INDIGENOUS STORYBOOK

Robert Morrison and Deanna Eades
Robert delivering a workshop
And then one day…
once we developed the model, we needed resources
to accompany it to form the basis of our educational
workshops. We produced several clinical booklets
which relate directly to the different stages of the
model; Two booklets for each section of the model.
During the workshops, the participant is given the
corresponding booklet as to where they are at on
their journey.
Our main focus is to educate using the model as
a reference point. Our target group is Aboriginal
people 18 years and older and we deliver our
workshops all over the south metropolitan area.
We don’t actively seek engagements; rather we are
contacted by different organisations and invited to
speak at different events. We present at Aboriginal
events, cultural days, NAIDOC week, and any other
forums happening locally throughout the South
Metro area. Our workshop sessions involve explaining
the tobacco model and we present our information
in the way Aboriginal people have communicated
for thousands of years, which is to sit down and yarn,
which we find is the most effective style of approach.
For the five years I’ve been a part of the project, I’ve
not come across any negative feedback and a key
component to that is our non-judgmental approach.
We don’t tell people to quit smoking. We feel we
are past the point of telling people that tobacco kills
them. Everyone knows it kills and they don’t need
to be told something they already know. Instead we
present them with the information and then it’s up
to them to decide how to process it and to make a
choice as to whether they will embrace the journey
to quitting tobacco. We have found that people really
respond to this style of information sharing.
The information that we do gather from people
is shared freely, not reluctantly. We also allow the
session to be led by the people in the room. When
sharing our messages we do so in a manner in
which the messages are embraced by people and
not resisted. We haven’t changed method in which
we share information in five years. We have noticed
over time that people are grasping the information
quicker than when we first started presenting. We
also run information stalls at different events such
as multicultural week, World No Tobacco Day and
Harmony Day to share our message.
And because of that…
as there are only two project officers working on
this program, Deanna and I, we are able to cover
the whole South Metro area. Although we target
“It is my hope
and vison that this model will
become the baseline for people,
clinicians and organisations who are
working with people to quit tobacco,
Australia wide.”
5