identifying fathers who are physically present but emotionally disengaged, with intervention pathways for role clarity and engagement

• "Where There Is Risky Play, There Is a Return": Organizing principle linking challenge-based experiences with developmental outcomes through secure relational contexts

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Recognition & Thought Leadership

Victorian Father of the Year (2023) – Recognized for exceptional contribution to redefining contemporary fatherhood and advancing father engagement as a critical public health priority

Historic Funding Achievement – Secured 2025 Macedon Ranges Shire Council funding for RAD DADS, establishing the first council-supported father-specific early intervention program in Australia

Speaking & Media Engagements:

• ABC Radio: Contemporary fatherhood and father engagement research

• Playgroup Victoria Annual General Meeting: Panel presentation

• Father Consortium: Research presentation contributing to national conversations on evidence-based father engagement practice

Gabriel is an established thought leader on father engagement and neuro-relational approaches to early intervention. His speaking engagements combine rigorous research with practical, accessible insights—making complex neuroscience and relational theory relevant to parents, educators, practitioners, and policymakers.

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Professional Services

Training & Professional Development

• Neuro-relational sensitive challenging play methodology for practitioners

• Father engagement strategies for early intervention services

• Outdoor therapeutic intervention program design

• Activation relationship assessment and intervention

Consultation & Program Development

• Father-specific early intervention program design

• Bush and adventure programming as therapeutic modality

• Community engagement strategies for underserved fathers

• Assessment tool implementation and outcome measurement

Speaking Engagements

• Advancing risky play theory through neuroscience integration

• Father activation relationships in early childhood development

• Outdoor therapeutic interventions for family services

• Addressing the Passenger Parent Phenomenon

• Evidence-based approaches to father engagement

 

Book Gabriel as a Speaker

Gabriel is available for speaking engagements, workshops, and consultation on fatherhood, father engagement, and neuro-relational sensitive challenging play theory. Whether addressing parent groups, educational institutions, professional conferences, or organizational leadership, Gabriel brings evidence-based expertise combined with authentic, engaging communication. His presentations synthesize cutting-edge research in attachment science, activation relationship theory, and play-based development with practical applications for transforming how we support fathers and families.

To inquire about booking Gabriel for your event or organization, contact RAD DADS directly.

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"We've known for decades that fathers matter for child development. What we've lacked is the practical framework for translating that knowledge into effective intervention. RAD DADS proves that when you combine clinical rigor with outdoor innovation and father-specific theory, you create programming that fathers actually show up for—and that delivers the developmental outcomes neuroscience predicts. That's what Australia's early intervention future needs."

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