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Social workers urged to embed Aboriginal cultural practices in First Nations communities

Social workers in First Nations communities need to incorporate Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing at the heart of their supervision practices on Country.

That's the recommendation from University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers in a published in Australian Social Work.

First author Jamie Sorby—a Kamilaroi woman, qualified social worker and UniSA lecturer—says that current supervision practices in social work are centered on Western practices that overlook a community-grounded approach that is valued in First Nations culture.

"Western models of supervision often focus on managerial oversight, risk aversion and clinical outcomes, and are disconnected from the lived realities of both workers and clients in Aboriginal communities," Sorby says.

"They tend to favor formal, hierarchical structures and overlook cultural values, emotional safety and relational trust.

"For Aboriginal workers, this can feel alienating and unsafe. Supervision should be a space of support, growth and cultural reflection, but often it's not. This is why culturally responsive models are urgently needed," she says.

The authors argue that traditional Western approaches to supervision often fail to acknowledge the lived experience of Aboriginal workers or the intergenerational trauma stemming from colonization. As a result, these approaches contribute to staff burnout, mistrust, and poor retention of First Nations workers in social services.

The study introduces a suite of conceptual maps and visual artifacts that guide supervisors and practitioners to embed cultural safety into their practice.

The work was born out of conversations on Country between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal practitioners who wanted to challenge the status quo and embed Indigenous knowledges into professional development.

"For decades, Aboriginal communities have expressed concerns about social work practices often operating from individualistic models that don't reflect our collectivist values or ways of being," Sorby says.

"The issue is not new, it's just that it hasn't been listened to or acted on at a systemic level and we want that to change."

Sorby says the impact on First Nations communities would be "transformative" if social workers were guided by Aboriginal perspectives, working with communities, not on them.