The value of deep listening for healing from trauma – Judy Atkinson

Described as "the Aboriginal gift to the nation", learn how deep listening connects us with, and helps us heal, our own inner pain, and that of this nation.

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Judy Atkinson is a Bundajung woman and expert in understanding inter-generational healing and recovery from trauma in Aboriginal peoples.

At the core of this moving talk, she describes her approach to healing. It’s about listening. In order to heal, the stories behind the trauma must be heard.

Professor Judy Atkinson retired from formal academic work at the end of 2010. She researched and co-authored the Aboriginal Women’s Task Force on Violence Report for the Queensland government. Her book, Trauma Trails – Recreating Songlines: The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia, was shortlisted for an Australian Human Rights Award.

She continues to work across Australia and in Papua New Guinea on community-based violence – trauma-specific recovery programs. She worked with the University of Wollongong in the development of specialised postgraduate programs such as the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Trauma Care and Recovery Practice, designed specifically to build an Aboriginal trauma-skilled workforce.

With listening comes responsibility.

— Judy Atkinson