“I believe in the power of research as a social change-maker –

I hope that my research will affect some change in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians living with psychosocial disabilities”

– Tara Harriden

Proud to be a Wiradjuri woman, Tara Harriden brings her wisdom of cultural creative practices to the 2022 Creative Mental Health Forum and Self Care Retreat, and shares some of the ways she brings Indigenous knowledges into her art therapy practice.

Tara is one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal Art Therapists. She is currently completing her PhD research which will culminate in co-designing a cultural safety-centered, arts based, clinical supervision program for disability support workers who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who have been diagnosed (through a Western medical lens!) with psychosocial disabilities.

At the centre of this research are two groups of people:

1) Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants who experience psychosocial disabilities (PEPDs) and,

2) the psychosocial disability support workers (PDSWs) who work with and for those participants.

The introduction of the NDIS, which provides individual funding packages to people with disabilities, has seen a shift towards in-home support.  This in turn has led to dramatic changes in the role and responsibilities of disability support workers (DSWs) without a concomitant change in professional development or support for these workers.

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Research Question:

How can PDSWs be better supported to provide high quality, culturally safe, ongoing care for Aboriginal Australian PEPDs?

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ABOUT TARA

With a Master of Mental Health majoring in Art Therapy from the University of Queensland’s School of Medicine, Tara specialises in helping people find creative solutions to their own life’s challenges. 

Tara shares her passion for raising awareness about the efficacy of Arts Therapy and the professionalism of Arts Therapists:

“We need people to understand that effective Arts Therapy is provided by highly educated and trained Mental Health Professionals…”

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“…we need to educate the general public and policymakers that Creative Arts Therapy involves more than just colouring in, doing random movements to music, or writing rap verses with our clients. We have to help people to understand that we are more than ‘counsellors with crayons!’”

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“… effective Arts Therapy is provided by highly educated and trained Mental Health Professionals who understand how the brain develops and changes over the course of a person’s life. We need to get more research done and published about the ways Arts Therapies are deployed in different settings so we can get a really strong evidence base together.”

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“I am doing my current post-graduate study because I believe in the power of research as a social change-maker – I hope that my research will affect much positive change in the lives of Aboriginal Australians living with psychosocial disabilities as well as promote the use of the arts in healthcare in general”.

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Tara is a Wurudjeri woman with a background in teaching English, Dance and ESL, and holds a Bachelor of Education. Her life-long engagement with the arts and her personal experiences of working through the arts with young people, led her to study Art Therapy, and she completed her Master of Mental Health – Art Therapy at the University of Queensland. Tara is currently completing her PhD research “The Art of Decolonising Support Work” through Melbourne University’s School of Global and Population Health within the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. This research investigates the use of arts based approaches and culturally safe practices in supervision with psycho-social support workers working in remote Aboriginal communities.

Tara formerly worked as the National Professional Learning Coordinator with Edmund Rice Education Australia. During this time, she wrote the “Diploma of Flexible Learning” which was Nationally accredited and delivered in Flexible Learning Centres by Tara around Australia for youth workers, educators and other staff members. This diploma educated learners on topics including trauma-informed practice and cultural safety, and indigenous practices were embedded throughout the content and delivery.

Tara sits on the Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). This Committee oversees all Australian research proposals relating to research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, assessing their adherence to the 2020 AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research.  

Tara is the Founder and Director of “Whole Hearts and Minds” Arts Therapy Private Practice clinic in Brisbane.

Kindness is at the heart of her practice and a core foundation of her work.

Image credit: Tara Harriden

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