Our Philosophy

How do people Heal?

The first and most essential step to trauma recovery is to create a safe environment for people to heal. Issues of safety are therefore of vital importance and We Al-li makes creating cultural safety foundational to its practice.

In such safe places people can enter the first stage of the trauma recovery process, Telling their Story.

Our workshops provide activities that promote telling and interlinking individual and collective stories and life experiences. Workshop modalities introduce participants to various skills to facilitate the stages of an incremental healing process.

  • Creating culturally safe environments
  • Finding and telling our stories
  • Making sense of the stories
  • Feeling feelings
  • Moving through layers of loss and grief to ownership and choices
  • Strengthening cultural and spiritual identities
“Your approach was trauma informed long before the terminology was adopted. It is wonderfully refreshing, integrated and culturally affirming”
Cathy Kezelman
Ascat

Cultural ways of being and understanding

Dadirri, an Aboriginal contemplative way of deep listening is used to support the processes of sharing stories, trauma recovery and learning.

It is one of many strategies workshop participants are introduced to including narration, reflective discussion, art, dance, music, symbols, ritual, drama, somatic therapy, and emotional release work. These processes have been adopted by many modern therapeutic modalities but their roots are Indigenous and mirrored in Aboriginal culture practices that have for millennia served the peoples need to express, make sacred, heal, resolve conflict and renew and honour their country, one another and themselves

Our workshops have been running since 1993 and have been very well received with a rising demand for We Al-li programs by Indigenous and non Indigenous peoples locally, regionally, and internationally.

“This changed my thinking. It gave me a chance to look at the world differently and to see that solutions are possible when people stay focused with passion. Inspirational!”
Senior Public Servant

Education and Educaring

We Al-li workshops embrace concepts and principles which complement Indigenous understanding and learning that are understood to be a life-long process.

The word education comes from the latin educare – to draw out from – to lead – to show the way. We Al-li draws from the philosophy of educaring. A person who educares is a person who has walked the path of learning, and through the application of knowledge in wise action, draws out from others their own ability to learn.

In this way we are all teachers and we are all learners.

In this way we can empower communities from the inside out.

“These workshops are educating me about myself, who I am and how I have become who I am.”
Workshop Participant

Information about the Artwork

Hands are representative of a lot of conflict but are also representative of the resolving of conflict. This painting illustrates a structural way to work through conflict. The multiple dot work, displays a sense of trauma and the many issues surrounding conflict within Indigenous communities today.

Hands embody conflict and resolution significant in everything is five – the five stages of healing, our five senses all used as a part of the five stages within conflict resolution.

© Artwork and narration by Christopher Edwards- Haines

Get in touch

  • PO Box 21
    Goolmangar NSW 2480
    Australia

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