Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing learning pathway

Working with First Nations families and children: A framework for understanding

This course will assist non-Indigenous practitioners to develop the skills and understanding to build genuine partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities. It will also help you to understand how this will benefit and enrich you personally and professionally.

Using Aboriginal cultural knowledge systems to strengthen families’ resilience

This course is for practitioners who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities. It has been developed with the support and guidance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, to specifically address the knowledge and skills required in supporting families’ resilience. Before commencing this course, we recommend that you complete the Working with First Nations families and children – A framework for understanding course.

Improving the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

This course will use a positive, strengths-based, ‘hope-inspired’ focus to support your work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, reinforcing their connections, strengths and skills.^1,2 The course will help you to think about the ‘whole child’ – their hopes, aspirations, strengths, stories of connections to family, kinship, Country and culture – as well as family histories of problems, challenges and trauma.

This course was developed by Emerging Minds in partnership with The Healing Foundation.

Healing through voice, culture and Country

This foundation course provides a framework for practitioners working in health, education, and social and community services, whose work includes engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. The course aims to help practitioners to work with parents where family and domestic violence (FDV) is a concern, supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing in culturally responsive ways.

Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future: Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

This course, designed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and researchers, reflects the strengths, resilience and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It shares learnings from four years of co-design work, led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, to develop strategies to identify and support parents experiencing complex trauma – ‘healing the past by nurturing the future’.³

This course has been developed by Emerging Minds in partnership with Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future, a project under Onemda, the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander Health, Wellbeing, Equity and Healing unit, within the University of Melbourne.

Replanting the Birthing Trees: Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children in the first 2,000 days

This course honours the wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parenting practices that have endured for over 60,000 years, and invites practitioners to be curious, notice this ancient knowledge and consider how it can be applied in contemporary practices.

Our Woven Ways: Connecting practitioners with the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families

This course looks at the intersection between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parenting and taking a child-centred community approach in which a child’s identity develops in relation to their family and community, broader society, the environment, and the living spirits of their sacred ancestors and Land.

Rebuilding our shields: Sharing the stories of deadly dads

This course is designed to break down dominant stereotypes and help you better understand the critical role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fathers have in supporting children to grow up healthy, strong and thriving. The 43-minute documentary in this course will provide an opportunity for practitioners to hear first-hand from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fathers so that they may best consider fathers’ hopes in their family engagements.

Honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in healing family violence

This course approaches the issue of family violence through a positive, trauma-informed, hope-inspired lens, with a focus on reinforcing connections, strengths and skills in the support provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.It has been co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and Community members.