The Psych Diaries

Indigenous Psychology

Who Are Indigenous Peoples?
  • Culturally distinct groups descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a region.
  • Maintain original culture, language, and traditions.
  • In Australia: Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
What Is Indigenous Psychology?

A global movement aiming to:

  • Develop research methods appropriate for Indigenous communities.
  • Promote self-determination and Indigenous-led knowledge.
  • Counter the dominance of WEIRD research (≈96% of psychology studies use WEIRD samples).
  • Advocate for culturally grounded understandings of thinking, feeling, and behaviour.
What Is Culture?

Culture = all non-biological, learned experiences that shape how people think, feel, and act.

Why Western Psychology Often Overlooks Culture

  1. People underestimate how deeply they are shaped by their own culture.
  2. Cultural influence on behaviour, wellbeing, and cognition is undercredited.
  3. Western psychology prioritises individual perspectives, not collective or relational ways of knowing.

Key Cultural Factors

  • Individualism vs collectivism
  • Time orientation
  • Personal space
  • Age milestones
  • Mental health beliefs
  • Treatment of elders and community roles
Indigenous Australians: Key Background
  • Prior to colonisation: ≈600 nations, 250+ distinct languages.
  • Torres Strait Islanders: strong seafaring, trading, and navigational traditions.
Aboriginal Mental Health & Suicide Prevention

Best Practice Principles

  • Ask culturally specific questions.
  • Recognise how language barriers affect treatment.
  • Use community-wide interventions — collective healing is most effective.
Barriers to Indigenous Psychology Success

1. Education Pathways (Cameron & Robinson, 2014)

Barriers include:

  • Institutional trauma associated with Western education.
  • Lack of Indigenous content and teachers.
  • Cultural insensitivity among university staff.
  • Competing family/community responsibilities for Indigenous students.

2. Health Services (Working Together Report, 2014)

Challenges include:

  • Complex impacts of colonisation on grief, trauma, and wellbeing.
  • Limited access to culturally safe services.
  • Very small number of Indigenous psychologists.
  • Need for holistic, community-centred care.
Indigenous Research Approaches

Decolonising Methodologies (Linda Tuhiwai Smith)

Shift from:

  • Research ON Indigenous people → research WITH and BY Indigenous people.

Comparison Table

Western ResearchIndigenous Research
Focus on the individualFocus on community & relationships
Researcher remains distant to reduce biasBuild trusting relationships
Ethics approval via institutionsApproval from Elders, community
Research goals driven by researcherResearch guided by community needs
Why Indigenous Psychology Matters
  • Culture shapes cognition, emotion, and social behaviour.
  • Restores trust in institutions that historically caused harm.
  • Supports Indigenous-led mental health strategies.
  • Centres community engagement, not individual pathology.
  • Enables genuine communication about mental health and wellbeing.
Cultural Responsiveness in Psychology
  • Psychology has historically contributed to harm against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
  • Indigenous psychologists and Elders are now reshaping the discipline.
  • Aim: a culturally safe field where Indigenous knowledge is valued alongside scientific knowledge.
Philosophies of Science & Coloniality in Psychology

How Coloniality Shaped Psychology

  • Modelled after physical sciences → prioritised “objectivity” and ignored culture.
  • Western knowledge systems framed as superior → minimised non-Western ways of knowing.
  • Result: diagnostic tools, research methods, and treatments disadvantaging Indigenous and diverse populations.

Intelligence Testing Legacy

  • Western IQ tests imposed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Tools based on Western definitions of intelligence → produced biased, racist results.
  • Supported assimilation policies and deficit narratives.

Role of AIPA

  • Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (2009 → independent 2019).
  • Increases Indigenous representation, promotes cultural safety, influences policy and training.
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Traditional Culture

Ancient Continuity

  • 65,000+ years of continuous culture.
  • Pre-colonisation population: 300,000–950,000 people.
  • 260+ Aboriginal languages; two major Torres Strait languages (Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya).

Lifestyle & Kinship

  • Seasonal hunter-gatherers; Torres Strait Islanders practised agriculture.
  • Kinship groups structured by obligations, roles, and reciprocity.
  • Deep relational focus: sharing, collective responsibility, sustainable resource use.

Spiritual Connection to Country

  • Country includes land, sea, sky, ancestors, and spirituality.
  • Cultural law (Lore), gendered ceremonial responsibilities, and custodianship central to identity.
Impacts of Colonisation

Key Processes

  • Terra Nullius falsely declared Australia “empty” → justified land theft.
  • Frontier violence, slavery, disease (smallpox, influenza) → catastrophic population loss.
  • Loss of Country = loss of identity, language, food, medicine, and culture.
  • Government policies: segregation, assimilation, child removal → profound intergenerational trauma.
Human Rights & Social Justice

Human-rights approach supports SEWB

SEWB = social and emotional wellbeing, emphasising holistic wellbeing.

Historical & Modern Advocacy

Key figures and movements:

  • Charles Perkins (Freedom Ride)
  • Vincent Lingiari (Wave Hill walk-off)
  • Eddie Mabo (Overturning Terra Nullius)
  • Redfern Speech (1992)
  • National Apology (2008)

Global Framework

UNDRIP (2007): 46 articles affirming Indigenous rights to:

  • Self-determination
  • Culture and sovereignty
  • Equality and protection
Systems Change in Psychology

Recommendations (Dudgeon et al., 2020)

  • Develop culturally responsive mental health services.
  • Train culturally competent clinicians.
  • Decolonise curricula and practice.
  • Address social determinants of health.
  • Monitor and evaluate system changes.

Outcomes

  • Indigenous-led models of care.
  • Better trained graduates with cultural competence.
  • Holistic and accessible mental health systems.
Indigenous Psychology in Australia

Core Principles

  • Decolonisation and strengthening cultural continuity.
  • Understanding wellbeing through the SEWB model:
    • Mind, body, family, community, culture, spirituality, Country, and history.

Research Paradigms

Indigenous methodologies emphasise:

  • Community-led priorities
  • Capacity building
  • Cultural revitalisation
  • APAR (Aboriginal Participatory Action Research): cyclical, strength-based, action-focused

Ethical Values

  • NHMRC: spirit/integrity, cultural continuity, equity, reciprocity, respect, responsibility
  • AIATSIS: self-determination, Indigenous leadership, value/impact, sustainability/accountability
Allyship & Cultural Responsiveness

What Allies Do

  • Use structural power to support Indigenous goals.
  • Engage in self-reflection, ongoing learning, and cultural safety.
  • Build respectful relationships with community members and Elders.

Four Key Ally Actions

  1. Learn about colonisation and social justice movements.
  2. Honour and respect Indigenous knowledge systems.
  3. Build genuine relationships with Indigenous communities.
  4. Participate in cultural safety training and reflective practice.
Ethical Issues in Research

Participant Rights

  • Informed consent
  • Right to withdraw
  • Protection from harm
  • Debriefing when deception is used
  • IRB / HREC review for approval

Indigenous Research Ethics

  • Follow AIATSIS and NHMRC guidelines
  • Emphasise sovereignty, respect, cultural integrity, community benefit

Animal Research Debate

ProsCons
Understanding learning & brain functionWelfare concerns
Insights into treatmentsEthical validity issues
Controlled environmentsLimited generalisability
Diverse Research Paradigms

Qualitative Research

Focus on context, meaning, and lived experience.
Methods: interviews, focus groups, case studies, thematic/content analysis.

Research Paradigm Components

  • Ontology: What is reality?
  • Epistemology: What counts as knowledge?
  • Methodology: How do we investigate it?
  • Axiology: What values guide the research?

Two Paradigms of Equal Value

ParadigmKey Features
Indigenous ParadigmIndigenous Standpoint Theory (IST), community-led, relational, holistic
Positivist ParadigmObjectivity, measurement, empirical evidence

Example: APAR

  • Aboriginal Participatory Action Research
  • Strength-based
  • Decolonising
  • Community-driven action cycle