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

Welcome

Esmai Manahan

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

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.

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

“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

Important Aspects of The Black and

White Model

Cultural safety is

paramount

Important Aspects of The Black and

White Model

Utilising Genograms to understand cultural and

familial relationships is essential

Important Aspects of The Black and

White Model

Working collaboratively

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

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’.

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

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

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

Aboriginal Children’s Healing Team

Approach

Promote trauma-informed approaches to understanding the needs of all

Aboriginal children in VACCA’s care

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

“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

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.

Aboriginal Map

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.

… 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

Impact of colonisation

Genocide

Stolen generation

Identity & connection lost

Distrust and fear

Loss in cultural practices/roles

Trauma & violence

Transgenerational trauma

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

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

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.

In Aboriginal child-rearing it is important

to remember …

The whole community plays a role in raising the child

(the attachment network).

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

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

Thank you for your interest

and attention!

Questions