PSYCOLOGICAL RESILIENCE and THE INDIGENOUS
HEALTH WORKER
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• I acknowledge the Kaipa Kulai Maril and the
Tribes and Clans of the people from whose
lands and seaways I am practicing.
• I also acknowledge the peoples of Zenadth Kes
for whom I am portioned responsibility and
obligation in Social Emotional and Spiritual
Health, Wellbeing, and Healing.
• I accept the life I have been blessed with by my
Babal, Amal, and B’wai in the Torres Strait and
Northern Cape York Peninsula.
Marsat Ketchell: WAKAID – ZAGAREB –
WUTHATHI
KODAL & SERARR
MASINGARA
SIGABADURU
BUZI
MABUDUAN
SAIBAI
BOIGU
DAUAN
ERUB
MER
UGAR
MABUIAG
MASIG
ST PAULS
BADU
KUBIN
IAMA
PORUMA
WARRABER
KIRRIRI
WAIBENE
NARUPAI
MURALAG
SEISIA
NEW MAPOON
BAMAGA
UMAGICO
INJINOO
MJK
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
• According to moral values, human behaviour
may depend upon the common, usual,
unusual, acceptable or unacceptable
behaviour of others…or environmentally
sponsored and/or influenced.
• Human Behaviour can be common, unusual,
acceptable, or unacceptable.
• Humans evaluate to control the acceptability
of behaviour using “social norms” and
regulate behaviour by means of social
control.
• In sociology, behaviour is considered as
having no meaning, being not directed at
other people and thus is the most basic
human action.
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
• Behaviour Change can refer to any
transformation or modification of human
behaviour.
• Behaviour change in Public Health is a broad
range of activities and approaches which
focus on the individual, community, and
environmental influences for our behaviour.
The Indigenous Health Worker…
Remote and Isolated Communities
• Born and bred local to a region,
• Raised to be Culturally and Traditionally learned and easily
orientated to another Tribal land,
• Life Skilled…including age, in all positives and negatives of
daily living,
• Multi-skilled in the Community Workforce arena,
• Multi-Lingual…
• Experts in Intra-Community/State communications,
• Have common denominators in Health of Community and a
Passion for Culture and Tradition.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are the oldest ongoing
workforce in Australia.
Most in the workforce are co-morbid with chronic diseases but
continue to choose work over retirement.
This makes them “special people” in their society and virtually
unknown to the outside world.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL
Unknown to them, they are Specialists to be able
to tailor and perfect the Art of Persuasion and
Convincing with...
Knowledge – Communications and Environment
Rapport – Established or Not
Trust – Earned…even if Counter-Transference is required
Prepared – Topics, Data, and Resources
Defending – Divide and Conquer parochialisms
And their Personality Styles…
PERSONALITY STYLES
Serious Personality Style
Great Capacity to Cope with Great Adversity
Solitary Personality Style
Comfort with Solitude…Self Contained…Stoical.
Endure beyond human norms in being non-biased in family members being
clients. That is emotional suffering at the highest level.
Sensitive Personality Style
Comfort with a small Circle of Friends…with Little Need for
Company
Conscientious Personality style
A capacity for hard work and perseverance
Vigilant Personality Style
Autonomy, capacity to make decisions
“WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CRACKS APPEAR IN THE MASK?”
EARTH WIND and FIRE
• EARTH
Identity. Explore roles, responsibilities, and
obligations
• WIND
Change. Discuss Identity changes in
accordance to/with EARTH
• FIRE
Balance. Discuss the concept of FIRE to
counter EARTH and WIND