Renee bringing holistic approach to Indigenous AOD treatment
- deansimpson7
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 11
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
Alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction can be wrongly perceived as a problem endemic to First Nations cultures, a Salvation Army Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD Specialist says.
Renee Layton, a proud Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman from Victoria, says there are multiple misconceptions like this one when it comes to First Nations AOD use.
“Really, AOD issues are not a part of First Nations culture, they are the result of colonisation, dispossession, trauma and ongoing systemic inequalities,” Renee says.
Renee has been working in this role with The Salvation Army for about six months but comes from a background as a registered nurse. Renee has worked in an extensive range of nursing settings, including community health, forensics and withdrawals. Her first exposure to AOD nursing was at the Geelong Withdrawal Unit, a Salvation Army centre. She has also worked in public health as a Social and Emotional Wellbeing Manager for an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO).
Social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples incorporates an ecological, collectivist perspective of self that is intrinsically embedded within family, community and extended kinship and clan group networks, according to Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing.
“Sometimes a misconception is First Nations people don’t want help or refuse treatment,” Renee says. “When really, First Nations people do seek support, but barriers such as racism, lack of culturally safe services and historical distrust of mainstream health systems prevent access to appropriate care.”
In her current role, Renee is working to embed culturally safe practices that incorporate SEWB into The Salvation Army’s AOD service delivery across the nation. Her vision is that when First Nations clients come to our service, they feel welcomed and safe and receive care that reflects cultural ways of healing. But where her passion originally stems from is somewhere much closer to home.
“Growing up from the age of two years old, both my parents had heavy substance use and mental health issues that were also passed down to my younger brother,” Renee says. “It really shaped my understanding of the complexities around addiction, the compassionate care needed and also the cultural safety around AOD services.”
These experiences have also helped Renee to have compassion for First Nations parents experiencing addiction, who she says are often perceived as being “bad” for their children. She says often, this isn’t the case.
“When you look at our history as First Nations people, we are nothing if not a resilient Mob,” Renee says.
“Really, a majority of First Nations parents who use AOD still provide love, care and support to their children,” Renee says. “While yes, I agree AOD use can impact families, many First Nations parents want to engage in treatment, seek support from extended kinship networks and use strength-based, culturally safe approaches to parenting their children.
“This is our way as Mob we collectively heal and assist each other.”
Renee says barriers to First Nations clients accessing services for AOD assistance can include a lack of cultural healing within the service, historical traumas that make a medical facility a frightening place to be, and the common requirement to go off Country to access a service and leave community obligations.
“Hence why it’s important as an organisation [that] our services embed SEWB practices, partner with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and have a First Nations AOD workforce,” Renee says.
Renee says substance use among First Nations communities is often linked to intergenerational trauma, poverty, discrimination or a lack of culturally safe healthcare, not individual weakness or lack of willpower. She said treatment must address these root causes, not just the symptoms.
“When you look at our history as First Nations people, we are nothing if not a resilient Mob,” Renee says.
Renee says AOD use in First Nations communities can be viewed by some as a criminal issue rather than a health issue.
“Stats show that First Nations people are disproportionately criminalised for AOD-related offences due to systemic racism and over-policing, rather than being supported through appropriate SEWB interventions,” Renee says. “The overrepresentation in the criminal justice system is not due to higher levels of offending but structural discrimination. Hence AOD use should be treated as a health issue, not a legal issue.”
Renee has been seeking to implement a SEWB model using holistic approaches that address the mind, body, spirit, family and connection to Country, culture and community. This model uses community-centred approaches such as yarning circles, which offer a form of narrative therapy and sharing traditional knowledge alongside clinical interventions. Renee says this makes it a less rigid approach than a simply biomedical Western approach which tends to miss core aspects of Indigenous culture.
“A Western model [for] AOD use is sometimes viewed as a personal issue needing behaviour modification, with recovery framed around abstinence or harm reduction strategies,” Renee says. “In contrast, the SEWB approach recognises that historical trauma, dispossession and systemic issues all contribute to AOD issues; it's not an issue with the person. It involves acknowledging that true healing means strengthening cultural identity and practices, community belonging and addressing social determinants such as housing, employment and education.”
Renee has developed a community of practice for First Nations AOD staff within The Salvation Army to come together and provide one another with peer support and offer feedback.
To find out more about this work, see here.
