Untying Settler-Colonial Knots in Australian Psychology
This reflexive paper is written from the positionality of an Indigenous psychologist in response to the majority-Australia vote against constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the National Referendum, October 14th, 2023. I utilise the Net Metaphor conceptual tool offered by Jongbloed, Hendry, Behn Smith, and Gallagher Kʷunuhmen to articulate settler-colonialism in […]
Decolonising Psychology – Part 1
In this two-part series, Professor Pat Dudgeon AM, Belle Selkirk and Dr Joanna Alexi (Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing) share their experiences of decolonising psychology and take listeners on a journey through the impactful work of the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP). Listeners are also recommended to read the corresponding factsheet: Psychology education […]
Psychology education needs to reflect the lives of aspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
To support aspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to engage in psychology education in Australia, psychology curricula and teaching and learning programs should reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worldviews and lived experiences.
Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP) – Curricular approaches to increasing cultural competence and Indigenous participation in psychology education and training
Dudgeon, P. (2019). Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AlPEP) – Curricular approaches to increasing cultural competence and Indigenous participation in psychology education and training. Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant, The University of Western Australia, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. https://timhwb.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AIPEP-Final-Report.pdf
The Lancet Commission on Self-harm
This fact sheet provides a summary of the findings of The Lancet Commission on Self-harm (see: https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/self-harm)
Decolonising psychology: The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project
Professor Pat Dudgeon and her UWA colleagues Belle Selkirk and Dr Joanna Alexi led a plenary session at APAC’s inaugural Community of Practice conference (October 30th, 2024).
Fact sheet: Professional competencies for psychologists. Understanding Competency 8: Demonstrates a health equity and human rights approach when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, families and communities
A review of the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous Australian Peoples – considerations, challenges and opportunities
Self-determination in programmes of perinatal health for Aboriginal Communities: A systematic review
Objective The importance of self-determination in restoring the wellbeing of Australian First Nations peoples is becoming understood. For thousands of years, Aboriginal women gave birth on Country and Grandmothers’ Lore and Women’s Business facilitated the survival of the oldest living civilisations on earth. Following colonisation, however, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practices of maternal and […]
Making Self-Care a regular part of practice: A reflection from one Aboriginal health professional to another
Gudu-Guduwa: Healing disconnection through incorporating bush and animal-assisted therapies into therapeutic practice: A First Nations reflection
As mental health therapists, too often we see outward symptoms of lives impacted by complex trauma. Disconnection from self, others (families and community), and Country is at a crisis point. Looking to our First Nations healing knowledges, the author explores her experiences as a First Nations woman and therapist, and how she incorporates bush and […]
Aboriginal Practitioners’ Perspectives on Culturally Informed Practice for Trauma Healing in Australia
Colonisation continues to impact Aboriginal children and families through perpetual cycles of transgenerational trauma. To achieve culturally safe and effective healing, practitioners working with Aboriginal people must be culturally competent, yet existing research suggests culturally informed practice (CIP) is often poorly understood and implemented by many practitioners. Centring Indigenous perspectives, the present study explored how […]
Boongs, Bigots, and Bystanders: Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Experiences of Racism and Prejudice and their Implications for Psychology in Australia
‘Ready, steady. Practice!’: How working better with Indigenous Australian people can take as little as three minutes of your time
For fans of a certain afternoon cooking show, the title of this article may bring to mind the frantic preparation of apparently delectable meals relying on a restricted range of ingredients within a restrictive time frame. The notion that good things may be achieved in a short period is applied in this article which proposes […]
Understanding the Wellbeing Needs of First Nations Children in Out-of-Home Care in Australia: A Comprehensive Literature Review
Introduction: Despite the increasing overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter respectfully referred to as First Nations) children living in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia, little is known about their wellbeing needs. This comprehensive literature review aimed to identify these needs and the features of care required to meet them. Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, […]
What Matters to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth (WM2Y): a study protocol to develop a national youth well-being measure
Introduction Adolescents face challenges associated with unprecedented environmental, social and technological changes. The impacts of colonisation, intergenerational trauma, racism and socioeconomic disadvantage intensify these challenges for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents also have cultural, spiritual, family and community capital that fosters their well-being.To date, little research […]
Young urban Aboriginal adults’ perspectives of culture and SEWB
Critical Reflexivity in Indigenous and Cross-cultural Psychology: A Decolonial Approach to Curriculum
Highlights Critical reflexivity is a mechanism for working toward decoloniality in higher education. We analyzed Indigenous and cross-cultural psychology students? written reflections. Analyses revealed that students negotiate experiences of discomfort and uncertainty in the classroom. Findings support the value of discomfort for prompting transformations among students. We pose a commentary on the tensions inherent to […]
Use of the Westerman Aboriginal Symptoms Checklist – Youth (WASC-Y) to screen for mental health problems in Indigenous youth in custody
The primary aim of this study was to screen for mental health problems in Australian Indigenous young people in a youth detention centre using the Westerman Aboriginal Symptoms Checklist – Youth (WASC-Y). Over the study period, all Indigenous young people admitted into custody were referred for screening with the WASC-Y, a culturally validated fivescaled instrument […]
The need for culturally valid psychological assessment tools in Indigenous mental health
A clear understanding of the nature and extent of suicidal behaviour and other mental health issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations has been limited by the national failure to develop clinically and culturally valid assessments and to ensure the cultural competence of practitioners. The default position for Australian mental health researchers is to […]
The Westerman Aboriginal Symptom Checklist – Youth Version: national data from a clinical sample of Aboriginal youth
To produce national clinical norms for WASC-Y, examine the internal consistency of the WASC-Y scales, compare scores from a clinical sample with previously published community sample data, and test the degree to which other scales predict the Suicide Scale. We analysed WASC-Y data from 1226 Aboriginal youth who had presented to mental health services between […]
Truth and reconciliation for whom? Transitional justice for Indigenous peoples in American psychology.
In October 2021, the American Psychological Association apologized to people of color in the United States for its role in systemic racism. Spurred by a national racial reckoning, Indigenous Peoples have been regularly incorporated into initiatives redressing America’s legacy of racism. Although Indigenous Peoples have been racialized during the formation of the United States, this […]
Journey of a Lifer: A Peter Smith story
Finding our Voice: Supporting social and emotional wellbeing after the referendum
In the leadup to National Sorry Day on Sunday 26 May, Embrace @ Telethon Kids Institute and Kulunga Aboriginal Unit held Finding our Voice: Supporting social and emotional wellbeing after the referendum, a webinar on the impact of last October’s referendum on the Voice to Parliament. Presenters: Embrace Co-Director Professor Helen Milroy AM, Co-Director of […]
Strategies for coping and dealing with lateral violence among Aboriginal people living in south-east Australia
Objective Lateral violence, a group of behaviours directed towards people of the same group, is considered endemic among Aboriginal people. Behaviours include bullying, gossiping, isolation or exclusion of certain group members, and challenges to one’s Aboriginal identity. Lateral violence impacts all aspects of one’s life. Due to its pervasiveness, this qualitative study investigated strategies employed […]
