Professor Pat Dudgeon (she/her) is a Bardi woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia.  She was the first Aboriginal person to qualify as a Psychologist in Australia in 1985, and since then has had a long and distinguished career as a leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing, Indigenous suicide prevention, decolonising psychology education and practice.  Pat is the Director of the University of Western Australia’s Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention and was the head of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtain University for 17 years. She was a founding Chair of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association and a founding board member of Gayaa Dhuwi Proud Spirit Australia.  Her list of achievements and publications is far too long for me to list but hopefully this gives you a taste of Pat’s role as a pioneer in Indigenous psychology and mental health in Australia.  Anita was honoured to have this conversation with Pat, who generously talked about her experience of studying and creating change in psychology, about self-determination, and also about the Working Together book which celebrates it’s 15th anniversary this year (downloadable for free here). Pat spoke to me from Whadjuk Noongar country in Perth, while I was on Wurunjeri woi-worrung country in Melbourne.

Averil Cook (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and founder of Bodhi & Psychology, a practice located in Leichhardt on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation (Sydney). She is a family therapist and has background leadership in psychology training programs and academia, NSW health services and hospitals. Bodhi & Psychology works towards decolonising therapy and clinician practices through therapy, training, supervision and consultation. Across her career Averil has been passionate about social justice and has woven this into her work supervising and training psychologists, in her work with mental health organisations and in research. Her current work includes research collaborations examining climate change on the mental health of diverse communities with NSW Health, the Bureau of Meterology and the Ingham Institute, and consulting to the Human Rights Commission to support intersectional and embodied change. Aileen was inspired by her discussion with Averil about the path ahead for Australian psychologists to decolonise their practice.

Nasalifya Namwinga (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Pola Practice in Ascot Vale in Naarm (Melbourne) in 2018, on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. Nasalifya is a Zambian woman who was raised in the UK and Aotorea/New Zealand before settling in Naarm. Pola Practice focused on culturally responsive and intersectional practice. Nasalifya provides consultation with a specialisation in culturally responsive mental health service delivery, executive coaching from an intersectional perspective and is pursuing a PhD professional burnout and the role of emerging technology. Anita was lucky enough to chat with Nasalifya about her experiences of studying and practicing psychology, what helps practitioners who are people of colour, and how our profession can better serve people who have experiences of marginalisation.

Dr Judy Tang (she/her) is a clinical neuropsychologist and director at Invictus Health in Preston in Naarm (Melbourne), on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. A daughter of refugee migrants, Judy is a queer Asian-Australian who co-founded the Solis network, a “capacity-building, support & resource network for culture-oriented mental health advocates and practitioners”. Judy is also a Victorian Multicultural Commissioner and on the board of the Victorian Pride Centre.  Anita had the pleasure of speaking with Judy about her experience of studying psychology, of advocacy, and of connecting practitioners to make their voices stronger.

Anita and Aileen fill you in on their plans for this podcast. Stay tuned for a series of conversations about diversity in psychology.