Social Skills Training for Aboriginal Children and Youth
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young people only represent about 5% of the total population of Australian young people. However, 40% of those under legal supervision on an average day are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. The over representation of Indigenous youth in detention is alarming. Over half of those in detention on any day and 60% of those who were unsentenced in detention are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. Compared to non-Indigenous youth of the same age (10-17 years) research has shown that an Indigenous young person is 16 times more likely to be under legal supervision, almost 15 times more likely to be under community based supervision and nearly 30 times more likely to be in detention. These numbers are alarming! Indigenous youth are at risk of developing antisocial behaviours due to multiple risk factors, including: forced removal, including parental forced removal; erosion of self-determination; institutional racism; substance abuse; and socio-economic disadvantage.
Risk factors associated with Indigenous youth can cause deficits in social skills, which can then lead to the development and maintenance of mental health issues, including- depression, anxiety, and aggressive/antisocial behaviours. This training module has been developed specifically for Indigenous youth. It is a culturally specific and appropriate social skills training module for Indigenous young people that acknowledges risks factors associated with generational trauma and encompasses a holistic view of emotional, mental, physical, cultural and spiritual health. The Speak Up Program acknowledges the impact of colonisation on Indigenous health. The Speak Up Program is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioural intervention designed to teach interpersonal and social problem solving skills to Indigenous young people.
Learning Outcomes:
• An understanding of culturally sensitive practices in working with Aboriginal young people, their families, and communities.
• A clear understanding of the cognitive-behavioural theory and evidence underlying culturally appropriate social skills training for Indigenous youth.
• Opportunity to observe the delivery of the program, both as a group and individual intervention.
• Opportunity to practice delivery of the program in small groups.
• Workshop participants will receive a copy of the program manual and a disk containing all program materials, including program handouts and posters.
• The workshop is a combination of theoretical, observational, and experiential learning.
The workshop is co-facilitated by Vanessa Worrall and Matt Currie.
