Social Work with Indigenous communities Archives - Page 2 of 5

‘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

‘Facing the Realities of the History of Social Work in Australia and Getting Over Yourself’ with Emma Searle

September 19, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Challenges and struggles Child Protection Child Removal Colonisation Cross Cultural practice Culturally Fit Social Workers Decolonising social work practice Government; social work in Hospital social work Maternal Health Social Work Podcast Reflective social work practice Research Shame Social Work with Indigenous communities Talk the Walk podcast White privilege

In the yarning chair on ‘Talk the Walk’ this week is Emma Searle, a senior social worker at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney. Emma works within a continuity of care model of maternal health social work, where Aboriginal women can meet the same group of midwives from pregnancy to follow up post-natal care.

There is more to this interview than just reflecting on the daily challenges of working with vulnerable Indigenous women. Emma invites us to enter into a conversation about the uncomfortable realities of being a non-Indigenous social worker, in a world where Indigenous child removal is high and white professionals make the decisions about what is best for Indigenous families. Working within a system with a history of oppression and racism, Emma set out to investigate how other countries were doing culturally competent practice.

On episode 25 of ‘Talk the Walk’ we explore:

The incredibly busy role of a social worker in a maternal and infant health service
The factors that impact on the likelihood of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women reaching out for support, where they have Child Protection closely scrutinising them
The stigma that comes with being a social worker; the challenge this poses for engaging vulnerable Aboriginal women; and how Emma overcomes these hurdles
Addressing the over representation of non-Indigenous health and welfare professionals making decisions about Indigenous people’s lives and the alarming rate of children removal
Emma’s key findings from her Churchill Fellowship exploring the needs and experiences of Indigenous women in Canada, the USA and New Zealand
What a difference it can make to Aboriginal families by acknowledging and celebrating language and culture
Best practice success stories in maternal social work overseas including ‘bicultural practice’ in New Zealand
How Emma is using her learnings to improve services for Aboriginal women here in Australia
The essential skill of being able to have ‘difficult conversations’
Visiting the early influences on Emma’s life and the values and beliefs that she connected with in the profession of social work
What Emma’s thinks is the superpower unique to social work
The people and movements that have shaped Emma’s social work practice
Emma’s sparkling moments in maternal health social work since returning to Australia
Emma’s interest in Brene Brown’s work on shame and vulnerability
An invitation to join the conversation on culturally competent practice

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

Read another great story about the Malabar Midwives service as featured in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Bi-cultural practice as it relates to Social Work – A summary by the ANZASW

To explore Bi-Cultural practice and the concepts of White shame and guilt read, A Pākehā journey towards bicultural practice
through guilt, shame, identity and hope

Emma’s favourite video from Reconciliation Australia that references our shared story and the importance of acknowledging the past as part of building a future together.

Brene Brown – TED talks, books and writings

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.

‘The Magic of Metaphors: Engaging women at risk to prevent trauma in young children’

August 1, 2018

by metaphor with One Comment Community Development Community Work Cross Cultural practice Domestic and family violence Healing from Trauma Healing Our Children Metaphors Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Preventing the cycle of trauma Prevention of Trauma Project Implementation Reflective social work practice Remote social work SNAICC Conference Social work blog Social Work Practice Framework Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Trauma-informed practice Two way learning Violence and Abuse Working with Metaphors Working with Women

This was the topic of a presentation I gave at the SNAICC Conference in Canberra in September, 2017. Thanks to some spontaneous video recording and retrieval work from another social worker sitting in the audience that day, I’ve finally been able to edit this together.

This presentation occurred as I came to the end of my contract with Relationships Australia NT, as Co-Ordinator of the Healing Our Children project. It was the culmination of about six years work; most of which was in the development phase working on an idea raised by concerned Elders on the Tiwi Islands, plus a further two and a half years to roll out a pilot program in remote communities on the Tiwi Islands, Katherine and Palmerston.

As a Co-founder of the project, I am proud of this work and what we have been able to create. I am incredibly grateful for the time I spent learning together with the women of the Tiwi Islands and NE Arnhemland about ways we can respond to domestic and family violence to protect children and prevent trauma.

This was a fantastic project because it was developed in community with community using the knowledge, wisdom and stories of Aboriginal people’s lived experience. It did not come from outside or abroad. Programs like this are not cheap to develop and involve a lot of sweat and tears, time and patience. We did it all on a shoestring!

I decided not to continue on in the role as Co-Ordinator because as much as I had invested in this project and believed wholeheartedly in what we set out to achieve, it was underfunded. I was employed for two days per week to support and mentor a team of local people in several communities. Unfortunately, the extension of funding beyond 2018 then reduced, rather than capitalised on the investment and success we had already made during this trial. This was disappointing, as the women and communities had invested so much of their energy and time voluntarily, on an issue they were passionate about addressing. It means that the local people employed in the project (which is one of the biggest aims of the funding) receive only casual wages and service delivery is sporadic at best.

We can do better than this.

My point is that I want to see projects like this properly funded, especially ones that are developed by communities for their own people. So they are sustainable and have every chance of enacting real change and closing the gap!

Everything that I brought to this project through my social work practice framework is represented in some form in this presentation. This includes strong values and a commitment to social justice, self determination and empowerment for Aboriginal people. This video may appeal to social workers interested in anti-oppressive practice, narrative community work or using metaphors in therapeutic work.

This presentation covers:

Background to the ‘Healing Our Children’ project
The culturally safe project model
Shared values that underpinned the project
Metaphors and how we came to use them in our training, therapeutic groupwork, resource development and evaluation
The healing potential and therapeutic benefit of using metaphors in trauma work
How the resource kit “It Takes a Forest to Raise a Tree” was developed
How metaphors assisted us in safe dialogue with women who had children living at home with violence

Please note: Due to our video camera running out of batteries half way through, we have edited together the two parts of this presentation.

My hope is that ‘Healing Our Children’ moves beyond surviving, to thriving!
Support, follow and learn more here.

‘Healing Our Children’ project at Relationships Australia NT

‘Healing Our Children’ Facebook page

16708293_10158717599845355_4107766058613712414_n

‘Striving for Fairness and Equity in a Colonised World’ with Sammi Lillie

July 11, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Advocacy Child Protection Child Removal Culturally Fit Social Workers Decolonising social work practice Ethics and values Inspiring Stories Justice issues Justice-doing Listening Podcast Policy Racism Reconciliation Reflective social work practice Self determination Social Justice Social Work Graduates Social Work Placement Social Work Practice Framework Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Starting out in Indigenous social work Stolen Generation Talk the Walk podcast White privilege

It is a fitting tribute for NAIDOC week, that I should be interviewing Sammi Lillie on ‘Talk The Walk’ this week. In this conversation, Sammi honours the many Aboriginal women that have supported and vouched for her on her journey into social work with First Nations peoples. Having just graduated from her Masters of Social Work, Sammi reflects on her placement experience of co-ordinating the Child Removal campaign at ANTAR Qld (Australians for Native Title and Reconcilitation). Driven by personal family interests as well as deeply held values and a commitment to self determination, Sami shares the ingredients that have made practising Indigenous policy and advocacy work successful as a non-Indigenous woman. Social work students considering their future placements will find this episode invaluable and current non-indigenous practitioners will discover pearls of wisdom for standing alongside our Indigenous brothers and sisters for recognition and justice.

In episode 24 of Talk the Walk we explore:

Why social work students should consider a placement experience in policy and advocacy work
The current state of affairs in relation to the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families
The state of child protection legislation in Queensland after adopting the principle of self determination in 2017
The need for a national inquiry into the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care
How you can support the Family Matters initiative to make a difference
Sammi’s greatest learnings working on Indigenous advocacy campaigns and policy development
The social work theories that influenced Sammi’s developing practice framework
Sammi’s concept of a ‘pro-Indigenous theory’ arising out of her interest in the work of Bob Pease on pro-feminism
Sammi’s personal connection to the Stolen Generations and the other motivating factors that make her so passionate about addressing discrimination
How Sammi has avoided major struggles in the work by acting with integrity, honesty and ‘cultural courage’
Knowledge that social workers should have but are just not getting
Unpacking the values underpinning Sammi’s work and life
The mentors and rolemodels that continue to inspire Sammi in her work
Reflections on proud moments, avoiding mistakes easily made, and Sammi’s plans for the future
Final advice for other social work students considering their placements

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

ANTaR Queensland website and Sign Up here for their Newsletter

ANTaR National website and Sign Up here for their Newsletter

Social Work Focus, Autumn Edition, featuring Sammi’s article ‘Support for Self Determination imperative to address the over-representation of Indigenous Children in the Child Protection system’. You will need to be a member of the AASW to access this resource.

Like Sammi’s Facebook Page ‘Ally Through Advocacy’

Sammi’s Reading List
Clare Tilbery, ‘The over-representation of indigenous children in the Australian child welfare system’, International Journal of Social Welfare.
Bob Pease, ‘Men as Allies in Preventing Violence against Women: Principles and Practices for Promoting Accountability’.
Bindi Bennett, Sue Green, Stephanie Gilbert, Dawn Bessarab (eds), Our voices : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work.
Bindi Bennett, Joanna Zubrzycki, J & Violent Bacon, ‘What Do We Know? The Experiences of Social Workers Working Alongside Aboriginal People’.
Christine Fejo-King & Linda Briskman,‘Reversing colonial practices with Indigenous peoples’
Christine Fejo-King, Let’s Talk Kinship.
English, Peter. ‘Land rights and birthrights, (the great Australian hoax) : an examination of the rights of ownership of former Aboriginal land in Australia’.
Aileen Moreton- Robinson, Whitening Race, Aboriginal Studies Press, Australia.
Robyn Lynn, Rosamund Thorpe, Debra Miles, Christine Cutts, Anne Butcher, Linda Ford Murri Way! Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders reconstruct social welfare practice.
Tom Calma & Emily Priday, ‘Putting Indigenous Human Rights into Social Work Practice’, Australian Social Work.
Elizabeth Fernandez, ‘Child Protection and Vulnerable Families: Trends and Issues in the Australian Context’, Social Sciences.

Contact Sammi at sammililli(at)gmail(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

“You Don’t Have to Know Everything“ with Diana Jans

May 17, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Aboriginal world views Community Work Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Listening Maternal Health Social Work Podcast Remote social work Social Work with Indigenous communities Starting out in Indigenous social work Stolen Generation Strengths and Resilience Talk the Walk podcast Working with Women

It is a short but oh so sweet conversation, this week on ‘Talk the Walk’. As is so often the case, social workers are busy people and taking a half hour out of the daily schedule is precious time. My guest is Diana Jans, an Aboriginal maternal health social worker with Apunipima Cape York Health Council. After several years working as a teacher with vulnerable children, it was obvious to Diana she needed more skills to be able to meet their needs. Join me, as we take a quick trip down memory lane with Diana and discover what it takes to be a remote social worker.

In episode 23 of Talk the Walk, we explore:

What drew Diane to a career in Social Work after years of teaching in the Cape York region
A typical day in the life of a maternal health social worker and the challenges facing pregnant Aboriginal women in remote Australia
What it means to Diane to be living and working on the country where her great, great grandparents were born
Why her mum would say Diane was destined to be a social worker because of the value, beliefs and principles installed in her early life, as survivors of the Stolen Generation
The soon to be released journal article called “Coming To Town”, an initiative of service providers in Cairns supporting pregnant mums travelling for medical appointments
Key findings from their research and lessons for social workers and other allied health workers in providing a culturally supportive service
Diane’s advice for social workers just starting out in the field and the kind of attributes needed for remote work

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

‘Coming to Town’ will be available soon via the Apunipima Cape York Health Council website

Contact Diana Jans on 07 4037 7100

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Just some of the beautiful trees that spoke to Anne around the community and on homelands.

‘Opening Doors and Letting Stories Unfold’ with Anne Carrick

February 7, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Challenges and struggles Community Work Cross Cultural practice Culturally Fit Social Workers Domestic and family violence Ethics and values Health and wellbeing Inspiring Stories Podcast Reflective social work practice Remote social work Self determination Social and emotional wellbeing Social Work Placement Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Starting out in Indigenous social work Talk the Walk podcast Two way learning

Anne Carrick working on Kunibidji country

In episode 20 of ‘Talk the Walk’, my guest today captures the essence of what it takes to move from a big city to a remote community in the heart of Arnhemland. Social Worker, Anne Carrick spent three years immersed in community life and working in a social and emotional well-being program alongside 13 language groups and clans, each with their similar but different traditions living on Kunibidji land. Anne says “This is one of the most multi-lingual communities in the world.”

If you’ve ever considered working remote or wondered what it is like, Anne’s stories, memories and lessons learned are pure gold.

In this episode we explore:

Anne’s early learnings working with Aboriginal people as a young social worker in Adelaide and Ceduna
The thinking and motivation behind Anne’s move to the Northern Territory
One article every Balanda (whitefella) needs to read before working in Aboriginal communities
A typical day working in the social and emotional wellbeing program in a remote Aboriginal community
The effects of daily life being exposed to frequent domestic violence and suicide attempts
The role Elders and leaders took in responding to domestic and family violence
The outcomes Anne was able to achieve assisting women, children and families
How a social work assessment process differs in a remote community compared to a more urban settling, and the role of Aboriginal workers
How the community shaped new understandings of mental health using the positive concept of living a life ‘worried well’
Anne’s experience of supervising social work students; what students can do to prepare themselves for a remote placement; and good advice for anyone thinking of working remote
Anne’s challenges and struggles; and what sustained her
The vision, principles and values inherent in Anne’s social work practice framework and how she advocated for this in a system which had different ideas about tackling social issues
Tracing Anne’s ethics and values back to early childhood
The wake up call that may help you prevent burnout
Accessing good supervision and support

Just some of the beautiful trees that spoke to Anne around the community and on homelands.

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

‘Kartiya are like Toyotas’ by Kim Mahood

“National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s Mental Health and Social and Emotional Well-Being 2017-2023“, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (October 2017)

Social and Emotional Wellbeing Portal, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Contact Anne Carrick on anne475esp(at)hotmail(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

‘A Gentle Approach to Justice-Doing in Supervision’ with Barry Sullivan

February 1, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Culturally Fit Social Workers Ethics and values Justice-doing Podcast Remote social work Social Work with Indigenous communities Supervision Talk the Walk podcast

Welcome back to ‘Talk the Walk’ in 2018. Supervision goes under the microscope in this podcast episode with my guest, Barry Sullivan. Like many social workers, Barry came to the profession after more than 20 years in teaching. Arriving in Darwin in 1998, Barry started out in school counselling, before joining Relationships Australia where he has been ever since.

In episode 19, Barry demonstrates that you don’t necessarily need decades of direct experience working with Aboriginal people to offer a good reflective space for supervision. Barry’s narrative approach offers a respectful way for supervisees to reflect on their practice, using their own values, beliefs and principles.

Barry recently completed a Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work with a focus on ‘justice doing’ and its relationship to clinical supervision. Barry has supported a number of counselling staff in individual and group supervision including those working in remote Aboriginal communities in the Top End. The gentle and humble approach Barry takes in his work comes across in this warm conversation.

In this episode, we explore:

What Barry has discovered is the biggest ethical dilemmas and the most common issues discussed in supervision by social workers in remote communities
The approach Barry uses in supervision to support practitioners in working through ethical issues, looking through a cultural lens
The history of Barry’s interest in justice and his research into justice-doing in supervision
assisting supervisees to reflect on their own white privilege
how conversations about justice-doing in the supervision room has influenced practitioners and their work with Aboriginal clients
why Barry is attracted to the narrative approach to supervision and the principles behind this approach
How Barry got started in the narrative approach to social work and counselling practice
The childhood mentor that influenced Barry’s justice-doing in social work and how he intends to hold onto this principle in his future work

We apologise for the audio variability in this recording, but hopefully it does not distract from your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

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

Download Barry’s paper for the Masters of Narrative Therapy on ‘justice doing’ in supervision here
WRITTEN ESSAY NARRATIVE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH SYNTHESIS (1)

Writings by Vikki Reynolds

Contact Barry Sullivan at work on barry(at)ra-nt(dot)org(dot)au
or privately on barrysullivan96(at)yahoo(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

‘Taking the time to build relationships’ with Louise O’Connor

December 14, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Challenges and struggles Community Work Cross Cultural practice Culturally Fit Social Workers Domestic and family violence Narrative work with Aboriginal communities Podcast Remote social work Social Work with Indigenous communities Starting out in Indigenous social work Storytelling Talk the Walk podcast

There’s something about the blue sky, the sparse landscape and the weaving of cultural stories that drew Louise O’Connor to Australia’s red centre. Far from her homeland of Ireland and not satisfied with the big city lights of Melbourne, Louise O’Connor packed up her meagre belongings and head to Alice Springs. She found herself working with the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council as a Domestic and Family Violence Case Worker and hasn’t looked back. Since arriving, Louise has been drawn to narrative therapy as an approach for working respectfully with Aboriginal women. She now supports a team of case workers implementing the Council’s new domestic and family violence prevention framework developed in consultation with the Australian Childhood Foundation and the large group of women they support in the NPY lands. Louise brought with her a long history of case work with refugees and asylum seekers, youth and people at risk of homelessness or in crisis, both in Australia and Ireland. Louise’s passion for sharing stories and helping others tell theirs shines through in my conversation this week on ‘Talk the Walk’.

In episode 18, we explore:

Why Louise uplifted her life in Melbourne to venture into Central Australia and how she got started in community work
A brief history of the NPY Women’s Council and its work
A typical day in the life of a domestic and family violence caseworker in the NPY lands
How the Women’s Council moved away from a justice focus to a violence prevention framework using a trauma-informed, community development, narrative therapeutic approach to practice
What Louise loves about her job and her journey into narrative therapy
How Aboriginal women are developing their own tools of narrative practice for use in their community
The everyday challenges of remote work and what Louise does to look after herself
The ‘strong stories board’ project – one of Louise’ sparkling moments
Louises biggest learnings and awesome words of advice for community development and social workers thinking of working with remote Aboriginal communities

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.