Narrative therapy Archives - Page 2 of 3 - ...metaphorically speaking

“Coming From a Place of Not Knowing” with Alanna Audus

November 21, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Burnout Challenges and struggles Colonisation Culturally Fit Social Workers Culturally sensitive therapeutic tools Decolonising social work practice Ethics and values Healing from Trauma Metaphors Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities NT Emergency Intervention Podcast Remote social work Self Care Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Starting out in Indigenous social work Working with Metaphors

There is something to be said about social workers who are graciously willing to tell their story, just 12 months after diving into their remote social work experience. Still in the midst of a giant learning curve, Alanna Audus joins me on Talk the Walk to share the ups, downs and delicious highlights of her beginnings in Alice Springs. Alanna is a newcomer to narrative therapy and is delighted with the way her somewhat ‘kooky’ conversations with people are beginning to shape their lives for the better. She works as a generalist and victims of crime counsellor for CatholicCare NT with some of the most marginalised Aboriginal people in Australia.

This conversation is as delightful as it is authentic. So be warned, Alanna’s heartfelt generosity may inspire you to pack up your city life and go bush.

On episode 27, we explore:

What led Alanna to pack up all her belongings and head to Alice Springs
What it’s really like starting out in social work with no prior experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Alanna’s unique story which has influenced her passion and drive for social justice
A ‘fly on the wall’ account of Alanna’s approach to counselling, starting out in narrative therapy
Why relationships are at the heart of Alanna’s practice and feeling okay about not knowing
The rich conversations that transpire working with metaphors
Methods of narrative documentation such as letter writing which record people’s processes of acknowledgement and achievement, and what difference this makes to clients
Struggles and challenges Alanna has faced in her first year in a remote community and the notion of ‘doing therapy on yourself everyday’
The influence of nature and the raw environment on Alanna’s self care, allowing her to do high intensity social work
Reflections on resilience in ourselves and our clients
The people, institutions and the influence of radical politics that have shaped Alanna’s social work practice framework and life
Reflections on the NT Emergency Intervention more than a decade on, a continuation of ongoing oppression and disempowerment which began with colonisation
Words of wisdom for other social workers considering the move from big city to remote outback and avoiding burnout
A sparkling moment from Alanna’s last week

To listen, simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.

You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Contact Alanna on alanna.audus(at)gmail(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

‘A Cultural Model of Therapeutic Social Work’ with Jannice Luland

October 24, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Aboriginal world views Counselling Cultural Knowledge Decolonising social work practice Domestic and family violence Healing from Trauma Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Podcast Sexual assault Social Justice Social Work Practice Framework Social Work with Indigenous communities Spiritual practices Supervision Talk the Walk podcast Traditional Healing Practices Working with Women

“A special moment”. Jannice with the clapsticks at the Singing for Healing program.

Jannice Luland is our guest on episode 26 of Talk the Walk. Jannice is a proud Aboriginal woman and direct descendant of the Wodiwodi and Walbunja peoples of the far South coast of NSW. After a career spanning over 30 years in child protection, out of home care, justice health, mental health, domestic and family violence and sexual assault, Jannice finally graduated with her Masters of Social Work in 2015.

Aunty Jeno, as she is known in her community of Nowra in NSW, is passionate about supporting women and young people in the field of domestic violence and sexualised violence, and has a special interest in the impact of intergenerational trauma on the Stolen Generations.

As well as being employed as a Healing Counsellor at Waminda, Jannice currently serves on the Aboriginal Elders committee and cultural committee. She is a huge advocate of social work practice frameworks which incorporate cultural healing practices. In our conversation we dive deep into what this looks like and what it means for Jannice to be able to incorporate her culture into a strong values and evidence-based model of therapeutic care.

In this episode, we explore:

A brief overview of the services at Waminda, an Aboriginal owned and run health and well-being service
How Waminda applied Aboriginal healing principles to address issues of low engagement with Aboriginal women accessing sexual assault and domestic violence services
How Jannnice arrived at social work after landing her first job as an uneducated single mum
How and why Jannice keeps culture central in her social work practice framework
Reflections on studying the social work degree and the lack of theoretical frameworks that intersect Indigenous cultures
Exploring the benefits, responsibilities and achievements as a member of the Elders group and cultural committee within the organisation
The theory and cultural knowledge behind the Singing for Healing program
Jannice’s desire to connect with other Aboriginal social workers across Australia to explore cultural therapeutic approaches
The importance of accessing cultural social work supervision
The values Jannice says are important in overcoming challenges within the work
Critical aspects of a healing counselling service that contribute to Closing The Gap
Role models and special people that have influenced Jannice’s life and career in social work and a sense of gratitude
Inspiring Aboriginal women to take up social work
That sparkling moment with the clapsticks

The sound is less than ideal at the beginning of this interview, but does improve, so please stick with it.
To listen, simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.

You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Trauma Trails by Judy Atkinson

Waminda website

Follow Waminda on Facebook

Contact Jannice Luland on jannicel(at)waminda(dot)org(dot)au

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Influence of Narrative Therapy in my Work with Aboriginal Communities

August 16, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Collective Narrative Timelines Community Development Community Work Counselling Cross Cultural practice Culturally sensitive therapeutic tools Metaphors Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Practice tools Reflective social work practice Social Work with Indigenous communities The Tree of LIfe Working with Children Working with Families Working with Metaphors

I was first introduced to Narrative Therapy in 2006 after graduating with my social work degree in Brisbane. But it wasn’t until a few years later in Darwin that the penny dropped on how this approach might actually sit comfortably alongside the worldviews and cultural perspectives of Aboriginal people whom I was working with. A one week intensive at the Dulwich Centre in Adelaide introducing me to Collective and Community practices from a narrative approach was the start of a journey of sharing these ideas with my Aboriginal colleagues and ‘having a go’ to see what works.

The following reflections show how my practice approach has been influenced by narrative therapy ideas.

Double Listening

The problems that affect the lives of Aboriginal people can often be presented in a way that is disabling or weighing them down heavily; for example, domestic violence that has gone on for many years or issues associated with poverty that affect people’s stress levels. This negative story can come to dominate people’s lives so that it is the only one they come to believe about themselves and other people tell about them.
However, people have many story lines running through their lives. Perhaps they have simply lost touch with the things that are important to them and they give meaning to? In a process of ‘double listening’, we are continually looking for doors into the alternative story, as the problem-dominant story is one that Aboriginal people can fall back into again and again.

Externalising

An externalised problem in play doh.

The person labelled as ‘angry’ or ‘naughty’ by others can sometimes internalise this view about themselves. The process of externalising helps us to “separate the problem from the person”. A lot of my counselling work has involved externalising the feelings of children who have been labelled by their communities or families as angry, naughty, bad, lost, lonely, no-hoper, mad and stupid. Through exploring the “strong story” using things like drawing, painting, clay, puppets and story writing children come to see that ‘the problem’ they are experiencing does not reside inside themselves, but is external to them, possibly as a result of someone else’s problem behaviour in the family. Children have such amazing imaginations when it comes to naming the problem and can articulate the ‘monster’, ‘devil’ or ‘alien’ as no longer having hold over their lives.

Eunice and Elaine share their ‘strong story’ of going to school.

Resistance

Aboriginal people who have experienced trauma are often overwhelmed by feelings of shame, thinking somehow they are to blame for their problems or perhaps they invited it. However, no‐one is a passive recipient to trauma. Even in the most difficult of circumstances when it was not possible to avoid the trauma, people still take positive steps to stand up against it, resist it or protect themselves from its effects (Yuen 2009). However small these steps might be, they indicate people are responding because it challenges their values and who they are. What is it they hold precious in their life that they would respond in this way? What is it they strongly believe in, that has been threatened? By exploring and thickening the strengths, skills, values and abilities that help them through difficult times, Aboriginal people reclaim strong stories of hope and resilience and move towards healing. The narrative approach gives Aboriginal people a safer place to stand to explore their experience without having to re-tell any traumatic details.

Collective Narrative Documentation

The Tiwi developed their own Ripples of Life story.

Narrative practice is interested in linking the individual experience to the collective; our individual problems are instead viewed as social issues. When listening to Aboriginal people’s experience of trauma, we are not only listening for individual accounts of how people responded to hard times and developing a rich narrative together, but looking for opportunities to link their life to some sort of collective experience. In this way, people speak through us, not just to us (Denborough 2008). Some of the children I worked with wanted to share their stories of living with violence or bullying with children from other communities. I became the deliverer of special messages between children who willingly offered up their stories if it meant it would help someone else. They often reflected “I am not alone in this” or “My experience is helping someone else”.
When people have an opportunity to anonymously share their stories with a broader audience, like another community, they gain a sense of contribution to the lives of another who may also be experiencing hard times. In my work with Tiwi at Family Healing Bush Camps, community members were invited to share what skills, knowledge and abilities they used to get through difficult issues such as family and domestic violence, substance misuse in the family and having their children taken by welfare. A written collective document was given back to the participants to share with other communities. Such documents can be powerful methods of generating a social movement towards change, healing whole communities of people who share stories with each other.

Tree of Life

Tree Of Life

Collective methodologies such as the Tree of Life and Team of Life have shown to be extremely effective at allowing children and young people who have experienced trauma or significant loss to speak about their skills and knowledge in the comfort and security of peers. These metaphors offer Aboriginal people safe ways of exploring the difficult events of life like “the storm which hit our family” or “having to defend oneself from attack”. Family members and Elders who act as outsider witnesses to children’s experience are valuable players in validating these stories. The artwork generated from this group-work can also be shared as a collective document of children’s resilience, knowledge, hopes and dreams with other groups around the world.

Collective Narrative Timelines

Collective Narrative Timelines are also a well documented narrative practice for using with groups. I used this methodology during groupwork with Aboriginal women to help them reflect on their own childhood experiences and how these memories have impacted on their own parenting. Collective narrative timelines are great for the beginning of groups to help participants develop a connection very quickly around a shared theme, while also acknowledging the diversity of experience in the room. You can read about my process of using Collective Narrative Timelines in a previous blog.

For more resources and ideas on narrative practice with Indigenous communities, explore our Direct Practice and Professional Development Libraries.

References:

Denborough 2008, Collective Narrative Therapy: Responding to individuals, groups and communities who have experienced trauma.

Yuen, A. 2009, Less pain, more gain: Explorations of responses versus effects when working with the consequences of trauma.

How Did Metaphors Become a Part of My Therapeutic Framework?

August 9, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Art therapy Challenges and struggles Counselling Culturally sensitive therapeutic tools Expressive therapies Healing from Trauma Metaphors Narrative therapy Practice tools Social Work with Indigenous communities The Life of Tree Working with Children Working with Metaphors

One of my very first learnings all those years ago in counselling work with Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory was their tendency to talk in round-a-bout ways. At first I found this frustrating. You could not ask a direct question and get a direct answer. It will usually be silence or a head nod (which does not necessarily mean yes, but a polite acknowledgement)! So I had to find ways that clients would be comfortable to share their experience safely in ways which suited their communication style and integrated their traumatic experience. After trying the methodologies I’d learnt from narrative therapy and getting such a good response, it dawned on me that working with metaphors was common sense. Aboriginal people have been communicating in metaphorical ways since time began, through their dreaming stories and ancestors. This way of working just fits! Whether it has been in individual counselling or groupwork with women and children or in training and mentoring with Aboriginal workers, concepts or ideas are much easier to communicate through metaphorical stories, verbal or visual.

My first exposure to working with metaphors was at the Dulwich Centre. “The Tree of Life” methodology was inspired by the work of Ncazelo Ncube of REPSSI (Zimbabwe/South Africa) to respond to children affected by HIV/AIDS. I’ve used this and its sister method “The Team of Life” with children in the Tiwi Islands with great success, training local Aboriginal women to facilitate the activity. The tree metaphor gives children a safe place to stand to explore challenges and problems in their lives without re-traumatising them. I also noticed how the adults supporting the children, started talking about their own lives using trees.

“Trees can teach us a lot about how to live. Our traditional way of life is about caring for each other and growing strong families. Now there are storms destroying our families and hurting our children. We can see it’s not a healthy life for our people”. – Elaine Tiparui, Bathurst Island.

Picture: Ian Morris. This image has been used to talk about the role of the whole family/community to grow up strong kids (Grandparents are the old growth trees in the background, Uncles/Aunties and parents in middle, teenagers as younger trees and babies/toddlers the little seedlings in front).

I went on to work collaboratively with the women of Tiwi Islands and NE Arnhemland to develop a new tool using the tree metaphor to invite women into a conversation about violence and its affect on children’s development. “It Takes a Forest to raise a tree: Healing Our Children from the Storms in their Lives” is my first resource produced in community, with community, for community.

As my counselling work progressed, I found that narrative therapy still relied on people being able to verbally express a story. Neuroscience tells us that the impact of trauma on the brain means that people are simply unable to talk about what happened to them, even if they wanted to! Many of the children, I’ve worked with were still very much non-verbal and I’ve come to rely more and more on art as a method of communicating and integrating traumatic experience. Working alongside Aboriginal Child and Family Support Workers using their own languages, we discovered ways for children to document their stories of abuse, violence and neglect using methods like drawing, clay, collage and mask making. Not surprisingly these stories were communicated through aliens, imaginary friends, monsters, dreaming animals, body parts and other such creatures apart from themselves. To offer other alternative ways in to children’s stories, I also went on to write ‘The Life of Tree’, a therapeutic picture book, designed to help Aboriginal children speak up about their trauma experience. Metaphors work in the most magical way to bring healing!

…metaphorically speaking will continue to experiment with playful and effective therapeutic tools using metaphors in our direct work with clients and in the resources we produce in the future.
You can read more about how we are integrating use of metaphors with other therapeutic modalities on our page ‘How We Work’.
You can also find further resources on using metaphors in counselling and trauma work in our Professional Development Library.

“Privileging the Voices of Aboriginal People” with Tileah Drahm-Butler

November 15, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Aboriginal world views Challenges and struggles Cross Cultural practice Culturally Fit Social Workers Decolonising social work practice Hope-Focused Social Work Hospital social work Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Justice issues Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Podcast Racism Reconciliation Remote social work Social Justice Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Storytelling Talk the Walk podcast

What a delight it was to be speaking with Tileah Drahm-Butler this week on ‘Talk the Walk’, about her journey into narrative therapy and her approach to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Tileah’s passion for social work and giving Aboriginal people a voice shines through in this conversation. We also gain insight into the woman behind the work and the long list of inspiring women in her family that stand behind her.

Tileah is a Durrumbal woman currently living in Kuranda and working as a Senior Social Worker at Cairns Hospital. She has worked in a range of programs in Cairns and Cape York, including developing and delivering the Drop the Rock program, building the capacity of Aboriginal communities in mental health service delivery. In 2014, she completed the Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work.

Tileah is a co-author of ‘Aboriginal Narrative Practice: Honouring storylines of pride, strength and creativity’ where she writes about the many ways she is developing and using narrative practices that resonate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She is a member of the International Teaching Faculty of the Dulwich Centre for Narrative Therapy.

In Episode 16 of Talk the Walk, we explore:

The notion of narrative therapy as a decolonising practice that gives the client agency over their problem
What works in narrative practice for Aboriginal and TSI people in the context of an emergency and intensive care unit of the hospital
Re-membering conversations
The strong story of Aboriginal people’s lives incorporating their family, community and ancestors stories
The influence of Tileah’s cultural background on her practice
Social work as a political practice
Attracting Aboriginal and TSI people’s to the profession of social work and other allied health professions
The AASW mental health accreditation process and how that fits for practitioners working with Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander clients
The ethics and values underpinning Tileah ‘s commitment to social work
The influence of Tileah’s family and ancestors that holds her to the principles of justice-doing
The struggles of dealing with systems built on racism and the effect this has on Tileah as a practioner and a human being
The narrative therapy community that strengthens Tileah’s resolve and the stories that keep her going
Sparkling stories of hope and resistance
Tileah’s interest in beekeeping and what the bees have taught her about social work
Tileah’s dreams of raising the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to Close The Gap
Reconciliation in action

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.

You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Indigenous Allied Health Australia

The Dulwich Centre (home of Narrative Therapy in Australia)

Subscribe to the Narrative Therapy journal

Wingard, B., Johnson, C. & Drahm-Butler, T. (2015) Aboriginal Narrative Pratice: Honouring storylines of pride, strength and creativity, Dulwich Centre Publications, Adelaide.

Drahm- Butler, T. (2015). Video: Decolonising Identity Stories: A Friday Afternoon production from Dulwich Centre Foundation.

Contact Tileah via The Dulwich Centre

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

“Telling the Stories of our Lives” with Sudha Coutinho

November 1, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Community Work Cross Cultural practice Health and wellbeing Inspiring Stories Listening Mental health Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Occupational therapy Podcast Storytelling Strengths and Resilience Suicide Talk the Walk podcast

You don’t have to search too far to listen to the stories of despair, destruction or trauma in Aboriginal communities. These are widely played out in our media. However if we listen with intention much deeper, we will find something richer and more telling. The absent but implicit in these stories, are signs of strength, hope and resilience.

Listening in this way is a practice that goes to the heart of Sudha Coutinho’s clinical and community development work. Sudha trained as an occupational therapist and was drawn to narrative therapy as a way of engaging her clients in the fields of mental health, suicide prevention and training.

I came across one of Sudha’s more recent projects when I was invited to respond to some stories collected as part of the Telling Stories project in Kulumbaru. Sudha says she has “always been interested in stories- those we tell about ourselves and those others tell about us – and the power in these stories to influence both the storyteller and the listener.”

Sudha also tells a really good story herself. With over 20 years working in the Northern Territory, alongside and with Indigenous Australians, this episode is one bloody good yarn.

In episode 15 of Talk the Walk, we explore:

How Sudha came to be working in the Kimberley, discovering herself and her way in occupational therapy from a narrative perspective
Why moving away from the ‘expert model’ to share our own story is essential for relationship building
What a genuine cultural immersion looks and feels like
Moving from a medicalised mental health/psychiatry model of clinical practice to a focus on social and emotional wellbeing
Indigenous concepts of wellbeing which incorporate spiritual and cultural aspects of self
Practice as an art, not just a science
Sudha and the team filming on location in Kalumburu

How ‘Telling Stories’ came to be; the intent and thinking behind the project and the narrative methodology behind the approach
The digital archives of strength, hope and resilience featuring stories of Kalumburu community; and how these stories were gathered
The role and power of outsider witness practices; and the effect this had re-authoring the Kalumburu community story
How you can watch the stories from Kalumburu and what to include in a response back to the community
Sudha’s biggest challenges commonly shared amongst community development projects and how to think creatively to overcome them
Evaluating a narrative project
A story about the effect the Kalumburu stories project has had on Sudha’s personal life; and what Sudah loves about narrative practice
How listening to difficult stories can actually be transforming in positive ways for practitioners and not always a cause for vicarious trauma or burnout
An invitation for you to join the conversation about how you listen to story within your own practice. Please write a comment below or join the conversation on Facebook.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Telling Our Stories in Ways that Make us Stronger by Barbara Wingard and Jane Lester

Watch a video and send a message back to the Kalumburu community and the storyteller at the Telling Story project on vimeo

Sudha’s blog about the Telling Story project on ABC Open

Contact Sudha Coutinho at sudhacoutinho(at)gmail(dot)com

Contact the Telling Story project at tellingstoryproject(at)gmail(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Anni presenting in Lisbon at the Contemporary Drug Problems Conference 2015

‘Acknowledging the suitcases that Aboriginal women carry’ with Anni Hine Moana

October 11, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Alcohol and drugs Counselling Healing from Trauma Healing Our Long-grassers Listening Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Podcast Racism Research Shame Social Work with Indigenous communities Talk the Walk podcast White privilege

Anni Hine Moana, my guest this week on ‘Talk the Walk’ has over 40 years of experience from counselling in alcohol, drugs, gambling and mental health to supervision, lecturing and curriculum development. This is a fascinating conversation with a researcher whose passion is to see tangible outcomes for Aboriginal people accessing appropriate counselling services.

Anni completed a Masters of Counselling in 2011 exploring the case for the inclusion of Narrative Therapy in counselling for Indigenous AOD clients. Anni is now undertaking her phD on the ‘relationship between the self-conscious emotion of shame and alcohol, experienced by Australian Aboriginal women living in urban and regional areas’. In this episode, Anni talks about her early research findings and the implications for social workers and other allied health professionals in their clinical work.

In episode 12 of ‘Talk the Walk’, we explore:

Anni’s emerging themes of the impact of shame and the ‘white gaze’ on Aboriginal women’s lived experience
How shame presents itself in the counselling room
The one basic skill every therapist can do to be respectful and develop a meaningful therapeutic relationship with Aboriginal women
The relationship between Aboriginal women’s shame and alcohol use; and the stigma associated with drinking
How Anni’s Maori culture has influenced her research; and the connection to experiences of shame within her own family
Key findings from Anni’s research and support for a narrative therapeutic approach to practice
The importance of listening for the ‘injustice part’ of women’s stories, the effects of racism on Aboriginal women’s lives and the role for counsellors in naming this
looking at your own ‘history book’
Challenges Anni has found in her work and research, how this impacts on her and what inspires her about the future

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

‘Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native’ by Patrick Wolfe

Stan Grants speech on racism and the Australian dream

Tree of Life by Ncazelo Ncube

Aborginal Narrative Practice: Honouring Storylines of Pride, Strength and Creativity by Barbara Wingard, Carolnanha Johnson and Tileah Drahm-Butler

Ben Harper singing ‘I’ll rise’

‘Our Own History Book: Exploring culturally acceptable responses to Australian Aboriginal women who have experience of feelings of shame and are seeking counselling for problems with alcohol’ by Anni Hine Moana

Re-storying alcohol use amongst Aboriginal Australians. by Anni Hine Moana

Follow Anni Hine Moana on academia.com or email at annihinemoana(at)gmail(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

An artists interpretation of family surrounded by wild waters.

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ with Josephine Lee

July 26, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Aboriginal world views Colonisation Counselling Healing from Trauma Hope-Focused Social Work Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Inspiring Stories Narrative therapy Podcast Reflective social work practice Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Strengths and Resilience Talk the Walk podcast White privilege

The bold and beautiful, Josephine Lee

My guest on Episode 3 of ‘Talk the Walk’ is Josephine Lee. Josephine is a Gudjula woman from North Queensland whose social worker career spands almost 30 years. Jo is committed to anti-oppressive, anti-racist, therapeutic and relationship-based practices as well as creative and hope-focused practices.
In true traditional style, this ended up feeling like a yarn around the campfire, than an interview. Josephine takes us on a deep journey into her life growing up and how this has shaped the person she is today. Her biggest influences on her social work practice is life itself. This includes in her words

“moments of suffering that you think you cannot get through; moments of joy that you think you cannot believe has happened; good people; lessons learnt from bad; being given opportunities; being brave to take up the opportunities; forgiving yourself when you stuff up, learn and grow; kindness is a strength; beautiful art, music, writing, and so many things that have contributed to hope focussed approach; talk with belief, especially to those who have given up.”

It was truly a privilege to hear Josephine’s raw and honest account of the struggles in life and work. Josephine is unashamedly and unapologetically frank in her assessment of the state of social work and humanity on the planet. If you want to hear the brutal truth about what an Aboriginal social worker really thinks about our white middle class profession, but in a gentle kind way, then you’re in the right place.
This episode explores:
• What is hope-focused practice and how it differs from strengths based practice
• The impact of Aboriginal policy and racism on Jo’s family history which ultimately shapes her practice and her life
• Jo’s view of the world as a ‘social justice cake’
• The circumstances that led to Jo taking up social work as a career
• Jo’s reflection on her own personal experience of social workers involved in her childhood
• Lessons on responsibility and what social justice in action really means
• Special photos that have significance to Jo’s life and work (see below)
• Child removal as the impact of colonisation
• Cautions for social workers following the current trends in treatment without bringing a cultural lens and critical reflection
• The traps that white middle class social workers might fall into which leads to hopelessness and helplessness
• A blunt warning for social workers who don’t enter Aboriginal communities with respect
• What it means to walk alongside someone on a painful but healing journey of self discovery for deep nourishment and flourishment to happen
• The power of narrative therapy in working with Indigenous clients
• What is reflective social work practice REALLY
• Black empowerment theory and why it’s greater than feminist theory

“If you walk softly on this Mother Earth, you have tried your best to take care for her, and all life, and you did so with dignity and grace — that is a truly well-lived life.” – Josephine Lee, July 2017

Josephine speaks about the following photographs in this interview.

Josephine’s maternal side of the family.

Josephine with her mother and siblings.

An artists interpretation of family surrounded by wild waters.

The picture a client identified as to what being happy with life looks like.

Please note, due to the length of this interview, it has been split into two parts. Tune in next week to hear the final part of our conversation.
Warning: occasional explicit language.
Just click on the Play Button below and enjoy! We hope to have ‘Talk the Walk’ listed on popular podcatchers like iTunes very soon. Or subscribe by email via our Home Page.
Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’ send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Various Books by Christine Fejo King

About Wayne McCashen and the ‘Strengths Approach’

‘Black Empowerment: Social Work in Oppressed Communities’ by African American social worker, Barbara Bryant Solomon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Collective Narrative Timelines: Uniting Aboriginal Women Through their Commitments to Children

June 28, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Collective Narrative Timelines Community Work Cross Cultural practice Culturally sensitive therapeutic tools Learning Workshops (aka "Training")Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Parenting

A HOC Learning Workshop for strong Aboriginal Women in community

Since the Healing Our Children (HOC) project began, I have been responsible for developing Learning Workshops (aka a training program) for Aboriginal women in remote communities. I was particularly interested in finding ways of engaging workshop participants that fits with a two way learning approach. The methodology of Collective Narrative Timelines sat very comfortably with me because it powerfully honours the knowledge of everyone in the room. Cheryl White has said “this was a method that enabled participants to share powerful personal memory and history but in a way that linked to a collective theme. It brought people together while also acknowledging a great diversity of experience.” (Denborough 2008, p. 144)

The process generally goes like this.
Draw a timeline on a long piece of paper that stretches across a large wall.
Draw a map of the world.
Ask the group to reflect on a wish, a commitment, a hope, a learning or a value that is important to them. Ask each person to think about:

the history of this wish/commitment/hope/learning or value and when it began. What year/date?
Where did you learn this or develop this (what place)?
Who did you learn it from?
Who did you learn it with? (Denborough 2008, p. 147)

Each person is given a small piece of paper to document this story in a few sentences. They are then invited to stick their piece of paper on the timeline at the appropriate date/year and briefly share their story with the group. If the person has a link to a particular place, this can also be marked by a dot on the map with a few words depicting their story.

The focus of my Learning Workshops is on the theoretical and cultural knowledge underpinning understandings of how trauma occurs in early childhood. I wanted my Narrative Timeline activity to orient the women participants to this topic by moving them into a place of looking through children’s eyes, by reflecting on their own childhood experience. This was a bit of a twist on the original Narrative Timeline approach in that it is also quite therapeutic. The following was indicative of the instructions I gave to set this up.

“We’re going to take a moment to think about what it was like for us to be a child and to document some of these memories on a timeline. For some of you it might be uncomfortable to think about a childhood memory, so if this becomes too hard for you, it’s OK to have some time out. See if you can think of a particular time when your parents said something to you or did something, that really had an impact on you. This can be a good or not so good memory but you might find it more pleasant to think about a positive memory you have. It needs to be a memory you are comfortable sharing with the group. Try to remember:

Where you were?
Who was there?
How old you were?
What was said or done?

A collective narrative timeline of Aboriginal women’s childhood experiences

The timeline that I had drawn up was a Child Age Timeline from 0 – 18 years. Each participant was invited to stick their paper on the timeline on the age that related to their story and briefly share their reflection. I also followed up with the question ‘How has this memory shaped the person that you are today in a positive way (emphasizing that both good memories and bad memories can shape us in positive ways)? This question got the women thinking about how their own childhood experience influenced their current parenting with their own children or grandchildren. To illustrate this point, I would also share my own childhood memory on the timeline – receiving painful physical discipline with a strap – and how this shaped my own parenting beliefs and a commitment to never use harsh physical discipline on my own children.

As a follow up to this activity, we also reflected as a group on:

For those of you that had a good memory….What was it that you really appreciated about your parents?
For those that had a bad memory…Is there something you would have liked your parents to do or say instead? What would you have liked more of?

Then everyone was invited to reflect on…

What does this say about any hopes you have or had for your children?

These key messages were written under the timeline, as future commitments or as a way of reconnecting with closely held past commitments.

The light bulb moments are usually the connections people make when they reflect on a significant childhood memory and the particular skills, knowledge and values they have taken on from their parents/grandparents and how this has shaped them today. Simple realisations like:

a commitment to ‘taking responsibility’ from the experience of being blamed by a mother for everything as a child
the importance of ‘having a joke and seeing the lighter side of life in times of crisis’ related to the carefree attitude of a grandfather who laughed off a near miss car accident
‘being open to different religious points of view’ because grandma went to lots of different churches and cultural events
‘the importance of family above all else’ being raised by a mother who showed so much love.

These realisations although personal for each individual also have resonance with the whole group. Although diverse, the combined wisdom of Elders, strong women and struggling grand/parents is honoured. It is through our collective experience of early childhood experience and its influence on us as parents or carers, we are connected and united. This visual representation of collective history we created together stayed on the wall during the remainder of our workshop. It is from this shared standing point that we progressed into the meatier, heavier topics of trauma and its impact on children in our LearningWorkshop.

References:
Denborough, D. 2008, Collective Narrative Practice: Responding to Individuals, Groups and Communities who have experienced Trauma, Dulwich Centre Publications.

For more ideas on working with Aboriginal women around parenting using reflections from their own childhood experience, see Rings of Growth.

Giving Aboriginal Children a Voice – Part II

February 26, 2017

by metaphor with 4 Comments Children's voices Culturally sensitive therapeutic tools Healing Our Children My personal journey Narrative therapy Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Practice tools Strengths-based practice The Life of Tree Trauma-informed practice Violence and Abuse Working with Children Working with Metaphors

Bloopers captured in time on our crowdfunding campaign video

This blog goes out on the cusp of the release of my first children’s therapeutic picture book. Nerves aside, it’s been an exciting but hectic week as Christine and I prepare for media interviews. We’ve also been busy creating a crowdfunding campaign to get the community on board with our hopes for the book. We are new to all this stuff, so of course there have been many laughs along the way (hence the blooper snapshot captured here while filming our campaign video). If you really want to know what all the fuss is about, then maybe this Q&A might provide some answers.

What is the book about?

There are two characters in the book, a little boy called Jack and his friend Tree, who lives with his family (or other trees) in the bush. I think the blurb on the back cover is a good summary of what happens in this story.

“Tree is living a peaceful life in the bush until a wild storm comes along and damages his environment. His friend, Jack is worried that Tree won’t recover and be able to play with him again. When Jack also lives through a wild storm in his home, he comes to realise just how strong they both really are. Jack has strong cultural roots, just like Tree that brings hope and healing to his whole family.”

This story is really exploring the ‘storms of life’ that children go through and how this impacts on them. It’s also a story of healing which comes through connection, culture and the support of family and community.

How did this story come to me?

The story was just slowing coming together in the back of my mind, mulling away there for a long time. Then one day, I think I was in a day dream state and the idea just popped into my head. I then went away and wrote it fairly quickly. Often ideas come to me in my dreams day or night.

Book Cover

What are the aims of the book? What are my intentions in writing it?

I think the book reflects what I am trying to do in my counselling work with children. First, it’s about helping them find their voice and give words to the ‘problem story’ of their lives. It’s also about making visible the ‘strong story’ of their lives – what is it that is keeping them going, stay safe and be happy.

I am hoping that the adults in children’s lives will use this book to give voice to the strong story of children’s lives and perhaps even document this. This could include the skills, abilities, beliefs, values and knowledge the child has in coping and keeping themselves safe.

‘The Life of Tree’ is another resource that people can add to their tool box in their conversations with children.

Who is the book for? Who would be interested in reading it?

This book is intended to be read by an adult to Aboriginal children who have been affected by trauma.

This book will appeal to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people care for, live or work with children who’ve experienced trauma such as domestic and family violence. So this can include family members and foster carers as well as professionals such as counsellors, social workers, support workers or case workers.

What inspired me to write the book?

My biggest motivation is to help children tell their stories. One of the greatest challenges I’ve faced in my work with Aboriginal children, apart from the obvious cultural and gender barriers is gaining enough trust, for children to feel that it is OK to talk about the really tough stuff. And that what they are feeling is normal. Kids do feel sad and angry about violence in their families. And it’s shame and fear that really hold them back from speaking up and healing from their experience. So in order to gain trust we need to create a safe space for the conversation.

Another motivation is to provide a culturally safe tool for professionals. ‘The Life of Tree’ uses images and themes that children can connect to because it reflects their own cultural traditions and beliefs. Christine has done an amazing job bringing her artistic talents to this story. I haven’t really found any other resources like this out there.

Of course, my favourite part is the use of metaphors because this has worked in other areas of my practice. I’ve been practicing narrative therapy in my work with children for 8 years, with groups of children in remote communities as well as in individual counselling. I have witnessed how the use of metaphors is effective in connecting with people and creating a safe space for conversation about difficulties in their lives. Asking direct questions isn’t always going to work, but people seem to spontaneously want to share their own story, if they hear a story that is similar to theirs.

What initially got me interested in this topic?

10 years ago I arrived in the Northern Territory virtually green from university. The first 6 months working out bush as a drug and alcohol counsellor, I drank lots of tea and did a lot of listening. I later moved into children’s counselling and I was hearing lots of stories from women Elders about their concerns for their children and grandchildren. I guess, I’ve always been listening for ways I might be able to meet an expressed need – that’s what community development is all about. If there is some way I can walk alongside communities to find solutions to the problems in their communities, then there is a place for me there. Along the journey I’ve found myself more and more in the healing space, finding ways of bring healing to people’s lives.

When is the book being released? How can people buy it?

The book was released on Wednesday 1^st March 2017. You can access further information and a Sneak Peak of pages from the book from my online Shop. There you’ll also find a downloadable Order Form.

What about people who can’t afford to buy the book?

We are officially launching a crowd-funding campaign on Tuesday to raise money to send free books to communities. Christine and I would like to put donated books into all the women’s refuges in remote communities of the NT, WA and Queensland. We are both aware that the support for children coming into remote safe houses is pretty limited. ‘The Life of Tree’ is one way, that Aboriginal workers in those services could engage children and directly support them.

So if there is anyone out there who would like to sponsor a book, they can look up our campaign ‘Giving Aboriginal Kids a Voice’

Christine with ‘The Life Of Tree’

Things to follow up after the episode

Things to follow up after the episode

References:

Things to follow up after the episode

Things to follow up after the episode

Things to follow up after the episode

References: Denborough, D. 2008, Collective Narrative Practice: Responding to Individuals, Groups and Communities who have experienced Trauma, Dulwich Centre Publications.

References:
Denborough, D. 2008, Collective Narrative Practice: Responding to Individuals, Groups and Communities who have experienced Trauma, Dulwich Centre Publications.