This session is presented by Radhika Badhan, Kathleen Charles-Walsh, Jennifer St Clair, Kathy Ramsey Janse Van Nieuwenhuizen, and Lewis Gould-Fensom on behalf of Marah Prior, General Manager Health Programs, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Social and Emotional Wellbeing team.
The purpose of this session is to present three complementary topics to share knowledge about psychological practice within community controlled health services, to advance the psychology professions understanding of culturally responsive care, professional roles, and system level considerations essential for effective practice in these settings.
Presentation 1: Adapting EMDR protocols in alignment with the Social and Emotional Wellbeing framework when working with Aboriginal Australians
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is evidence-based therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there remains limited published literature examining its application with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Drawing on clinical experience and illustrative case examples from practice within Central Australia, this presentation explores how EMDR protocols can be adapted to support culturally safe and effective practice, guided by the Social and Emotional Wellbeing framework.
Clinical practice highlights the need for extended time devoted to preparation and relationship building, with trust recognised as central to the therapeutic relationship in the context of intergenerational trauma and the legacy of colonisation impacting help seeking. The effectiveness of EMDR is enhanced by working in partnership with Aboriginal people rather than simply applying modified techniques within a Western therapeutic model.
Presented by: Radhika Badhan
Presentation 2: Narrative therapy stories and approaches in Central Australia
Narrative therapy seeks to teach practitioners to hold respectful, non-blaming conversations with clients. Narrative therapy approaches share remarkable similarities to cultural traditions of storytelling. Narrative practice has found a home in Congress’s Women’s Together Group, alcohol and other drug group programs, and when providing intensive support to young people and their families. Narrative therapy asks us to use our clients’ stories as the vehicle for change, rather than diagnostic or clinical language that may subvert traditional ways of knowing.
Narrative therapy is considered a culturally safe and effective therapeutic technique for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. By asking practitioners to relinquish some of the power inherent in the therapeutic dynamic, it positions our clients as experts in their own lives; with skills, beliefs and commitments that they are already employing to navigate complex problems. Through making space for the voices, connection and values of our clients, practitioners may create the opportunities to join together in challenging the harmful, colonised narratives about Aboriginal people and communities that are prevalent in Central Australia.
Presented by Lewis Gould-Fensom and Kathy Ramsey Janse Van Nieuwenhuizen
Presentation 3: Neuropsychological assessment with first nation's people – The importance of cultural safety and clinical adaptation
Culturally safe practices are essential to the accuracy and therapeutic benefit of neuropsychological assessment when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This session discusses how a framework of cultural safety guides all aspects of neuropsychological intervention within our work at an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Service Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.
We will discuss practical strategies for developing and taking a collaborative approach to all aspects of the assessment process. Intervention sessions are grounded within a psychoeducation framework, with an emphasis placed on two-way conversation, use of accessible language, incorporation of cultural concepts of health and wellbeing, and an emphasis on strengths-based adaptation that remove pathologizing narratives of health and sickness.
Presented by Kathleen Charles-Walsh and Jennifer St Clair
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