Day 3 — recap
Our third and final day kicked off with a presentation from Dr Michael Salter on ‘Contemporary challenges in addressing complex trauma.’
Dr Salter discussed various definitions of trauma
Which can lead to conflicting conceptualisations.
Per Prof Bernadette McSherry, Dr Salter said that the worse the abuse, the worse the system response, making it “challenging for mental health practitioners to help those with complex trauma.”
Dr Salter concluded by arguing for better care for those experiencing complex trauma.
Next up, we heard from Prof Victoria Hovane, an Aboriginal woman from Broome in the Kimberley region of WA. Prof Hovane is a registered psychologist, consultant and practitioner. She spoke on ‘Dying to be heard: family violence in Aboriginal communities and implications for assessment and intervention’.
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Prof Hovane began by discussing the need to use the positive legacy of Indigenous people to influence change. She pointed out that policy, practice and resourcing responses to family violence don’t take into account inter-generational trauma and are primarily non-Aboriginal.
Prof Hovane said that although there may be broad parallels between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures, they are not the same, something that needs to be recognised.
Culture, she noted, is not just another variable to take into account. It is in fact critical.
A major message of Prof Hovane’s presentation, per Prof Bernadette McSherry, was that the primary cause of family violence in Aboriginal communities is intergenerational trauma, and that this needs to be acknowledged.
Following Prof Hovane’s presentation, we had our final concurrent sessions of the congress. Topics included an argument that Man Haron Moris was not a self-radicalised domestic terrorist; a series of presentation on stalking and policing; and culturally safe e-mental health tools in prison.
The Stay strong mental health app can be found at the Menzies School of Health Research.
And thus the congress concluded. Next year we will be in Hobart from November 21st to 24th. The conference theme is Sins of the Past: Reflections and Further Directions. Further updates will be provided on our website: www.anzappl.org and on our twitter page: www.twitter.com/ANZAPPL.
Anders Furze is the communications officer for ANZAPPL. Follow live updates from the 2017 congress on twitter: @ANZAPPL or search #ANZAPPL2017. Want to contribute to the blog or have feedback? Email us: communications@anzappl.org.
