Abstract
Objective: Therapy in the form of counselling for Indigenous Australians is much debated. Effective engagement is the key to productive therapy. This paper notes some of the constraints of mainstream therapeutic methodologies and makes suggestions to ensure a therapeutic setting for both the person and therapist born from my experience as a counsellor working in government and community settings, with adults, young people and children, and in mental health, substance use and social/emotional wellbeing. What follows is an iteration of the importance of engagement and adopting a whole of life view to counselling.
Findings: The “whole of life view to mental health” as described in the 1989 National Aboriginal Health Strategy is used as a reference from which to elaborate on various counselling principles. Five key elements are discussed in relation to engagement and therapy for Indigenous Australians. To focus on the specifics of task-oriented therapy can be detrimental to the relationship between therapist and person. The role of the person in the determination of their therapeutic goals and the mannerisms of the therapist strongly influence the counselling process and its outcomes. Indigenous Australia has long emphasized the significance of the person as a part of a wider world influenced primarily by their relationships with people (specifically family and community), culture, spirituality and the environment.
Conclusion: An Indigenous Australian view of the world influences the way in which Indigenous Australians interact with the world and avail themselves to it. Effective therapy is dependent on the relationship between the therapist and the person, a relationship which must be based on respect, reciprocity, accountability, humility and an appreciation of the significance of how a holistic view of the world influences one's sense of self.