Decolonising clinical psychology: National and international perspectives
Background Throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries psychology has been used as a tool of colonisation. Critical theorists argue that in order to improve the wellbeing of those most affected by inequality, psychology programs need to be decolonised. In the Australian context, research has primarily focused on what decolonised curricula might look (e.g., Dudgeon 2017; […]
AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research
What Contributions, if Any, Can Non-Indigenous Researchers Offer Toward Decolonizing Health Research?
Four non-Indigenous academics share lessons learned through our reflective processes while working with Indigenous Australian partners on a health research project. We foregrounded reflexivity in our work to raise consciousness regarding how colonizing mindsets-that do not privilege Indigenous ways of knowing or recognize Indigenous land and sovereignty-exist within ourselves and the institutions within which we […]
The Final Quarter
Adam Goodes was a champion AFL footballer and Indigenous leader. In the final three years of his playing career he became a lightning rod for a heated public debate and widespread media commentary that divided the nation. He publicly called out racism, was named Australian of the Year, was accused of staging for free kicks, […]
Decolonising Applied Social Psychology: Culture, Indigeneity and Coloniality
Culturally informed case conceptualisation: Developing a clinical psychology approach to treatment planning for non-Indigenous psychologists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients
Background:In the context of the Australian Psychological Society’sformalapology and the increasing awareness of the need to develop interventions thatimprove the social and emotional wellbeing of clients who identify from Abo-riginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural backgrounds, this article considers theclinical psychology case conceptualisation. The primary aim of any case concep-tualisation is to inform intervention and, […]
Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders
Working Together with Remote Indigenous Communities to Facilitate Adapting to Using Energy Wisely: Barriers and Enablers
A $12 million Commonwealth funded consortium project trialled energy efficiency initiatives in six remote Indigenous communities over three years. This project, which won several awards, employed and educated over 80 local Yolŋu to educate their fellow community members to use power wisely. The research and evaluation component was designed together by Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers […]
Housing and Overcrowding in Remote Indigenous Communities: Impacts and Solutions from a Holistic Perspective
Over three years, a $12 million Commonwealth funded consortium project implemented energy efficiency initiatives in six remote Indigenous communities. An ecological community-based participatory action research design that utilized qualitative and quantitative research approaches in a multiple methods design was employed to clarify how Yolŋu use power, to identify the barriers and enablers of Yolŋu using […]
The aftermath of Aboriginal suicide: Lived experience as the missing foundation for suicide prevention and postvention
This paper aimed to highlight the systemic and theoretical barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been bereaved by suicide. Incorporating the lived experiences of two advocates, Leilani Darwin and Julie Turner, and professional experiences of Matthew Trindall and Laura Ross, the paper explores the importance of including Aboriginal lived experiences in […]
Decolonising Psychology: Validating Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Objective Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) is a multifaceted concept that acknowledges that a person’s wellbeing is determined by a range of inter-related domains: body, mind and emotions, family and kinship, community, culture, Country, and spirituality. This paper explores the meaning of these seven domains of SEWB. Method A […]
The Australian Psychological Society’s Apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
The gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non‐Indigenous health, education, mental health, and social and emotional wellbeing remains a major concern. Bridging these gaps and working in culturally safe and responsive ways with people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent presents considerable challenges, including for the discipline and profession of psychology. At […]
The deconstruction exercise: an assessment tool for enhancing critical thinking in cultural safety education.
The ‘deconstruction exercise’ aims to give non-Indigenous health profession students the ability to recognise language that is imbued with power imbalance, so as to avoid the perpetuation of racialised ways of interacting with Indigenous peoples in the health system. Informed by Ngarrindjeri and Malak Malak perspectives, this is a measured anti–racism strategy, one able to […]
Colonisation, racism and Indigenous health
In settler-colonies such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the historical impacts of colonisation on the health, social, economic and cultural experiences of Indigenous peoples are well documented. However, despite being a commonly deployed trope, there has been scant attention paid to precisely how colonial processes contribute to contemporary disparities in health […]
Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project Curriculum Framework
The objective of the AIPEP Curriculum Framework is to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges are embedded within undergraduate and postgraduate level psychology education.
Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project Workforce Capabilities Framework
The objective of the AIPEP Workforce Capabilities Framework is to document the knowledge, skills and values required of psychologists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in order to build the capacity and competency of all psychology graduates to work appropriately and effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project Guidelines for Increasing the Recruitment, Retention and Graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Psychology Students
AIPEP Guidelines for Increasing the Recruitment, Retention and Graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Psychology Students.
Gambay – Languages Map
First Languages Australia is working with regional language centres nationally to develop a map of Australian languages that reflects the names and groupings favoured by community. Regional language centres have provided updated maps for their regions to be collated into this interactive map of languages and language families. Some regions have choosen to show related […]
The Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH): a long-term platform for closing the gap
The full potential for research to improve Aboriginal health has not yet been realised. This paper describes an established long-term action partnership between Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs), the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales (AH&MRC), researchers and the Sax Institute, which is committed to using high-quality data to bring […]
First languages Australia
First Languages Australia works to ensure that the wishes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members are voiced in key decision-making processes that impact on the current and future management of their languages. This will in turn shape the survival of Australia’s traditional languages into the future. The organisation facilitates discussions between communities and […]
Improving healthcare for Aboriginal Australians through effective engagement between community and health services
Background Effectively addressing health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians is long overdue. Health services engaging Aboriginal communities in designing and delivering healthcare is one way to tackle the issue. This paper presents findings from evaluating a unique strategy of community engagement between local Aboriginal people and health providers across five districts in Perth, Western […]
Healing for Our Stolen Generations: sharing our stories
This report is a review of the first two years of projects funded under the Healing Foundation’s Stolen Generations Initiative 2013-2015.
Achieving stability for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care – SNAICC Policy Position Statement
SNAICC and many of its members have been watching with concern as, around the country, a range of processes are undertaken to progress longer-term care arrangements for children. They vary in detail but have been broadly described as permanency planning measures. Some of these proposals have already taken the form of legislative changes (NSW, Vic. […]
The Jekkora group: an Aboriginal model of early identification, and support of persons with psychological distress and suicidal ideation in rural communities
Objective: To describe a community developed Aboriginal model for early identification and referral of people with psychological distress and suicidal ideation. Method: A description of an Aboriginal mental health service model is presented, as established at the Njernda Aboriginal Corporation, Echuca, Victoria. Results: The model is presented under five headings: Setting; Recruitment and appointment of […]
What works in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention?
Suicide is a complex behaviour with many causes. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples there are specific cultural, historical, and political considerations that contribute to the high prevalence, and that require the rethinking of conventional models and assumptions.