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The Black and White
Model - Healing
Journey
Bouverie Family Centre
Indigenous Program –
Working with the Mob
Esmai Manahan
VACCA
Aboriginal Children’s
Healing Team – Nat Oska
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Welcome
Esmai Manahan
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Dadirri
Indigenous People of Australia have a depth of
spirituality that can enrich non-Indigenous spirits
in many ways.
Take some time to reflect on the following
message from a remarkable Aboriginal Woman
from Daly River, Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-
Baumann…
Dadirri
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The Black and White Model
A unique collaborative model of working with Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island families with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal therapists
working together in a culturally sensitive and safe context.
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The Black and White Model
Nat Oska & Esmai Manahan
provide a culturally safe place
for families to give voice to,
and acknowledge their
strengths and challenges,
using deep listening (Dadirri)
as families explore and tell
their stories
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“If you’ve come here to help
me, you’re wasting your time.
But if you’ve come because
your liberation is bound up
with mine, then let us work
together.”
Aunty Lilla Watson
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Important Aspects of The Black and
White Model
Cultural safety is
paramount
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Important Aspects of The Black and
White Model
Utilising Genograms to understand cultural and
familial relationships is essential
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Important Aspects of The Black and
White Model
Working collaboratively
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Important aspects of the Black and White
Model also include …
• Understanding and familiarity with Aboriginal
Service system for referrals
• Theoretical approaches that we find useful
include Narrative Therapy, Trauma and
Neurobiological theories, Attachment,
Resilience-building and Strengths-based
• Family mapping exercise with timelines
• Deep listening, patience and following families
at their pace
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A Working Definition of Family Therapy:
Family Therapy is a broad term that refers to the
modality of therapy where there is primary focus on
relationships, context and patterns rather than a focus
on the individual.
Within this modality there are a plethora of models or
frameworks, but all share this focus on relationships,
both to make sense of the issues that people present
with, and as a locus for therapeutic intervention.
Broadly speaking this is referred to as systemic
thinking and practice.
All Family Therapy is ‘culturally bound’.
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Indigenous Family Therapy training at
Bouverie
Since 2008, over eight cohorts of training in the Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy:
• 80 people have graduated
• 59 Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islanders
• 21 Non-Indigenous
• All are working with
families in Indigenous
Communities
• Two now hold a Masters
in Clinical Family Therapy
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VACCA – Aboriginal Children’s Healing
Team
Understanding trauma through a cultural lens:
• Everything goes through a cultural
lens – it is a VACCA model of thinking
and doing
• Accessibility of consults
• Ability to provide a theoretical and
cultural understanding when
advocating for children
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Aboriginal Children’s Healing Team
Approach
Undertake trauma-informed psycho-social assessments of each child to
develop a therapeutic intervention plan for carers and other
professionals, taking in to account the child’s cultural support plan
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Aboriginal Children’s Healing Team
Approach
Promote trauma-informed approaches to understanding the needs of all
Aboriginal children in VACCA’s care
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Always be conscious and inclusive of the historical
story and bigger picture that lies behind it all …
Family Therapy takes a
systemic and holistic
approach to working with
families, including those with
mental health issues.
Aboriginal Children’s Healing Team &
Working With The Mob Approach
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“All Indigenous peoples have been
touched by trauma in some way.
All Indigenous peoples deserve the
opportunity to work through this
trauma to heal …”
Social Justice Report, 2008
Australian Human Rights Commission
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Aboriginal Health Definition from NACCHO, 1989
Aboriginal health means not just the physical well-
being of an individual but refers to the social,
emotional and cultural well-being of
the whole Community in which each
individual is able to achieve their full
potential as a human being, thereby
bringing about the total well-being of
their Community.
It is a whole of life view and includes the cyclical
concept of life-death-life.
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Aboriginal Map
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Aboriginal people have diverse culture(s)
with compelling histories …
The ongoing impact of
colonisation, removal of land,
culture, language and lore,
along with the trans-
generational trauma of the
stolen generations, created
enduring and significant
hardships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’
social and emotional well-being.
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… these hardships include …
Continued grief and loss in
Aboriginal community
Living in continual poverty
Loss of identity and culture
Transgenerational trauma
Chronic disease
Low self-esteem and self worth
Incarceration
Overcrowding in family
homes
Premature death
Poor education outcomes
Substance misuse
Family violence
Racism and systemic
racism
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Impact of colonisation
Genocide
Stolen generation
Identity & connection lost
Distrust and fear
Loss in cultural practices/roles
Trauma & violence
Transgenerational trauma
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Transgenerational Trauma
Incarceration
High prevalence of child removals – Child
Protection and Welfare Service involvement
Distrust institutions i.e. Health, DHHS, Schools
School attendance and retention
Self-harm / Suicide
Employment
Issues of Family Violence, Abuse & Neglect,
Alcohol / Drug use and Mental Health
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The theory of intergenerational transmission of
trauma; the findings of major reports like Bringing
Them Home; the daily realities of abuse, suicide
and mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse;
and sky rocketing incarceration rates among
Indigenous communities, all point to the imperative
for community wide healing.
Social Justice Report, 2008,
Australian Human Rights Commission
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Culture and Attachment
When exploring the use of attachment theory cross-
culturally, it is important to acknowledge differences in
child-rearing practices across cultures and how this
impacts on how we understand and assess attachment.
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In Aboriginal child-rearing it is important
to remember …
The whole community plays a role in raising the child
(the attachment network).
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Professional Contacts
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service: (VAHS)
http://www.vahs.org.au/
Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association: (AIPA)
http://www.indigenouspsychology.com.au/our-members
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne:
http://www.svhm.org.au/Pages/Home.aspx
Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Org:
(VACCHO) http://www.vaccho.org.au/
Bouverie Family Centre http://www.bouverie.org.au
VACCA http://www.vacca.org
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Indigenous Family Therapy training at
Bouverie
Since 2008, over eight cohorts of training in the Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy:
• 80 people have graduated
• 59 Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islanders
• 21 Non-Indigenous
• All are working with
families in Indigenous
Communities
• Two now hold a Masters
in Clinical Family Therapy
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Thank you for your interest
and attention!
Questions