First Nations child’s relationality: and what this means for child and family practice

First Nations child’s relationality: and what this means for child and family practice

The La Trobe University Discipline of Social Work and Social Policy and the Care Economy Research Institute (CERI) invite you to attend a seminar from Dr Mishel McMahon at the Bendigo campus and online. Mishel will discuss her research on First Nations child’s relationality and what this means for child and family practice, particularly within social work.

About Dr Mishel McMahon

Dr Mishel McMahon is Senior Research Fellow with the Violet Vines Marshman Research Centre, and the La Trobe Rural Health School at La Trobe University.

Mishel is a proud Yorta Yorta woman living on Djaara Country, near Yakoa river in northern Victoria. Mishel positions First Nations’ worldviews, concepts and processes for application within the health and healing sector, and research methodologies.

First Nations concepts of childhood position a child as holding relationships with Country, nature, the spirit world, and their Ancestors (even before conception). These relationships remain with the child, as they transition from Spirit Self to Social Self and journey to their collective social identity.

The principles discussed in this presentation underpin this transition, enabling the child to become a member of their Community, and develop relatedness with their whole lifeworld, and with all entities; seen and unseen, human and non-human. These principles also enable the child to transition to adulthood, become their full self, including their strength based cultural identity and embrace their responsibilities to their large family support network, and grow their ability to make decisions and enter leadership as an adult.

These principles have important implications for culturally sensitive social work with First Nations children, families and Communities.

Book Now

Seminar recording