australian outback

‘Connecting in Time and Place’ With Michelle Bates

Michelle Bates had spent most of her life in Sydney’s South West raising a family, but something else was calling her to the outback.  Moving to Tennant Creek for a short stint helping Aboriginal people understand and implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme Plan, Michelle found herself putting down roots after falling in the love with the colours, the country and the stories of the Warumungu people.

Among her various roles in Tennant Creek, Michelle is a counsellor and narrative practitioner, advocate, mentor and leader.  She volunteers at the Paterson Street Hub, a collective space in the main street of Tennant Creek which offers safety and opportunities for learning, sharing and contribution.  This is a delightful interview of what its like to fall in love with a place and do the work that you really love.

In Episode 34 of ‘Talk the Walk’ we explore:

  • What drew Michelle to Tennant Creek to find an anchored adventure and what keeps her there
  • The history of Michelle’s connection to working towards systems change and living well in community together
  • The impact of connection to place and the role of nurturing women on Michelle’s early life and its resonance in remote Australia
  • A narrative project unearthing the wisdom of Aboriginal children in story and play, witnessed by important adults in their lives
  • What it means to children to uncover stories about the things that are important to them in childhood 
  •  An opportunity for listeners to provide outsider witness responses to the stories of Tennant Creek children
  • Key values and qualities needed to work with children in remote communities
  • The story of Patterson St Hub, a thriving inspiring gathering place for community members
  • The challenges of living and working remotely and how struggles become rich opportunities for growth
  • The small sparkling moments of resistance that makes Michelle’s day
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To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.

You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to Follow up After the Episode

Michelle’s Masters project through The Dulwich Centre (link to be provided when available)

Patterson St Hub, Tennant Creek website

Patterson St hub on Instagram

Michelle Bates on Instagram

Connect with Michelle Bates on LinkedIn

Email Michelle at michelle.bates@ymail.com

Suhaila Rizqallah

“Exploring the World of Social Policy in Australia’s Most Remote Communities” with Suhaila Rizqallah

What does it take to be a mover and shaker in the development of social policy in the Northern Territory?  Who better to ask than the 2016 NT Social Worker of the Year, Suhaila Rizqallah.  My guest today has traipsed back and forth on country for over two decades and has a really good handle on the issues that affect Aboriginal people in Northern Australia.  This interview provides a glimpse into the wide range of experiences, observations and actions, Suhaila has undertaken during her varied and deeply satisfying career.

On Episode 30 on Talk the Walk, we explore:

  • A day in the life of a Senior Contract Administrator for the Northern Region of Australia
  • Reflections on a 24-year journey from social work student at Anglicare to now overseeing contractual arrangements with NGO’s
  • The one big challenge for remote communities implementing services
  • Why Homelands policy has been the hardest to grapple with yet the most rewarding to see implemented by the Northern Territory government
  • What it was like to be called across to work in a multidisciplinary team on the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children
  • Thoughts on how legislation should be shaped in the future to address the over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in out of home care and the juvenile justice system
  • Access to good news stories from across the Northern Region
  • Helping remote Aboriginal communities recover after natural disaster and the implementation of welfare recovery policy
  • The unusual turning point that set Suhaila on the road to social work and be one of the first to graduate in the NT
  • The principles and values that has driven Suhaila’s career from her early days as a child protection worker
  • The influence of Suhaila’s Palestinian culture and family dynamics on her life and work
  • A beautiful sparkling moment that signifies all the hard work is worth it
  • Hopes for the future including the Bush Odyssey project

To listen, simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.

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You can subscribe to future podcast episodes from our Subscription page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode:

West Arnhem Regional Council

East Arnhem Regional Council

Suhaila receiving the Mary Moylan NT Social Worker of the Year Award 2016

Contact Suhaila Rizqallah at ieelmag(at)bigpond(dot)com(dot)au

Anna McCracken

‘Roaming Around Australia and Listening Deeply’ with Anna McCracken

How do you combine a love of travel with social work and human rights advocacy?   Just ask Anna McCracken.  Anna has been roaming around remote Australia in her 4 wheel drive since 2013, listening to the stories of First Nations Australians and shaping the roll-out of the NDIS.

With an undergraduate degree in Social Work and a Masters in Human Rights Law, Anna’s nomadic lifestyle allows her to travel the country working in partnership with communities and as a link to business and Government around resourcing community led solutions to social challenges.   Anna’s current passion project is exploring the role immersive technology can play in storytelling and language preservation in remote communities.

As a facilitator of conversation and an excavator of the ‘real story’, this interview with Anna lives up to expectations.  We get to know the person behind the passion, and what it takes to roll up the swag and hit the road with no agenda but to do what social workers do best – listen deeply.

In episode 29 of ‘Talk the Walk’, we explore:

  • Anna’s first observations as a social work graduate about social policy and its impact in regional and remote Australia
  • What motivated Anna to undertake undertake further study in Human Rights Law and the learnings both professional and personal which led to becoming an Advocate for disability rights
  • the unique skills social workers offer as a conduit between clients and service providers to give them a voice
  • Reflections on Aboriginal people’s experience of the NDIS and its influence in shaping the scheme
  • Why Western Australian communities have embraced immersive technologies
  • The potential for virtual reality to be used with children who have development, social and behavioural challenges
  • Pondering the ethical implications of VR
  • the value of having difficult conversations about White Privilege
  • Anna’s motivations and influences inspired by a great Aboriginal activist and a grandfather who had all the time in the world
  • The questions around who she is as a social worker practitioner that keeps Anna awake at night

To listen, simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
Listen to Stitcher
You can subscribe to future podcast episodes from our Subscription page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode:

Lila Watson

Follow Anna McCracken on Instagram

Connect with Anna McCracken on LinkedIn

Phoria

Cambodian Children’s Trust

Anna McCracken’s favourite podcast to listen to while roaming around is On Being with Krista Trippett.   Anna’s favourite episodes are interviews with David Whyte, America Ferrera and John Paul Lederach.

Alanna Audus

“Coming From a Place of Not Knowing” with Alanna Audus

There is something to be said about social workers who are graciously willing to tell their story, just 12 months after diving into their remote social work experience.  Still in the midst of a giant learning curve, Alanna Audus joins me on Talk the Walk to share the ups, downs and delicious highlights of her beginnings in Alice Springs.  Alanna is a newcomer to narrative therapy and is delighted with the way her somewhat ‘kooky’ conversations with people are beginning to shape their lives for the better.  She works as a generalist and victims of crime counsellor for CatholicCare NT with some of the most marginalised Aboriginal people in Australia.

This conversation is as delightful as it is authentic.  So be warned, Alanna’s heartfelt generosity may inspire you to pack up your city life and go bush.

On episode 27, we explore:

  • What led Alanna to pack up all her belongings and head to Alice Springs
  • What it’s really like starting out in social work with no prior experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • Alanna’s unique story which has influenced her passion and drive for social justice
  • A ‘fly on the wall’ account of Alanna’s approach to counselling, starting out in narrative therapy
  • Why relationships are at the heart of Alanna’s practice and feeling okay about not knowing
  • The rich conversations that transpire working with metaphors
  • Methods of narrative documentation such as letter writing which record people’s processes of acknowledgement and achievement, and what difference this makes to clients
  • Struggles and challenges Alanna has faced in her first year in a remote community and the notion of ‘doing therapy on yourself everyday’
  • The influence of nature and the raw environment on Alanna’s self care, allowing her to do high intensity social work
  • Reflections on resilience in ourselves and our clients
  • The people, institutions and the influence of radical politics that have shaped Alanna’s social work practice framework and life
  • Reflections on the NT Emergency Intervention more than a decade on, a continuation of ongoing oppression and disempowerment which began with colonisation
  • Words of wisdom for other social workers considering the move from big city to remote outback and avoiding burnout
  • A sparkling moment from Alanna’s last week

To listen, simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
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You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Contact Alanna on alanna.audus(at)gmail(dot)com

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‘The Magic of Metaphors:  Engaging women at risk to prevent trauma in young children’

This was the topic of a presentation I gave at the SNAICC Conference in Canberra in September, 2017.  Thanks to some spontaneous video recording and retrieval work from another social worker sitting in the audience that day, I’ve finally been able to edit this together.

This presentation occurred as I came to the end of my contract with Relationships Australia NT, as Co-Ordinator of the Healing Our Children project.  It was the culmination of about six years work; most of which was in the development phase working on an idea raised by concerned Elders on the Tiwi Islands, plus a further two and a half years to roll out a pilot program in remote communities on the Tiwi Islands, Katherine and Palmerston.

As a Co-founder of the project, I am proud of this work and what we have been able to create.  I am incredibly grateful for the time I spent learning together with the women of the Tiwi Islands and NE Arnhemland about ways we can respond to domestic and family violence to protect children and prevent trauma.

This was a fantastic project because it was developed in community with community using the knowledge, wisdom and stories of Aboriginal people’s lived experience.  It did not come from outside or abroad.  Programs like this are not cheap to develop and involve a lot of sweat and tears, time and patience.  We did it all on a shoestring!

I decided not to continue on in the role as Co-Ordinator because as much as I had invested in this project and believed wholeheartedly in what we set out to achieve, it was underfunded.  I was employed for two days per week to support and mentor a team of local people in several communities.  Unfortunately, the extension of funding beyond 2018 then reduced, rather than capitalised on the investment and success we had already made during this trial.  This was disappointing, as the women and communities had invested so much of their energy and time voluntarily, on an issue they were passionate about addressing.  It means that the local people employed in the project (which is one of the biggest aims of the funding) receive only casual wages and service delivery is sporadic at best.

We can do better than this.

My point is that I want to see projects like this properly funded, especially ones that are developed by communities for their own people.  So they are sustainable and have every chance of enacting real change and closing the gap!

Everything that I brought to this project through my social work practice framework is represented in some form in this presentation.  This includes strong values and a commitment to social justice, self determination and empowerment for Aboriginal people.  This video may appeal to social workers interested in anti-oppressive practice, narrative community work or using metaphors in therapeutic work.

This presentation covers:

  • Background to the ‘Healing Our Children’ project
  • The culturally safe project model
  • Shared values that underpinned the project
  • Metaphors and how we came to use them in our training, therapeutic groupwork, resource development and evaluation
  • The healing potential and therapeutic benefit of using metaphors in trauma work
  • How the resource kit “It Takes a Forest to Raise a Tree” was developed
  • How metaphors assisted us in safe dialogue with women who had children living at home with violence
Please note:  Due to our video camera running out of batteries half way through, we have edited together the two parts of this presentation.

 

 

My hope is that ‘Healing Our Children’ moves beyond surviving, to thriving!
Support, follow and learn more here.

‘Healing Our Children’ project at Relationships Australia NT

‘Healing Our Children’ Facebook page

Aurukun Baby One Program_7

“You Don’t Have to Know Everything“ with Diana Jans

It is a short but oh so sweet conversation, this week on ‘Talk the Walk’.  As is so often the case, social workers are busy people and taking a half hour out of the daily schedule is precious time.  My guest is Diana Jans, an Aboriginal maternal health social worker with Apunipima Cape York Health Council.   After several years working as a teacher with vulnerable children, it was obvious to Diana she needed more skills to be able to meet their needs.  Join me, as we take a quick trip down memory lane with Diana and discover what it takes to be a remote social worker.

In episode 23 of Talk the Walk, we explore:

  • What drew Diane to a career in Social Work after years of teaching in the Cape York region
  • A typical day in the life of a maternal health social worker and the challenges facing pregnant Aboriginal women in remote Australia
  • What it means to Diane to be living and working on the country where her great, great grandparents were born
  • Why her mum would say Diane was destined to be a social worker because of the value, beliefs and principles installed in her early life, as survivors of the Stolen Generation
  • The soon to be released journal article called “Coming To Town”, an initiative of service providers in Cairns supporting pregnant mums travelling for medical appointments
  • Key findings from their research and lessons for social workers and other allied health workers in providing a culturally supportive service
  • Diane’s advice for social workers just starting out in the field and the kind of attributes needed for remote work

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
Listen to Stitcher
You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

‘Coming to Town’ will be available soon via the Apunipima Cape York Health Council website 

Contact Diana Jans on 07 4037 7100

 

The painting created by Yolngu communities for FAST NT

‘Knowing your Why and Finding your How’ with Malcolm Galbraith

In this episode of Talk the Walk, we delve into the working life of Malcolm Galbraith, Manager of Families and Schools Together (FAST) in the Northern Territory.   We discover not only what makes FAST one of the most successful strengths-based programs in remote Australia, but what drives the man behind the project.   A man of strong Christian faith, Malcolm admits some of his ideas might be controversial, yet the evidence speaks for itself – Yolngu people love it!   Before you scoff at the idea of bringing an American-based program into an Indigenous Australian context, listen to this story.  As intriguing as it is thoughtful, this behind the scenes tour of FAST NT may just turn your worldview on its head.

In episode 21 of Talk the Walk, we explore:

  • The underpinning principles which contributes to the success of the FAST program working across cultures
  • Essentials for engaging vulnerable Aboriginal families successfully
  • The stories and symbols of meaning in the painting (pictured here) symbolising the work of FAST in remote communities, developed with Yolŋu staff of NE Arnhemland
  • Malcolm’s journey from tradie, to youth worker, to heading up a Family Strengthening program in the Northern Territory
  • The good old fashioned family values inherited from early life experiences that Malcolm brings to his Management role
  • What values mean to Malcolm and how these spill over into workplace relationships, negotiating boundaries and understanding cultural differences
  • The challenge of the concept of equity and how this plays out in the lives of people Malcolm works with
  • What sets FAST apart from other NGO and Government service providers which has earned them respect from local communities
  • The importance of self awareness when things don’t go as planned (because they won’t) and strengths-based routines with staff that bring out the best in each other, to promote the best outcomes for clients
  • Indicators of success from FAST parents and teachers
  • Malcolm’s influencers and how his Christian faith has shaped his life’s work and developed his “why’
  • Malcolm’s disclosure around qualifications on paper versus good practice, and traversing the space between academia and field work
  • The sorts of transferable skills, knowledge and values that is essential to this work
  • And much, much more

The painting was created by Yolŋu communities for FAST NT

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
Listen to Stitcher
You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Viktor Frankl

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory of ecological development of children

FAST Northern Territory website

FAST Australia website

FAST International website

Email Mal at mal.galbraith(at)fastnt(dot)org(dot)au

Just some of the beautiful trees that spoke to Anne around the community and on homelands.

‘Opening Doors and Letting Stories Unfold’ with Anne Carrick

Anne Carrick working on Kunibidji country

In episode 20 of ‘Talk the Walk’, my guest today captures the essence of what it takes to move from a big city to a remote community in the heart of Arnhemland.   Social Worker, Anne Carrick spent three years immersed in community life and working in a social and emotional well-being program alongside 13 language groups and clans, each with their similar but different traditions living on Kunibidji land.  Anne says “This is one of the most multi-lingual communities in the world.”

If you’ve ever considered working remote or wondered what it is like, Anne’s stories, memories and lessons learned are pure gold.

In this episode we explore:

  • Anne’s early learnings working with Aboriginal people as a young social worker in Adelaide and Ceduna
  • The thinking and motivation behind Anne’s move to the Northern Territory
  • One article every Balanda (whitefella) needs to read before working in Aboriginal communities
  • A typical day working in the social and emotional wellbeing program in a remote Aboriginal community
  • The effects of daily life being exposed to frequent domestic violence and suicide attempts
  • The role Elders and leaders took in responding to domestic and family violence
  • The outcomes Anne was able to achieve assisting women, children and families
  • How a social work assessment process differs in a remote community compared to a more urban settling, and the role of Aboriginal workers
  • How the community shaped new understandings of mental health using the positive concept of living a life ‘worried well’
  • Anne’s experience of supervising social work students; what students can do to prepare themselves for a remote placement; and good advice for anyone thinking of working remote
  • Anne’s challenges and struggles; and what sustained her
  • The vision, principles and values inherent in Anne’s social work practice framework and how she advocated for this in a system which had different ideas about tackling social issues
  • Tracing Anne’s ethics and values back to early childhood
  • The wake up call that may help you prevent burnout
  • Accessing good supervision and support

Just some of the beautiful trees that spoke to Anne around the community and on homelands.

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
Listen to Stitcher
You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

‘Kartiya are like Toyotas’ by Kim Mahood

“National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s Mental Health and Social and Emotional Well-Being 2017-2023, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (October 2017)

Social and Emotional Wellbeing Portal, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Contact Anne Carrick on anne475esp(at)hotmail(dot)com

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‘A Gentle Approach to Justice-Doing in Supervision’ with Barry Sullivan

Welcome back to ‘Talk the Walk’ in 2018.  Supervision goes under the microscope in this podcast episode with my guest, Barry Sullivan.  Like many social workers, Barry came to the profession after more than 20 years in teaching.  Arriving in Darwin in 1998, Barry started out in school counselling, before joining Relationships Australia where he has been ever since.

In episode 19, Barry demonstrates that you don’t necessarily need decades of direct experience working with Aboriginal people to offer a good reflective space for supervision. Barry’s narrative approach offers a respectful way for supervisees to reflect on their practice, using their own values, beliefs and principles.

Barry recently completed a Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work with a focus on ‘justice doing’ and its relationship to clinical supervision.  Barry has supported a number of counselling staff in individual and group supervision including those working in remote Aboriginal communities in the Top End.  The gentle and humble approach Barry takes in his work comes across in this warm conversation.

In this episode, we explore:

  • What Barry has discovered is the biggest ethical dilemmas and the most common issues discussed in supervision by social workers in remote communities
  • The approach Barry uses in supervision to support practitioners in working through ethical issues, looking through a cultural lens
  • The history of Barry’s interest in justice and his research into justice-doing in supervision
  • assisting supervisees to reflect on their own white privilege
  • how conversations about justice-doing in the supervision room has influenced practitioners and their work with Aboriginal clients
  • why Barry is attracted to the narrative approach to supervision and the principles behind this approach
  • How Barry got started in the narrative approach to social work and counselling practice
  • The childhood mentor that influenced Barry’s justice-doing in social work and how he intends to hold onto this principle in his future work

We apologise for the audio variability in this recording, but hopefully it does not distract from your listening pleasure.  Enjoy!

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
Listen to Stitcher
You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

Download Barry’s paper for the Masters of Narrative Therapy on ‘justice doing’ in supervision here
WRITTEN ESSAY NARRATIVE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH SYNTHESIS (1)

Writings by Vikki Reynolds

Contact Barry Sullivan at work on barry(at)ra-nt(dot)org(dot)au
or privately on barrysullivan96(at)yahoo(dot)com

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‘Taking the time to build relationships’ with Louise O’Connor

There’s something about the blue sky, the sparse landscape and the weaving of cultural stories that drew Louise O’Connor to Australia’s red centre.  Far from her homeland of Ireland and not satisfied with the big city lights of Melbourne, Louise O’Connor packed up her meagre belongings and head to Alice Springs.  She found herself working with the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council as a Domestic and Family Violence Case Worker and hasn’t looked back.  Since arriving, Louise has been drawn to narrative therapy as an approach for working respectfully with Aboriginal women.  She now supports a team of case workers implementing the Council’s new domestic and family violence prevention framework developed in consultation with the Australian Childhood Foundation and the large group of women they support in the NPY lands.  Louise brought with her a long history of case work with refugees and asylum seekers, youth and people at risk of homelessness or in crisis, both in Australia and Ireland.  Louise’s passion for sharing stories and helping others tell theirs shines through in my conversation this week on ‘Talk the Walk’.

In episode 18, we explore:

  • Why Louise uplifted her life in Melbourne to venture into Central Australia and how she got started in community work
  • A brief history of the NPY Women’s Council and its work
  • A typical day in the life of a domestic and family violence caseworker in the NPY lands
  • How the Women’s Council moved away from a justice focus to a violence prevention framework using a trauma-informed, community development, narrative therapeutic approach to practice
  • What Louise loves about her job and her journey into narrative therapy
  • How Aboriginal women are developing their own tools of narrative practice for use in their community
  • The everyday challenges of remote work and what Louise does to look after herself
  • The ‘strong stories board’ project – one of Louise’ sparkling moments
  • Louises biggest learnings and awesome words of advice for community development and social workers thinking of working with remote Aboriginal communities

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.
Listen to Stitcher
You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the episode

The NPY Women’s Council domestic and family violence service

Download the Family violence Prevention Framework

Episode 15 – ‘Telling the Stories of Our Lives’ with Sudha Coutinho

Contact Louise on  lou_oconnor33(at)hotmail(dot)com