Here is another compilation of links to my blog posts on The Carrolup Story that are related to key themes or people. This complication focuses on the work of Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson, the remarkable lady who first inspired me to work in the field of trauma and the healing of trauma. Judy is a Jiman (central west Queensland) and Bundjalung (northern New South Wales) woman, with Anglo-Celtic and German heritage. Judy is Founder, Patron, Elder and Lead Facilitator of We Al-li.
The Value of Deep Listening: The Aboriginal Gift to the Nation – Judy Atkinson: Judy is an expert in understanding intergenerational healing and recovery from trauma in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. At the core of this moving talk, she describes her approach to healing. It’s about listening. In order to heal, the stories behind the trauma must be heard.
The Impact of Colonisation: In her book Trauma Trails: Recreating Songlines, Judy Atkinson describes how the control of Indigenous peoples by the coloniser was facilitated by three main types of power abuse or violence – overt physical violence, covert structural violence, and psychosocial domination.
What is Healing and How Does it Occur?: Judy summarises eight key events of healing, starting with Healing as an awakening: ‘… the phenomenon of people becoming increasingly conscious of their individual and collective existence and of an acknowledgement that these needs were unmet.’
Key Steps in Healing: Judy Atkinson: ‘The study found that the most essential step in healing is to establish a culturally safe environment to do the deeper work, which enables people to change their lives. The next step is to find and explore, both individually and collectively, the stories that make people who they are and which contribute to how they live their lives.’
The Nature of Healing: Voices of We Al-li: ‘My medicine is listening to other people too. First time I as in a meeting like this, and I listened to others talking, I though they were talking about my life, their experiences were like my experiences. Their feelings were like my feelings. They were stealing my story—I wanted to know how did they know my story and what it felt like to be me.’
Box Set of Healing Cards: Indigenous Healing as Mindfulness Practice: Based on the life’s work of Judy Atkinson, each card and accompanying chapter outlines the work conducted in We Al-li’s culturally and trauma-informed workshops. They illustrate a journey anyone can take in contemplation of a life journey and recovery from childhood trauma.
‘Morning Meditation. Be Like Geese’ by Judy Atkinson: ‘People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. Let’s become geese.’
Judy Atkinson’s Fireside Yarns: In her earlier Fireside Yarns on Facebook, organised with her daughter Carlie and son-in-law David Ryan, Judy talked for about 30 minutes, covering a variety of issues, and then took questions for the following 30 minutes. Links to one of the Yarns.
Judy Atkinson: Member of the Order of Australia (AM): Huge congratulations to Judy Atkinson, who today becomes a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to the Indigenous community, to education and to mental health. This is such wonderful news, truly well-deserved.