Equine therapy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this resource may contain images, audio or names of people who have passed away.
Aboriginal mental health researcher, Professor Juli Coffin was honored in the 2021 Western Australian Mental Health Awards for her work with Yawardani Jan-ga (‘horses helping’). This equine therapyprovides trauma-informed, culturally safe, client-centered and strength-based support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in Western Australia.
In this episode narrated by Dana Shen, Juli shares how ‘being’ with a horse on Country can support and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in learning more about themselves, working through difficulties, and improving their social and emotional wellbeing.
In this episode, you will learn:
- how horses can help engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people [08:26]
- how self-determination is best practice for healing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people [10:56]
- the importance of understanding your unconscious biases [23:58]
- why it’s important to be flexible and allow time in this work [26:33]
Further information and resources: