Relationships Matter: Walking alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents
Storytelling is at the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. For tens of thousands of years, the practice has sustained communities, nurtured relationships and highlighted the interconnectedness of child, family and community. Although Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and caregivers have many stories of resilience, in a practice setting the space to share and reflect on these stories doesn’t always exist. The ability to create this space is crucial to working with these families.
As practitioners, it is important to build connection with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families you work with and acknowledge the importance of the connection they already have with their child, their family and their community. Connection is key to creating a space where these families can share their stories. By building connection, and creating this space, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents could explore the values and beliefs they hold about their parenting and child rearing practices and understand the impact intergenerational and complex trauma have had on their lives. Through their stories, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents will be more able to reflect on their strengths, acknowledge their resilience and identify their hopes for their children’s future.
This webinar, held during National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June), will discuss ways to work collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to build trust and genuine connection.
This webinar will help you:
- develop a whole of community approach in your work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
- develop a curious and non-stigmatising approach that allows families to identify their stressors and worries, including any experiences of trauma, loss and racism
- support families to identify motivators, including strengths, skills, connections, hopes and dreams
- understand how to take a child-centred approach by placing the child’s voice front and centre in conversations with family and community members.
This webinar will interest non-Aboriginal practitioners who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and children, including those who work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled or mainstream services, or private practice.
This webinar is co-produced by CFCA and Emerging Minds in a series focusing on children’s mental health. They are working together as part of the Emerging Minds: National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health, which is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care under the National Support for Child and Youth Mental Health Program.