About the Project
The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP) was funded by the then Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT), with support from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) to:
- Develop frameworks, guidelines, and strategies to increase the capability of psychology graduates
to work effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. - Increase the recruitment, retention and graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
in psychology degrees. - Provide guidance on the professional development of workforce capabilities required for
appropriate and effective work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This three-year project (2013-2016) emerged in recognition of psychology’s vital role and responsibilities to address the mental health crisis facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and the detriment to psychology as a discipline and profession through the exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and participation.
The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project 2 (AIPEP 2)
In December 2020, Professor Pat Dudgeon revived AIPEP and initiated a process to work in partnership with Schools and Departments of Psychology in Universities to continue to implement the findings from the original project. AIPEP 2 aims to:- Build a national community of practice educators to empower university psychology educators to transform their curricula
- Provide a suite of resources, workshops, and webinars to build capacity
- Conduct research to understand opportunities to improve curricula.
Project Team
Professor Pat Dudgeon
Director, Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention (CBPATSISP), School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia
Professor Pat Dudgeon is from the Bardi people of northern Western Australia. Pat is recognised as being among the leading world experts on social and emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention. She is a Research Fellow in the School of Indigenous Studies, Chief Investigator of the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing Project, and the Director of the national Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at UWA.
She specialises in Indigenous psychology, mental health, and education. Among her many current commitments, Pat is currently the Co-Chair of the national ministerial Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Group (since 2013), she is also a Member of International Group on Indigenous Health Measurement, a member of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Project Reference Group to the National Fifth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, and a member of the Mental Health Research Advisory Committee for the National Medical Health Research Council (since 2017).
She is a member of the Working Party for the Kimberley Suicide Prevention Trial Site and the Chair of Data group for Working Party for the Kimberley Suicide Prevention Trial Site. She is also an Expert Panel Member for the WA Children and Young People Wellbeing Survey with the WA Commission for Young People. She has many notable publications on Indigenous mental health, including her work with the National Empowerment Project (NEP), the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Project (ATSISPEP), and the Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principals and Practice textbook (2014).
Professor Sabine Hammond
Professor of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Social Neuroscience Psychology
Sabine Hammond has extensive experience as a researcher, educator and practitioner in Australia, Europe, and the United States, where she has held leadership roles in both academic and professional settings. She is currently Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Social Neuroscience (ISN Psychology) and past Honorary Professor at Australian Catholic University (ACU). Sabine’s expertise includes governance, ethics, professional practice, and regulation. Sabine has been actively involved in initiatives aimed at reconciliation with Australia’s First Peoples, especially in the areas of cultural safety, suicide prevention, and training a culturally responsive workforce. Sabine is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Dr Dawn Darlaston-Jones
Director, Percy Jones & Associates
Dawn is a Critical Community Psychologist with extensive experience in the higher education sector. She was Associate Professor of Behavioural Science at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle campus, and the former course coordinator. During her tenure, she developed the curriculum for the Bachelor of Behavioural Science and oversaw its evolution over a period of 11 years. Her research interests lie in the areas of critical psychology and decolonisation, with particular emphasis on resistance and emancipation and education as a vehicle for social justice and change. The focus of her current work is Indigenous education and the importance of embedding Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous psychologies into the curriculum. This approach challenges hegemonic constructions of knowledge and contributes to a decolonisation approach to psychology education. She was a Chief Investigator on the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP), led by Professor Pat Dudgeon and funded through the Australian Government’s Office of Learning and Teaching.
Ms Belle Selkirk
Research Fellow - School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia
Belle is a Noongar woman from the South-West of Western Australia. She is connected to her culture through her grandmother, Lyla Hume, who has been a strong role model in her life. She grew up on Wadandi Boodja (country) as a child, then relocated to Whadjuk Boodja (Perth) as a young adult to study psychology. Belle completed her Master of Psychology (Clinical) at the end of 2008 and her thesis examined the outcomes of a school-based resilience program for Indigenous primary school students. She was also the inaugural recipient of the APS Bendi Lango Bursary. Belle now has over 12 years’ experience working in the mental health field in a variety of roles including Clinical Psychologist, group therapist, mentor, and researcher. She has worked in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous programs in Australia and in Canada (unceded Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver). In Canada, she was part of a team of Indigenous women researchers who set out to empower the voices of First Nation women in health care policy and planning within Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. She has extensive experience in providing both short- and long-term psychotherapy, with a particular focus on social and emotional wellbeing, complex trauma, anxiety, depression, suicide prevention and suicide bereavement. Belle juggles her time between her family, being a mother, private psychology practice, and research fellow with the TIMHWB project.
Dr Joanna Alexi
Research Associate, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia
Joanna lived in Larrakia Country, Darwin, for most of her childhood, before moving to Whadjuk Country, Perth, with her family, as a young teenager. Joanna completed her PhD in psychology at the University of Western Australia in 2020. Her thesis was in the area of body image disturbances, perception, and eating disorders. She has also gained experience in Indigenous health and is passionate about promoting health and wellbeing outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, through collaboration, teamwork, and culturally responsive research.
Dr Kate Derry
Research Associate, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia
Kate was born, lives, and works on Noongar Boodja. Her father migrated to Australia in 1963 during the Burmese coup d’état and is a descendant of the Shan people of Myanmar. Her mother was born and raised on Gnaraloo Station, north of Carnarvon. She completed her PhD in social and developmental psychology at the University of Western Australia in 2019. Her thesis investigated the development of self in children, adolescents, and adults. Using her understanding of self-concept, personality, and psychometrics, she has worked in the areas of organisational psychology, human factors, education, and adolescent suicide prevention. During her PhD, she was encouraged to explore her own racial-ethnic identity and became interested in the relationship between culture and health and the role of culture and identity in suicide prevention. Kate started working with Pat in late 2019 and is excited to use evidence-based approaches and strengths-focused solutions to empower Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and other Indigenous peoples.
Reference Group and Community of Practice
Dr Alex Agostini
Lecturer and Honours Psychology Coordinator, University of South Australia
Dr Alex Agostini is a Lecturer and Honours Coordinator: Psychology at the University of South Australia. Located on Kaurna land (in Adelaide), Alex has a passion for researching the relationships between sleep and health in children and adolescents. Alex loves all her teaching but particularly enjoys watching the honours students grow as they improve their research skills.
Dr Mariette Berndsen
Lecturer, Psychology, College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University
I am Mariette Berndsen, born and raised in the Netherlands.
I completed my psychology training at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. My PhD thesis was about illusory correlations (perceiving stronger relationships between groups and their behaviours than actually exist; i.e. how stereotypes develop). After my PhD completion, I worked for three years as a researcher at the University of Amsterdam and moved then (2003) to Flinders University in Adelaide where I still work as a lecturer in social psychology.
My research focuses on emotions; how other persons influence our emotions over and above the emotional stimulus itself and how emotions influence our behaviours. My projects include group-based emotions; perspective taking and intergroup conflicts particularly in the context of disadvantaged groups, prejudice/discrimination, solidarity-based collective action, and cross-cultural psychology.
Associate Professor Lauren Breen
Associate Professor and Discipline Lead, Psychology, School of Population Health, Curtin University
Lauren Breen is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Discipline Lead – Psychology in the School of Population Health at Curtin University. She was raised and lives in Boorloo (Perth) on the lands of the Wadjuk people of the Noongar nation. Lauren is a White coloniser whose ancestors are from Ireland, United Kingdom, and Germany. Her teaching and research interests include grief and loss, ethics and social justice, developmental psychology, community psychology, and research methods.
Dr Emanuela Brusadelli
Lecturer, Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong Australia
Dr Emanuela Brusadelli is Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Wollongong Australia.
She had been a Clinical Psychologist and a Research Consultant in a public hospital in Italy for several years, together with many collaborations with other both public and private centers.
She completed a 4-year School of Individual & Group Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (COIRAG, Milan- Italy), together with several trainings to become Expert in Psychodiagnosis.
Consultant of the 2nd ed. of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2) edited by Vittorio Lingiardi and Nancy McWilliams, she’s member of the IGAPSYD, of the Society for Psychotherapy Research SPR (International and Italy Area Group), of the Society for Personality Assessment, and of the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology (APA Div. 39).
Associate Professor Petra Buergelt
Associate Professor, Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Canberra
Petra Buergelt, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Canberra. She is an interdisciplinary, award-winning researcher and ally. Petra has deep adoptive and cultural ties with several Indigenous tribes in Australia and Taiwan, especially with Yolŋu in the NT. Petra also serves as Executive Member of the Collaborative Indigenous Research Collaborative and the International Transformative Learning Association Leadership Circle. Petra was the principal researcher for the $12.4 million Manymak Energy Efficiency Project with six Indigenous communities in Northern Australia, which was awarded several awards including the NAIDOC 2016 Award for the Best Environmental Project.
Professor Lorelle Burton
Professor of Psychology, Head of School, School of Psychology and Counselling, University of Southern Queensland
Lorelle Burton is Professor of Psychology and currently Head of School of Psychology and Counselling at the University of Southern Queensland. Lorelle has received multiple national teaching excellence awards and is author of market-leading textbooks. She is a registered psychologist and is committed to extending her work beyond academia to promote community-based learning and wellbeing. Lorelle’s current research involves partnerships with disenfranchised youth, older people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Her research team seeks people’s own stories as a powerful way to strengthen communities and find new paths to support them into the future.
Ms Tamara Cavenett FAPS GAICD
President, Australian Psychological Society
An experienced practitioner, Tamara Cavenett has substantial expertise in both professional and organisational leadership. Currently in private practice, she previously held senior management positions, including managing Adelaide’s leading private outpatient psychiatric hospital. This included supervision of, and responsibility for a multidisciplinary team, as well as full responsibility for all operations, managing all non-clinical staff departments, corporate governance, and accreditation. In addition to post-graduate training in psychology, Tamara has undertaken formal training in executive leadership.
Tamara holds endorsement in clinical psychology, is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), a Fellow of the Clinical College, an Advisory Board Member for the Master of Clinical Psychology Program (Uni SA) and has previously held numerous committee positions within the APS. Tamara has held office as national Chair of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists and has extensive experience as both a practitioner and an approved supervisor of other psychologists. Her contributions to research in the field have been recognised, with publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr Yvonne Clark
Aboriginal Communities and Families Health Research Alliance (ACRA) South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), AIPA
Yvonne is a Kokatha/Wirangu woman from South Australia and a clinically endorsed psychologist with her PhD. Yvonne has extensive experience as a psychologist, academic and researcher within government, private, community controlled, university, and institutional sectors. As a clinician she has worked mainly with children, adolescents, and their families in various contexts. Yvonne is currently a Senior Research Fellow with the South Australian Health and Research Institute. This is as its chief investigator (CIA) on research projects to explore and promote healing and recovery among Aboriginal children, young people and parents who have experienced intergenerational trauma and lateral violence. Yvonne is a member of the APS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and Psychology Interest group and one of the Directors of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA).
Professor Jacquelyn Cranney
Honorary Professor, Psychology, UNSW
Jacky has won numerous UNSW, national and international awards, particularly for her work in graduate competencies, psychological literacy, and academic self-management. Jacky has ongoing projects that include co-leading the UNSW Healthy Universities Initiative (https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/HealthyUni), which emphasises curricular approaches to student wellbeing. Jacky was privileged to be an AIPEP-1 non-indigenous team member and looks forward to continuing this journey.
Ms Emily Darnett
PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology), Swinburne University
Emily Darnett is a proud Aboriginal woman whose mob is from the Nipaluna lands in Tasmania. Emily currently lives, works and studies in the Kulin Nation. Emily is currently studying a Doctorate of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology) at Swinburne University. Emily’s thesis topic aims to investigate the gaps in knowledge, and successful and unsuccessful intervention for mob experiencing psychological distress, from several current psychologists’ perspectives, as well as mob perspective. She discovered AIPEP as her thesis topic overlaps with the work this group is undertaking. Outside of her studies, Emily works as a project officer researching how marginalised communities can have their needs better catered for.
Dr Olivia Evans
University Indigenous Research Fellow, School of Psychology, Australian National University
Olivia Evans is a Gomeroi woman who grew up in Newcastle on Awabakal land. She is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Australian National University on Ngunnawal country. Her research focuses on the impacts of inequality and status on social connectedness and mental health. She is working on an ARC funded project addressing issues of equity and diversity in higher education, with a particular focus on student mental health and success. In 2022 she will convene a new course in the ANU undergraduate psychology program about culture and psychology, with a particular focus on Indigenous psychologies.
Professor Simon Farrell
Professor, Head of School, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Western Australia
Simon is the Head of the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. The Whadjuk Noongar people have collaborated and innovated on the land on which UWA sits for millennia. Simon has joined AIPEP to understand how the School of Psychological Science can work to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing into training students, future innovators, and collaborators.
Kristin Gainey
Associate Professor, School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia
Kristin is a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. She serves as the Indigenous Training Liaison for the School of Psychological Science, working with UWA’s School of Indigenous Studies to help support Indigenous students/staff and facilitate teaching of Indigenous knowledge. Kristin grew up in the United States and lived there until she moved to Perth in 2020. Her research focuses on transdiagnostic emotional processes (e.g., emotion regulation, mindfulness) related to wellbeing, with an emphasis on understanding how they unfold in real time in daily life.
Dr Takeshi Hamamura
Senior Lecturer, Psychology Discipline, School of Population Health, Curtin University
Takeshi grew up in Japan and completed university education in the US and Canada. Between 2008-2014, he was in Hong Kong teaching and researching. In 2014, he decided to continue his cross-cultural journey and take up a position at Curtin University. At Curtin, Takeshi teaches social psychology and researches cross-cultural issues. His research examines the idea that values, social norms, and customs that shape our cultural environment are always changing, but then, some ‘core’ aspects of cultures remain unchanged, sometimes for centuries, and shape participating people’s sense of values, identity, what is right and wrong, and well-being.
Dr Meegan Kilcullen
Course Coordinator, Master of Clinical Psychology, James Cook University
Meegan has worked as clinical supervisor and psychologist in private practice, NGOs and the public sector in north Queensland since 2007. Meegan is a qualitative researcher who has clinical and research interests in perinatal infant mental health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. Her PhD research explored urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s conceptualisation of mental health and wellbeing. Meegan’s focus is clinical psychology at the cultural interface, particularly in the current redevelopment of the clinical program to embrace a critical approach and decolonise the curriculum. The redevelopment has been a rewarding and challenging process that was based upon a whole-of-program philosophical shift that allows the explicit exploration of the whiteness of psychology and the impacts upon clinicians, individuals and community health and wellbeing, and also supports the inclusion of broader knowledges. The work continues.
Associate Professor Vikki Knott
Associate Professor, Discipline Lead, Psychology, Australian College of Applied Psychology
Vikki works as Associate Professor and Discipline Lead for the Australian College of Applied Psychology (Brisbane). Since 2019, she has worked with the Chair, Psychological Sciences, in developing new psychology curriculum (Levels 1 to 4) in alignment with the recommendations of the AIPEP Curriculum Framework. Vikki’s research interests including psycho-oncology, Indigenous cancer, and telehealth. Vikki also works as a psychologist in private practice part-time and is completing the registrar program in Clinical Psychology. She predominantly works with Adolescents and Adults (all ages) who present with a variety of concerns. She draws on therapeutic models including CBT, ACT, DBT and Schema Therapy.
Associate Professor Carla Litchfield
Associate Professor and Head of Psychology, UniSA Justice and Society, University of South Australia
Associate Professor Carla Litchfield is the Head of Psychology, in the UniSA Justice and Society, at the University of South Australia and director of the Conservation Psychology and Applied Animal Behaviour Research Group. She is also on the executive committee of Heads of Departments and Schools of Psychology Association (HODSPA) and is keen to serve as an active ally in the process of decolonising psychology. Her research focuses on biodiversity conservation, sustainability and living in harmony with nature.
Dr Jessica Mackelprang
Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology
Jessica Mackelprang is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology, where she teaches on topics related to health and trauma in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in psychology and counselling. Jessica’s research investigates psychological and physical trauma among marginalized populations and aims to reduce inequities in health service access. She has published on the co-creation of interprofessional Aboriginal health curriculum, is Chair of the Swinburne Indigenous Psychology Committee, and is an Associate Editor for the Clinical Psychologist.
Associate Professor Iliana Magiati
Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia
Iliana is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychological Science (SPS) at the University of Western Australia in Perth. She serves as the Co-Ordinator of the UWA SPS-School of Indigenous Studies (SIS) peer mentoring programme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander UWA Psychology students, and as the Deputy Director of the SPS Postgraduate Education Committee. Iliana was born and grew up in Athens, Greece, and lived, studied and/or worked in London, UK, South France and Singapore, before moving to and living in Whadjuk Noongar land since 2020. Her research focuses on better understanding and supporting the mental health and well-being of autistic people, with a focus on the social and psychological experiences that hinder and promote their wellbeing, such as burnout, camouflaging/ masking, disclosure, identity and others.
Dr Helen Mason
Senior Lecturer and Head of Course for Master of Professional Psychology, CQUniversity
Helen Mason is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Course for Master of Professional Psychology at CQUniversity. She is a registered psychologist and board approved supervisor and is also currently working in private practice. Helen has over 10 years of experience in research, teaching, and psychological practice, including extensive work in the not-for-profit sector. She has an interest in trauma and recovery, suicidality, and neurodiversity.
Dr John McAloon
Clinical
Psychologist and Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Health, University of
Technology, Sydney
My Work focuses on children, adolescents and their families. In the last decade, I have worked in various settings including the public service, private practice, university education and clinical supervision. I came to UTS in 2014 and in 2015 established UTS: Family Child Behaviour, a clinic designed to assist parents who are having difficulty parenting. My particular interest is prevention/early intervention, particularly with toddlers showing early markers of social, emotional or behavioural difficulties, and the role parents play in shifting these. I am an endorsed as a Clinical Psychologist and a Board Approved Supervisor with the Psychology Board of Australia. I currently supervise clinical trainees and Master’s and PhD research projects. I have qualifications in Film and Television, Education and Clinical Psychology and my PhD research looked at the development of substance use and mental health in young people.
Associate Professor Meredith McKague
Associate Professor, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne
Meredith is a non-Indigenous academic psychologist living and working on Wurundjeri lands in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. Meredith teaches and conducts research related to learning, memory, and language. She is an ally passionate about learning how we can best bring Australian Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing into the learning and teaching in psychology. Meredith hopes that together we can transform psychology so that it represents and benefits the experiences of all Australians.
Dr Stacey McMullen
Indigenous Scholar/Lecturer, University of Newcastle
Dr Stacey McMullen is a descendant of the Kooma people of Queensland. She has lived and worked on Awabakal land in Newcastle her whole life. Stacey is an Indigenous Scholar / Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. Stacey is also an Aboriginal Clinical Psychologist and has worked across many government and non-government agencies, as well as in Aboriginal Medical Services and the private sector. A large part of her career has focused on working with trauma and supporting the social and emotional wellbeing of people within the community. Stacey completed her Doctor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Newcastle in 2013.
Professor Kimberley Norris
Head of Discipline, Director of Postgraduate Professional Training Programs (Psychology and Counselling), School of Psychological Sciences, University of Tasmania
Professor Kimberley Norris is a psychological scientist and clinical psychologist who works across academic, research and clinical practice settings. Primarily based at the University of Tasmania in lutrawita on the lands of the Palawa and Muwanina peoples, her overarching research and academic interests are focused on maximising human health, wellbeing, and performance in both normal and extreme environments. Through her work, Kimberley develops new and innovative ways to provide psychological support for individuals in remote, rural, maritime, and extreme environments at an individual, organisational, and relationship level.
Associate Professor Jeneva Ohan
Associate Professor, School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia
Jeneva Ohan was born in Canada and raised by a Canadian mother and Palestinian father. She has been living and working on Whadjuk Noongar land since 2012. She is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at UWA, where she is also Director of the Clinical Psychology Program and of the Postgraduate Education in the School of Psychological Science. Through some of her work in the School of Psychological Science at UWA, Jeneva has chaired working groups with the goal of achieving better engagement with and outcomes for Aboriginal students who pursue psychology studies, such as by establishing a mentor program. Jeneva’s research specialises in child and parenting mental health and wellbeing, with a focal interest in understanding why some children and parents come to services to support their mental health and wellbeing, whereas others do not or drop out of services early on. She hopes to use this information to better access to programs for children and families who need them, and to contribute towards health policy development that will benefit children and young family wellbeing. Jeneva is especially keen to work towards better wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal families and communities and is excited to be working on this project.
Associate Professor Melissa O’Shea
Director of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Melissa O’Shea is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and holds the role of Director of Clinical Psychology post-graduate training at Deakin University in Victoria. As a non-Aboriginal woman living on Wathaurong country, she has been committed to developing First Nation Australians cultural knowledge in her students and in herself and expanding learning opportunities for her students in Aboriginal Health, including through the development of clinical placement opportunities within the Aboriginal Health Services local to Deakin. She has extended her commitment to the area of Indigenous Health in her work with Wayapa Wuurrk, founders of an Aboriginal healing practice grounded in ancient Aboriginal wisdom and holistic concepts of wellbeing. In this work, she is working with Wayapa Practitioners to build an evidence for the practice and exposure to Indigenous knowledges in Health.
Her further research interests are in the area of Integrative psychology where she is exploring mind-body interventions as adjuncts to current evidence based psychological therapies including yoga and Forest Therapy.
Dr Christine Padgett
Lecturer, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Tasmania
Christine is a lecturer at the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Tasmania, on Palawa country in southern Tasmania. She has taught in the tertiary sector for 10 years, and is also currently the undergraduate course coordinator. As part of this role Christine is currently working on the decolonisation of the School’s undergraduate programme.
Christine teaches introductory psychology, clinical psychology, and advanced fourth year topics. Her research includes exploring the psychological and cognitive outcomes following traumatic brain injury, and investigating how people use and understand genetic information in health and forensic settings. She also publishes regularly about online learning and teaching practice.
Mr Dale Rowland
PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology) Griffith University
My mob are the Biripi and Wiradjuri people of NSW. I was born on Tharawal country and reside on Kombumerri land. I completed my undergraduate studies at Griffith University and am currently a PhD (Clinical Psychology) candidate. My research is on digital mental health and Indigenous Health Curriculum in Higher Education. I hold provisional registration and am an associate member of the APS.
Dr Matt Ruby
Lecturer, Psychology, Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University
Dr Matthew Ruby is a Lecturer in Psychology at La Trobe University. Matt did his doctoral training on the unceded land of the Coast Salish peoples, and has been living and working on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri and Dhudhuroa peoples since 2017. At La Trobe, Matt teaches in the areas of social/cultural psychology, research methods, and human/animal relationships. His research focuses on the psychology of food and eating, sustainability, and well-being, often through a cultural lens. Matt joined AIPEP to help develop ways to recruit and retain Indigenous psychology students, and to find ways to better incorporate Indigenous perspectives and knowledges into coursework and research.
Ms Alice Shires
Director, UTS Psychology Clinic, and Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology, and Sydney (UTS)
Alice Shires is a Clinical and Research Psychologist, Director of the UTS Psychology Clinic, and Senior Lecturer at the Graduate School of Health, University of Technology, and Sydney (UTS). She has been involved in training clinical psychologists and research into assessment of competencies in clinical psychology for over 20 years. She heads the Mindfulness-integrated Research Clinic at UTS where research includes the efficacy of mindfulness approaches in chronic pain, mindfulness integrated approaches, interoception, equanimity and compassion.
Mr Peter Smith
Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association & University of New England
Peter is a registered psychologist with 20 years’ experience in clinical and forensic settings, having worked in child protection and juvenile justice. During this time, he was trained and worked as a supervisor in a Multisystemic Therapy (MST) program in the Newcastle area.
He is a descendant of the Kamilaroi Nation of northwest New South Wales and currently lives on country where he recently had a private practice at the local Aboriginal Medical Service. He is a board member of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA) and recent work has involved some teaching at the University of New England, where he has commenced PhD studies, researching Cultural Responsiveness and how mental health practitioners can make their practices culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.
Professor Christopher C. Sonn
Professor, Institute for Health & Sport, Victoria University
Chris is Professor in Psychology at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia on the land of the Wurundjeri of the Kulin nation. His research examines histories of colonialism and oppression and its continuities in various forms of structural violence and its effects on social identities, intergroup relations and belonging. He holds a Visiting Professorship at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
He is co-editor of Creating Inclusive Knowledges and co-author of Social Psychology and Everyday Life, and Associate Editor of the American Journal of Community Psychology and Community Psychology in Global Perspective.
Dr Stewart Sutherland
Chair Indigenous Health Framework, ANU Medical School, ANU
Stewart Sutherland was born and raised in Wellington NSW the heart of Wiradjuri country. For over a decade he has worked in Indigenous health, in more recent years focusing on identity and mental health particularly Social and Emotional Wellbeing, Culture and Identity, food security, and sovereignty. Stewart’s PhD is from the Australian National University Canberra, the focus of which was the interplay between reconciliation (apology) and the social emotional wellbeing of people forcibly removed from their families.
Dr Amanda Taylor
Lecturer and Academic Lead for Indigenous Education and Engagement, School of Psychology, University of Adelaide
Amanda is a Lecturer and clinically endorsed psychologist working on Kaurna country at the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide. She has 10 years experience working with children and families, in Adelaide and on Arrernte country in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Amanda commenced her role at the University of Adelaide in January 2019. She is the current Academic Lead for Indigenous Education and Engagement in the School of Psychology, with a focus on supporting Indigenous students studying psychology and increasing Indigenous content and knowledges in the psychology curriculum. Amanda is looking forward to her role as a non-Indigenous member of the reference group of AIPEP.
Mr Kevin Taylor
Lecturer & Researcher - School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia
Kevin Taylor is a Yamatji-Nyungar man and an experienced University Lecturer in Aboriginal health. Kevin specialises in Indigenous education development and Indigenous curriculum with a demonstrated history of working in the community health sector. He is skilled in Indigenous health, communication, cultural heritage, education, and public speaking. Currently obtaining a Master’s degree focused in Business Administration and Management from Edinburgh Business School.
Associate Professor Monica Thielking
Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, Melbourne
Monica is the former National Advisor Psychologists in Schools at the Australian Psychological Society (APS), founder of the APS Psychologists in Schools Interest Group, and past Scientific Chair of the American Psychological Association International Psychology division. Currently, Monica is Co-Director of the International School Psychology Association Global Networking Forum, and member of the Victorian Council of Social Services Education Equity Coalition. After attending the 2017 Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP) Workshop in Sydney, Monica co-led the formation of the Swinburne Indigenous Psychology Committee (SIPC) and in collaboration with the Moondani Toombadool Centre at Swinburne, SIPC has been actively carrying out the goals of AIPEP, including increasing Indigenous psychology curriculum and improving the retention and recruitment of Indigenous students studying psychology. Monica very much looks forward to carrying out her role as a non-Indigenous reference group member of AIPEP.
Professor Iain Walker
Director, Research School of Psychology, Australian National University
Iain is currently the Director of the Research School of Psychology at the Australian National University in Canberra. He has served in similar roles at the University of Canberra, Murdoch University, and the CSIRO. Over the years, Iain’s research has delved into many different things, but a consistent theme joining all those things is a concern with social and environmental sustainability.
Indigenous Governance
Indigenous governance means “ … empowering local Indigenous peoples to identify needs, priorities and processes and to have control over the factors that will be protective for the individuals and community of which they are part.”
(Dudgeon, P., Calma, T., Milroy, J., McPhee, R., Darwin, L., Von Helle, S., & Holland, C. (2018). Indigenous Governance for Suicide Prevention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, A Guide for Primary Health Networks.)
Indigenous governance and ethics have been at the forefront of project considerations, negotiations, and implementation. AIPEP is led by respected Indigenous psychologist and scholar Professor Pat Dudgeon and is informed by Indigenous scholars, educators and psychologists, as well as members of Indigenous stakeholder groups including AIPA and NACCHO.
National Representation
We are privileged to have representation from a range of important national stakeholder groups in AIPEP 2. The national stakeholders provide ongoing advice to the Project Team and will assist in the implementation and sustainability of project outcomes.
AIPEP 2 has representation from the following organisations, groups, and members:
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia (UWA)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Psychology Students
Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA)
Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA)
Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC)
Australian Psychological Society (APS)
APS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Psychology Interest Group (ATSIPP)
Heads of Departments and Schools of Psychology Association (HoDSPA)
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
Indigenous Allied Health Association (IAHA)
National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP)
National Standing Committee on Bicultural Issues (NSCBI)
New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS)
Art and Artist
Learning Circles
This art represents life, learning and acquiring and passing down knowledge.
The centre image is a tree showing the cycles of life with many branches of people coming together, connecting to each other, mother land, sea, and sky above. The flowers are the outcomes of people from many areas coming together in peace to talk, think and share knowledges. The cycles of life hold us, the people, all the animals, all the plants, the living earth, the seas and the sky together and throughout time. The cycles of life hold all living things together from the past to now in the present, and into the future.
It is through the cycles of life and understanding that a small ripple from a centre moves through, connects, and is absorbed like knowledge is acquired, to be shared for the growth of all mankind.
About the Artist
Alta Winmar is a Balladong/Koreng Noongar woman living in Perth, Western Australia. She is a Noongar artist who has exhibited works in Western Australia and art pieces in other parts of the world. Alta is a proud Noongar Yorga (woman).
An artist for many years, Alta now works with the Sister Kate’s Home Kids Aboriginal Corporation, and connects art with healing. She has reconnected further with her Noongar culture through community programs, and is focusing on cultural healing and art as a great tool which also helps children with their cultural identity. Alta has found that, through the arts, Aboriginal people have the opportunities to heal.
