"Turn 'em around good way": TeaH a Therapeutic Model for Working with Traumatised Children from Indigenous Communities

Using Western therapeutic models of intervention with Indigenous people who live in remote communities is highly problematic. This is due to a combination of factors: colonisation; service provision funding models; and biomedical models of practice that sit within a Western paradigm. Moreover, the historical impact of past legislation, government interventions and an historical legacy ofinadequate racist service provision need to be acknowledged and addressed prior to any service implementation. This paper presents a therapeutic model of practice that incorporates Indigenous concepts of healing. and spirit within a creative therapeutic framework. It will demonstrate how the model works through principles of community engagement and capacity building, enabling the provision of a culturally derived therapeutic intervention that involves a synergy of both Aboriginal and Western based healing practice. The findingsfrom the implementation of the "Turn 'em around Healing" (TeaH) model supports the need to incorporate Indigenous concepts of healing, spirit and creative therapies into mainstream practice.