10/10/2019
Suicide amongst Aboriginal peoples in Australia was almost non-existent a few generations ago. ‘When the first suicide occurred we didn’t have a word for it. In the Arnhem they had to find a new word for it.’ Elder David Cole. However, today it is at one of the […]
03/10/2019
Back in July 2018, I saw a beautiful posting about geese on Facebook from Judy Atkinson. I couldn’t resist asking Judy if I could use her posting as my Sharing Culture blog that day. Here is Judy’s post again, with modified paragraphing for added impact. ‘Fact one: As each […]
13/09/2019
I was looking through one of my other websites, Recovery Stories, yesterday. I came across a blog I posted in 2014 about an article on recovery from mental health problems by Mark Ragins. That blog is as pertinent today, so here it is: Mark is a leading recovery figure […]
05/09/2019
Last month, I blogged about the exciting Native American storytelling project by Native Hope: We believe in the power of storytelling to dismantle barriers, bring healing, and inspire hope for Native people. Here is a section from one of their articles, The Science Behind the Healing Power of […]
03/09/2019
I often wonder about the consequences of the government policy of taking Aboriginal children away from their families, the impact on the children and the parents. Children taken away in this way were not only losing the essential care of their parents, but also disconnecting the child from […]
20/08/2019
Dr. Chris Sarra is the Director-General of the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. He is an internationally recognised Indigenous education specialist and is the founder and Chairman of the Stronger Smarter Institute. Here is a section from Chris Sarra’s article Delivering Beyond Indigenous Policy Rhetoric which […]
13/08/2019
Last week, I came across the fascinating Native Hope website. What an awesome project! Please check it out. I’ve included some excerpts from the website, to give you an idea of what’s in store for you if you visit the website. ‘Why We Work. We believe in the […]
08/08/2019
I have previously emphasised the importance of healthy relationships for wellbeing, and for the healing of trauma and its consequences, in blogs focused on thoughts from Bessel van der Kolk and Bruce Perry. Here are further thoughts from the former of these world-leading experts, taken from his seminal book […]
01/08/2019
Here is an article I wrote for my Recovery Stories website some years ago, which summarised a piece of research done in collaboration with Lucie James, one of my favourite pieces of research in which I have been involved. The research was conducted 12 years ago when I […]
25/07/2019
Below, is a powerful five and a half minute video entitled Enoughness: Restoring Balance to the Economy which contrasts Indigenous and Western world views. This video is becoming increasingly relevant given what is happening in society today. Here is how it starts: ‘How we see the world determines how […]
10/07/2019
In a Healing blog posting in April, I described Johann Hari’s enthralling and inspirational book Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions. This has to be one of the most important books I have read in the mental health field since I […]
03/07/2019
One of the most impressive people working in the addiction field is Gabor Maté. I introduced Gabor in one of my initial Healing Blog postings, Addiction and Psychological Pain. Here is a blog that Gabor wrote in 2008 about native peoples in Canada that I think is well […]
28/06/2019
THIS PROFOUNDLY HUMANE BOOK offers a sweeping understanding of the causes and consequences of trauma, offering hope and clarity to everyone touched by its devastation. Trauma has emerged as one of the great public health challenges of our time, not only because of its well-documented effects on combat […]
20/06/2019
I have written about Judy Atkinson on a number of occasions in my blogs. Her book Trauma Trails: Recreational Song Lines – The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia inspired me into this field. I have learnt so much from her about the healing of trauma and its consequences. […]
13/06/2019
Some people use drugs or alcohol to numb the pain arising from trauma which has resulted from adverse experiences in earlier life (e.g. abuse as a child, war experiences, car accident). Some of these people go on to develop an addiction to the substance. The drug concerned may […]