Cultural Supervision
Joe presenting to the Murrumbidgee Far West & Western NSW AborIGINAL Staff, Department of Communities and Justice (2023)
“Cultural supervision
is a collaborative and
professional space of
connection,
accountability &
cultural safety; for
First Nations staff
members within the
workplace”
Why Cultural Supervision?
As First Nations people, navigating the balance between work responsibilities and cultural and community obligations can be a challenge. This is exacerbated when working in spaces where there is exposure to trauma. Staff who have not healed from their own trauma are particularly vulnerable and may experience vicarious trauma and potentially become less effective workers.
All First Nations people have differing levels of experience and connection due to the ongoing challenges of disconnection from culture from many sides of the community. Having a cultural supervisor can help to ease the cultural load bought on by such challenges to a group or an individual; this allows individuals to also go on a journey of learning and reconnection with cultural safety and ongoing support.
1The Healing Foundation (2012). Our healing: our solutions: volume 3. Kingston, ACT: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.
As a Wiradjuri/Wolgalu Man who has lived in the Western NSW region for the majority of my life, I am passionate about supporting First Nations people to be mentally and spiritually well. Over the past decade I have worked in the mental health & wellbeing sector through my organisation, The Enemy Within. I completed a graduate certificate in Indigenous Trauma Recovery Practice, an Adjunct Associate Professor for the School of Psychology at the University Of Queensland, and current PhD student in Indigenous Knowledges at the University of Melbourne.
Through my studies and my work across hundreds of communities, I have developed tools and strategies around mitigating vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue symptoms with First Nations people who work in spaces where they are exposed to trauma on a regular basis. I believe that emotional safety, connection and purpose are key foundations to an individual's wellbeing. As a cultural supervisor, I can help to ensure confidence within the workforce, to equip individuals with the tools for emotional safety, which can help to improve staff wellbeing and employee retention rates within the sector.
It would be an honour to work alongside the First Nations staff within your organisation.