'Ask someone, what is their Dreaming?': Exploring occupational performance coaching with service providers supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

Laine Chilman; Laura Burritt; Sharnna Duncan; Pamela Meredith; Charmaine Bernie; Fiona Graham

doi:10.1111/1440-1630.70049

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'Ask someone, what is their Dreaming?': Exploring occupational performance coaching with service providers supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

Journal article

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'Ask someone, what is their Dreaming?': Exploring occupational performance coaching with service providers supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

Laine Chilman, Laura Burritt, Sharnna Duncan, Pamela Meredith, Charmaine Bernie and Fiona Graham

Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, Vol.72(5), pp.1-12

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.70049

PMCID: PMC12458970

PMID: 40990155

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Abstract

Occupational therapy

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

culturally responsive ways of working

Indigenous research methodologies

occupational performance coaching

occupational therapy

Yarning

UniSC Diversity Area - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement

Introduction Culturally responsive health services have been highlighted as a national priority in Australia. Yet, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families still experience notable challenges accessing and engaging in culturally responsive health and community services across states and territories in Australia. Methods Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health service providers partnered with researchers to consider the alignment of occupational performance coaching (OPC) with current practice and its potential applicability when working with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families. Yarning Circle methodologies were adopted to support data collection, with main themes analysed using a blend of evidence-based approaches from Indigenous and Western cultures, including Thought Ritual and reflexive thematic analysis. Consumer and Community Involvement Description and depiction of themes were co-developed by members of the research team, including researchers and service providers from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and white cultural backgrounds from Australia and New Zealand. Findings Four key themes emerged from the Yarning Circles and were described and depicted iteratively until agreement was reached. The themes, which intersect around concepts of Dreaming, relationship-building, system disruption, and moving forward, describe how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health service providers consider their ways of working in response to prompts around the three domains of OPC. The imagery of a river depicts the links between, and flow of, themes that emerged from the data, with synergy with OPC domains described. Conclusion OPC holds promise as an approach for family support, from the perspective of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health service providers. Further work is needed to explore its feasibility and applicability from multiple perspectives, including family and community members across all regions of Australia.

Details

Title: 'Ask someone, what is their Dreaming?': Exploring occupational performance coaching with service providers supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
Authors: Laine Chilman (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Occupational Therapy
Laura Burritt - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Occupational Therapy
Sharnna Duncan - REFOCUS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services Ltd
Pamela Meredith - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Occupational Therapy
Charmaine Bernie - Southern Cross University
Fiona Graham - University of Otago
Publication details: Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, Vol.72(5), pp.1-12
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1111/1440-1630.70049
ISSN: 1440-1630
PMID: 40990155; PMC12458970
Copyright note: © 2025 The Author(s). Australian Occupational Therapy Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Occupational Therapy Australia. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Data Availability: Research data are not shared.
Grants: Occupational Performance Coaching: An Evidence-based Intervention for Priority Populations, 0980028677, University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Organisation Unit: Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; School of Health - Occupational Therapy; Cancer Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991164245902621
Output Type: Journal article

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