The Culturally Informed Trauma Integrated Healing Approach (CITIHA) of We Al-li began in 1996 through the work of Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson AM who is a Jiman and Bundjalung woman. Her doctorate has been the basis for a number of courses of undergraduate study as well as a postgraduate degree. The approach is also delivered through workshops within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and other organisations seeking to better understand healing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The approach recognises intergenerational trauma and has mapped likely behaviours through six generations.¹ The continuing effects of trauma are believed to lead to lower employment and therefore ongoing distress. It also has as its base the integration of personal learning and professional caring through a holistic and multi-discipline approach using a strengths-base model for healing. We Al-li uses the term “educaring” which is a combination of education and caring and describes an individual who has lived experience and uses a trauma-informed application of knowledge to help others learn about their trauma. Therefore the program uses as facilitators those who have learned about their personal trauma and can assist others.

At the tertiary level there is a reliance on written texts and formal instruction as well as instruction on managing yarning circles. At the community level, elders are engaged to develop the style of interaction and the content for their community. At the community level there is less use of written texts and more culturally-appropriate interactions. We Al-li also has 13 other workshops that can be contextualised for children, young people and adults who suffer from trauma or domestic violence. Included in these workshops is content for those who plan to assist those experiencing trauma. Each of these workshops is carefully mapped and is run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander facilitators.

The Culturally Informed Trauma Integrated Healing Approach (CITIHA) workshop intends to:

• create safe therapeutic environments in providing trauma informed care and practice to diverse groups – implementing practices that acknowledge and demonstrate respect for specific cultural backgrounds.
• understand trauma and its impact on individuals, families and social groups.
• construct and use geno-grams as trauma audits for self and others, to understand client trauma stories and integrate and coordinate care to meet the needs of clients and deepen workforce skills and responses.
• support safe relationship building (with clients and in the workforce) through using geno-grams to name resiliency as a strength and protective factor which promotes recovery and healing for clients and a felt sense of competency in workers.
• establish ‘what’s in the field’, through yarning circles – which support victims / survivors of trauma to regain a sense of control over their daily lives, actively involving them in individual, family or communal recovery.
• share power and governance, including involving community members in the design and evaluation of programs through yarning circles.
• understand and respond to the need to care-for-self while caring-for clients, in response to vicarious trauma, its development, risks and protective factors and barriers, in developing communities of practice and growing communities of care.
• utilise a self and other reflective ‘Elders Circle’ as a review – evaluative process.

The use of the Culturally Informed Trauma Integrated Healing Approach (CITIHA) has created a group of facilitators who are able to assist others and therefore develop capacity building within the community. These facilitators are decentralised and include not only those who are members of staff but another 15 people who have completed the Masters of Community Recovery. This Master’s qualification is not currently run however the Southern Cross University runs the Bachelor of Trauma and Healing which has been developed by We Al-li. We Al-li has run 143 workshops since 2013 with a total of 2,145 participants.

The current iteration of the CITIHA has been co-designed with the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Services for use across Australia. We Al-li also has formal links to other organisations such as:

• WA Crime Prevention and Domestic Violence Unit
• the Mental Health Coordinating Council in NSW
• Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia
• Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory

In 2015, We Al-li was asked by the Kunga Family Violence Program at the Alice Springs Detention Centre to provide 20 days of education and personal development to a group of ten female offenders in September, 2015. These women had suffered intergenerational violence – physical and sexual – and had been imprisoned for violent assaults usually in self-defence against perceived violence. We Al-li used the educaring model which includes six stages:

1. Creating a culturally safe environment.
2. Finding and telling their stories.
3. Making sense of the stories.
4. Feeling the feelings.
5. Moving through layers of loss and grief, ownership, choices.
6. Reclaiming a return to wholeness.

An evaluation was undertaken for this 20-day workshop by Deakin University³.

We Al-li for Kungas Units are unique and contextualised for those who participated. Each of the three sections were coordinated to ensure consistency and continuity throughout the workshop with separate completion certificates for each of the units of study which are shown below.

Anger Violence Boundaries Safety

• Dadirri – mindfulness reflective practice – safety principles for participation.
• Definitions of anger violence boundaries safety Aboriginal family violence.
• How we communicate: feelings, perceptions, interpretations, feelings, intention, action.
• A Bad Anger (anger is not bad in itself – it is what we do with it that matters).
• Identifying and respond to anger triggers
• Anger and childhood – adult behaviours.
• Hot violence – cold violence – assertiveness
• Anger triggers – Jealousy, gossiping, substance misuse
• Managing anger – changing behaviours, body awareness

Loss Grief and Trauma

• Definitions of loss, grief, bereavement, trauma. Differences between loss, grief and trauma.
• Impact of multiple losses stages of loss and grief recovery – inside feelings, outside feelings
• Making a loss history graph (two day intensive review of loss and grief triggers relevant to anger and violence, and individual counselling for each person).
• Creative non-verbal creative approaches to grief work.
• Intensive body awareness – how the body carries grief and anger.

Re-creating the circle of wellbeing

• A public health model of being well – physical body, sexuality, emotions, relationships, environments, spirit, culture, identity.
• Reviewing physical body sexuality.
• Reviewing emotions relationships environment.
• Reviewing spirit, culture, identity – life purpose.

At the time of completing the evaluation report, five of the ten women had been released from prison. The findings confirmed:

1. The value and importance of Kungas to the women upon release. Each woman has immediately made contact with Kungas for support with Centrelink, housing, and emotional support with transition.
2. A desire for more information and to continue the learning relationship with We Al-li. Highlighting the need for local women to be skilled to run the workshops and for Kungas staff to do the training to be able to supervise on the ground with We Al-li supervising from a distance. All of the women had contacted We Al-li for more information on hot/cold anger and intergenerational violence and to keep learning about what was begun in the We Al-li for Kungas program.

The evaluator noted that:

“We Al-li exists at a nexus of education, health, wellbeing, and Indigenous pedagogy. We Al-li Educaring draws on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous pedagogies and healing in a unique way and involves understandings of Aboriginal culture and lore facilitated by Aboriginal cultural Elders.” p.15

The We Al-li program had a significant impact on women in preparing for their release which is critical to strengthen their social and emotional wellbeing and reduce risk behaviours that can lead to suicidal ideation. The results of one-to-one meetings by participants with the facilitators identified strengths, challenges, plans for change, goals and a support network. While each participant’s report is unique there were some commonalities amongst many or all of them including:

• Practicing Dadirri (a goal for 6/10 women) – practicing Dadirri, quiet still awareness, deep listening.
• Wanting more study that leads to some work that fits in with family and cultural commitments (a goal for 10/10 women) women wanted to learn more on topics within the course, environmental or ranger work.
• Staying away from grog, and/or family who misuse substances (a goal for 10/10 women) This was recognised as one of the things that led most women to prison. This was the most common concern for women about being released; staying away from trouble. Learning ways to say ‘no’ and safe was was highly valued.
• Being able to identify ways of staying safe and having boundaries (a goal for 9/10 women) Going through specific and likely scenarios was part of the planning; ‘what will you do if… ?’
• Knowing Kungas is there to support upon release (a goal for 10/10 women)

As We Al-li acted as a support for the Kunga Family Violence Program, most of the recommendations were targeted to the local program. However, the evaluation did make a number of recommendations for We Al-li. Some of these recommendations are:

• engage earlier with the prison staff and offenders prior to the workshops to ensure that there is full understanding from all parties
• build a capacity within the local prison and community so that the facilitation of the workshops can be done more cost effectively and without the need for external consultants
• develop an assessment plan to be used during the delivery of the workshop so that high quality data can be gathered for use in the workshop and after for an evaluation and,
• ensure that a longitudinal evaluation be in place to measure the wellbeing of the participants as well as rates of reoffending

We Al-li and the educational content that it provides has at the outset had a cultural and community focus and there was consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders regarding the content. Through the years of operation We Al-li has encouraged local governance within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by ensuring that Elders are involved in the content and workshop management in their communities. We Al-li develops a capacity for those who have participated in the training to continue to provide assistance in healing trauma within the community.

We Al-li, through Judy Atkinson and her staff ensure that formal ethical principles are adhered to as well as ensuring that the delivery of training is done in a culturally-appropriate way and with facilitators who have lived-experience. Each workshop has at least one Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander facilitator and the facilitators can attend to those who experience difficulty with the emotional affect that the subject matter may generate. Additionally, local community members are able to volunteer to assist in the facilitation of the workshop.

Formal partnerships are maintained with other organisations such as universities, Aboriginal medical services and professional organisations. Each workshop seeks input and reviews from the participants regarding the quality and the personal benefit of the workshop. These comments are summarised and returned to the Elders and the community. Additionally the data is used to improve the workshops.

The We Al-li organisation shows through its work that it demonstrates very highly as strong evidence of effectiveness and best practice.

1. Merida Blanco in Levine, P. & Kline, M. (2007) Trauma through a Child’s Eyes. Berkley. California North Atlantic Books.

2. Culturally Informed Trauma Integrated Healing Approach to Care and Practice – An Indigenous approach in developing worker skills. Training Brief.

3. Applying a We Al-li Educaring Framework to Address Histories of Violence with Aboriginal Women. Deakin University. 2017

Further reading

Atkinson, J., Nelson, J., Brooks, R., Atkinson, C., & Ryan, K. (2014) Addressing individual and community
transgenerational trauma. In P. Dudgeon, H. Milroy, and R. Walker (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (2nd ed.), (pp. 289-305). Canberra, ACT: C’wealth of Australia.