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Articles by Tracy Westerman
Too quick to remove, too slow to protect: What South Hedland tells us about WA child protection
I was born and raised in the Pilbara. Before becoming a psychologist, I spent close to a decade as a child protection worker in some of our highest-risk remote Indigenous communities. In 25 years of practice, every Aboriginal client I have seen has forced removal in their family background. So when more than a dozen Aboriginal children were reportedly found living in squalor in a state-owned home in South Hedland, my first question was not how this happened, but how anyone could be surprised.
The Racial Trauma Treatment Triad (RTTT): a culturally adapted cognitive-behavioural-physiological framework for Aboriginal Australians
ABSTRACT Objective This paper proposes the Racial Trauma Treatment Triad (RTTT), a culturally adapted treatment framework for Aboriginal Australians experiencing racial trauma.
How First Nations men are being demonised
Content warning: This piece contains descriptions of the impact of violence and abuse. One woman is killed by an intimate partner every week, on average, in Australia, and studies indicate that she is 11 times more likely to be Indigenous. That’s despite the fact that just 4 per cent of Australian women are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. I am often asked if I believe there is a “culture of violence” in Aboriginal communities.
This is how to close the gap
Governments are supposed to be all about accountability. Yet the “gap” widens each year, and the statistics provide stark evidence of this failure. Of child suicides – four times higher among Indigenous than non-Indigenous children. Of child removals – 11 times higher. Incarceration of children, 24 times higher. And on it goes. Yet, we have just had an overwhelming “No” vote to give a voice to the very people these statistics impact the most.
Extract: Jilya — Kill Your Darlings
Mavis Ball was a born-and-bred Nyamal woman from Marble Bar. She was the eldest of four children, the only girl. Her younger brothers Harold, Eric and Les were all over 6 feet 4, and with Mum at 5 feet 11 (the same height as me) they were certainly a formidable family. She was born in Port Hedland in 1942 to Kitty and Murphy Ball. My maternal grandparents were highly respected in their home town of Marble Bar, more than 150 kilometres southeast of Port Hedland.
Jilya: How one Indigenous woman from the Pilbara transformed psychology
A powerful memoir that explores how one Indigenous woman from the Pilbara transformed psychology. (Trade paperback) Ships on 3/09/2024 Overview From humble beginnings in the remote Pilbara, psychologist and Nyamal woman Tracy Westerman has redefined what’s possible at every turn.
As a First Nations psychologist, allow me to unpick Price's claim that there are no lasting negative impacts of British colonisation
A warning: this article mentions suicide and mental trauma. I am a psychologist with a 100% Indigenous client base. I can tell you with 25 years of authority and expertise that the narrative that colonialism brought only “positive changes” for Aboriginal people isn’t misguided, it is dangerous. I work in the prevention of Indigenous suicide and violence, counselling for trauma and mental health treatment, and have witnessed my clients regress in their therapy from this dangerous misconception.
EXPERT REJECTS JACINTA PRICES’ CLAIMS THAT FAMILY REUNIFICATION LEADS TO ABUSE — Ngaarda Media
Voice to Parliament opponent and Walpiri woman Jacinta Price told the ABC that the Northern Territory’s Department of Families was “putting kids in the hands of abusers” by returning children to their families. Ms Price made several claims when speaking to ABC Insiders two weeks ago about the territory government's families, housing and communities department, which oversees the foster care of Indigenous children.
From love bombing to isolation, the red flags for coercive control can be dangerously difficult to spot before abuse escalates
With several Australian jurisdictions looking at introducing laws against coercive control, we need to get better at identifying and understanding the insidious pattern of behaviour many perpetrators of domestic abuse use to dominate and entrap victims.
OPINION: Fixing the broken system of Indigenous child removal
In a previous life, I was a child protection worker. I understand how hard it is because I’ve walked the journey. You accept that hearing traumatic stories and seeing the horror of childhood trauma is a part of the job description. Our training teaches us there is a fine line between caring too much and burning out; caring too little and being ineffective and compassionless.
OPINION: Fixing the broken system of Indigenous child removal
In a previous life, I was a child protection worker. I understand how hard it is because I’ve walked the journey. You accept that hearing traumatic stories and seeing the horror of childhood trauma is a part of the job description. Our training teaches us there is a fine line between caring too much and burning out; caring too little and being ineffective and compassionless.
We must raise the age of criminal responsibility, here is why
Defunding the police and abolishing prisons are not radical ideas It is not so radical to say we need to defund police and pour much needed funds and resources into areas that improve social issues such as housing, health, education and employment. These, in turn, reduce the incarceration rates of Aboriginal people and reduces the over-reliance of degrading and dehumanising punitive measures such as prisons.
Strategies for caring for our community during Invasion season
Invasion Day, ‘Australia’ day or Survival Day, no matter which way to you choose to acknowledge 26 January, there is no denying the impact this day has on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Like tinsel in December and pumpkins in October, January is a time that racism lingers in the air. The Australian flag, a weapon of white supremacy, hangs from buildings, propped up on cars and even draped around sunburnt necks.
Indigenous Expert responds to WA Govt Indigenous Suicide Prevention Plan
The problem with inquiries is they do little to inform us about suicide prevention. Coroners aren’t psychologists, nor do they understand Indigenous culture well. I am an Aboriginal woman from the Pilbara. I am a proud Nyamal woman. The young lives we are losing to suicide are crushing my heart. It has driven me to relentlessly pursue and self-fund solutions in the complete absence of government funding for two decades.
OPINION: ‘Funding football programs is not suicide prevention’
This article was first published in The Australian on the 19th April as ‘Sick Heart of a Generation’. It has been republished here with the permission of Dr Tracy Westerman. Dr Tracy is a proud Njamal woman from the Pilbara region of Western Australia who is widely recognised for spending over two decades working to reduce the burden of mental ill health and suicide in Aboriginal communities.
Why don’t Indigenous suicides matter?
The deafening silence across this country following the latest Coronial Inquiry into the suicide deaths of 13 young Aboriginal people in the Kimberley extended beyond the usual non-coverage by mainstream media, with our political leadership remaining silent; ignoring the intolerable pain of these young people, who saw death as their only option. Their only escape.
Our children's lives deserve more than silence
Disclaimer: This article discusses suicide. There has been a deafening silence across this country following the latest Coronial Inquiry into the suicide deaths of 13 young Aboriginal people in the Kimberley, extending beyond the usual non-coverage by mainstream media. Our political leaders have also been shockingly, and shamefully silent; ignoring the intolerable pain of these young people, who saw death as their only option and their only escape.
What are the causes of indigenous suicides
Indigenous children and young people aged between 10 and 14 are 8.4 times more likely to committee suicide than non-Indigenous…
What are the causes of Indigenous suicides?
As an Indigenous clinical psychologist who has spent the better part of the past twenty years working solidly in Aboriginal suicide, I keep getting asked “What are the causes of Indigenous suicides?” ANSWER: I have long been concerned by public commentary on the causes of suicide & the impacts of this in finding evidence-based solutions. Simply put, suicide risk factors are being incorrectly and consistently stated as CAUSES of suicide.
Aboriginal suicide prevention. Where is the funding going?
The Minister for Indigenous Affairs has recently shared that the Commonwealth Government has allocated $134M of funding into Indigenous suicide prevention. If you look at the current suicide statistics this crudely translates to $248,000 per suicide death annually – without adding State funding into the mix. We have enormous amounts of funding injected into this critical area; yet, suicides continue to escalate.
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