Gunawirra Information

Gunawirra aims to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers, carers, children, families and communities to break the cycle of hardship. Our programs focus on healing intergenerational trauma, trauma and grief through the influence of cultural identity, knowledge, and creativity. Our programs also use professional clinical care, treatment and support to improve lifestyle, health and education. At Gunawirra, we are aware how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been cut off from access to aspects of their culture that might have helped them to heal from trauma. Gunawirra is predicated on two gifts from ancient Aboriginal peoples: The Dreaming and Healing Circles. We combine symbolic psychoanalytic thinking and other western therapeutic methods, with the ancient form of the The Dreaming and Healing Circle to help restore the internal world for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and children. From The Dreaming and Healing Circles we gain ideas of how trauma was treated and the roots of how we treat trauma today. The animating spirit of all Gunawirra projects is creating a space in which to listen, a space where the voices of traumatised children, parents and teachers can be heard, in a way that gives those voices relevance.