The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal& Torres Strait Islander organisation that partners with Indigenous communities to address ongoing trauma caused by actions like the forced removal of children from their families. Its work helps people create a different future. #AboriginalTalk - #AboriginalCounselling - #AboriginalCounsellors
Community
healing
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, healing is a holistic
process, which addresses mental, physical, emotional and spiritual needs and
involves connections to culture, family and land.
Healing works best when solutions are culturally strong, developed and driven
at the local level, and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Healing centres
Healing centres are spaces that support healing for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people. They are community owned and operated, with activities
developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in response to
their own healing needs.
Healing centres incorporate traditional and western practices, operate with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spirituality and culture at their core and
may be situated on custodial land or a site of local significance.
Men’s healing
The impact of the breakdown of Indigenous knowledge systems and undermining of
the traditional role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men has resulted
in our men suffering.
"We are seeing really positive results in many of areas that show that
remarkable things can be achieved when you work in partnership with
communities."
Women’s healing
Many of our women have played a central role in caring for our people.
Strengthening our women enables our communities to restore harmony and balance and
grows our children, families and communities.
The Healing Foundation endeavours to support projects that promote healing for
girls and women.
Aboriginal services:
Moorditj
Yarning
Do you feel like having some space to talk about something on your mind? This
is what Moorditj Yarning offers – a place and opportunity where you feel
comfortable.
You don’t have to come to us. We can meet somewhere that’s good for you. That’s
what we mean by “outreach”. We reach out to you and listen to what you want to
say.
Wherever we meet, we make you feel welcome and respected.
Moorditj Yarning has been working closely with Aboriginal people in the
Langford/Gosnells and Clarkson/Joondalup areas.
Our counsellors have strong experience working with alcohol and drug problems,
other health concerns such as diabetes, family and relationship issues, grief,
loss and domestic violence.
We can either meet you one-to-one or offer the chance to join one of our
groups. These group meetings are informal, open to ideas – and can be fun too.
Guidelines
for delivery of culturally sensitive
and
flexible counselling for Indigenous carers
Project report by Louise Monahan
and Chris Twining for the
Carer Counselling Program, Carers
Victoria
Foreword
Indigenous families and carers care for their frail elderly and those with
disability, mental illness and a range of chronic illnesses and conditions.
Very few Indigenous people identify as carers, however many have significant
care responsibilities.
Most are women and they are of all
ages. Most care for more than one person, often for three or four generations
of family members with care needs.
Caring impacts on all carers and our experience shows that it can have great
and particular impact on Indigenous carers.
Indigenous carers may experience depression, loss and grief, isolation, guilt
and anger, anxiety and worry, financial hardship and lack of access to carer
entitlements, worsening health and well-being, and a lack of support generally.
In addition, we know that the true history of colonisation in Australia continues
to have an on-going devastating impact on Indigenous families and communities.
Genocide, dispossession, segregation, assimilation and loss of land rights are
part of the context for all Indigenous Australians including those with caring
responsibilities.
Furthermore, our Indigenous population is disadvantaged by a range of
socio-economic factors which impact on their health.
Many Indigenous people live in an on-going situation of high stress and chronic
depression suffering feelings of failure and hopelessness, and serious
financial hardship.
Cultural
practice resources
» Guidelines
The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/cultural-ways-home/resources/practice-resources/guidelines
Yarning
with a purpose: An
Aboriginal perspective
This presentation by Carolynanha
Johnson explores the ways in which she is developing culturally
appropriate forms of narrative telephone counselling to assist Aboriginal
people to quit smoking.
Finding ways in which narrative practices can be used in realms of physical
health (as well as mental health) seems highly significant.
Thanks Carolynanha for this video!
After watching it, please join the
online discussion!
Bridging
cultures: psychologists
working with Aboriginal clients
By Sarah Ford, InPsych feature
writer
http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/cultures/
DOCTOR Tracy Westerman's
childhood yearning to be a psychologist lost its edge when the young Aboriginal
student began her studies in Perth.
After leaving her family in remote Western Australia to attend university, she
struggled to reconcile her concept of psychology with the Western-oriented
views taught in psychology courses.
"I thought 'this is not what psychology is meant to be about', because
it did not match the world view that I had been bought up with," she says.
The course made virtually no reference to non-Western cultures and she grappled
to conceptualise mainstream theories in a way that was meaningful for
Aboriginal people.
Nevertheless, Tracy, who is from the Nyamal group in north-western WA,
persevered to become one of a handful of Aboriginal psychologists in Australia.
Deadly Thinking
(‘Deadly’
is an Aboriginal English word for ‘fantastic’, ‘great’ or ‘awesome’.)
Source: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/language/aboriginal-words-in-australian-english#ixzz4jglVUicu
Deadly Thinking is a social,
emotional well-being and suicide prevention program specifically designed for
Indigenous communities, confronting core social and mental well-being issues in
a culturally appropriate, accessible and compelling way.
http://www.rrmh.com.au/programs/deadly-thinking/
A unique and effective program
Deadly Thinking is a social and emotional well-being and suicide prevention
workshop designed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people.
In the context of cultural sensitivity, the one-day Deadly Thinking workshop
addresses a wide range of topics including
anxiety and depression, drug abuse (in particular ‘Ice’), alcohol abuse and
suicide.
Importantly, Deadly Thinking is focused on pathways to help.
Stop. Think. Respect.
Racial discrimination and
mental health
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFDW9dkLkp4
~
beyondblueofficial https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChdVDaoJX2jqP95OhXhNT1g
Being made to feel like crap just for being who you are can have a huge effect
on your sense of worth.
In this video, some of the actors from our Stop. Think. Respect. campaign share
their experiences of racial discrimination and the impact this has had on their
mental health.
Proppa Deadly
http://www.bimaprojects.org.au/our-work/proppa-deadly/
Proppa Deadly is a project
encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take action against
depression and anxiety
through the telling of their own stories across the First Nations community
radio sector.
Brisbane Indigenous Media Association is one of sixteen (16) participating
radio stations, from metropolitan, regional and remote parts of the country, that
will produce and broadcast personal stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander men and women sharing their experience and the action each undertook
to combat depression and/or anxiety.
Proppa Deadly is an initiative of
beyondblue.
Click this link to read Personal Stories: http://www.bimaprojects.org.au/our-work/proppa-deadly/
Mental
health and Aboriginal people
Mental health statistics show Aboriginal
people are much more likely to suffer from depression or dementia than other
Australians. But mental health is worst where you wouldn’t expect it to be.
Source: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/health/mental-health-and-aboriginal-people