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TeaH (Turn ‘em around Healing): a therapeutic model for working with traumatised children on Aboriginal communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2019

Michelle Moss Open the ORCID record for Michelle Moss [Opens in a new window]  and
Anthony Duwun Lee
Michelle Moss*
Affiliation:
Health Science, College of Health and Human Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina Campus, Northern Territory, Australia
Anthony Duwun Lee
Affiliation:
Flinders University CDU Campus, College of Health and Human Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Michelle Moss, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Aboriginal children in Australia are over-represented in both the child protection and juvenile justice systems. Using Western therapeutic models of practice with Aboriginal people who live in remote communities can be highly problematic. Moreover, the historical legacy of past and present legislation, government interventions and racist service provision needs to be acknowledged and addressed prior to any service implementation. This paper presents a therapeutic model of practice that incorporates Aboriginal concepts of healing and spirit within a creative therapeutic framework. It will demonstrate how the model works through principles of community engagement and capacity building, enabling the provision of a culturally derived therapeutic intervention that involves a synergy of both Aboriginal- and Western-based healing practices. The findings from the implementation of the TeaH model affirm the need to incorporate Aboriginal concepts of healing, spirit and creative therapies into mainstream practice with Aboriginal people.

Keywords

Traumahealingtherapeutic servicesremote communitiesmedical modelspirit
Type
AFC Conference Paper
Information
Children Australia , Volume 44 , Issue 2: Special Conference Issue – The Neuroscience of Trauma and Development in The Everyday , June 2019 , pp. 55 - 59
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019 

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