Telling Another Story: Looking for Ways of Working in Partnership with Indigenous Australian People Seeking Help for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems from Mainstream Services

This thesis examines a case for the inclusion of narrative therapy by mainstream alcohol and other drug (AOD) services in counselling Australian indigenous people. Narrative therapy and narrative practices emerged from work developed in partnership with indigenous practitioners in the 1980s in Australia, and although little research has been done on these methods, they are generally regarded as being culturally acceptable to indigenous people. Currently, the interventions most commonly used in mainstream AOD counselling are generally short term and focus on changing behaviour. The argument of this thesis is not that mainstream AOD interventions are without value, but rather that some reductionist methods of counselling may not constitute the most culturally appropriate approach for working with indigenous clients, many of whom continue to be affected by trauma related to colonisation and its practices and experiences of ongoing racism and social disadvantage. This thesis also concerns itself with issues of language and power and proposes that these are of great significance in counselling indigenous AOD clients.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

other

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

cmaster

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Victoria University

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Hine Moana, Anni

• 1701 Psychology
• School of Social Sciences and Psychology

Language dc:language

en