Bridging Now to Next:

Reconciliation and the Future of Psychosocial Wellbeing for First Nations Australians.

As Reconciliation Week 2025 invites all Australians to reflect and act under the theme "Bridging Now to Next," we are called to honour the continuum of connection between past, present, and future and, to take deliberate steps together toward justice, healing, and equity. This year’s theme speaks deeply to the work of Mind-Life and our commitment to reframing how we understand and support psychosocial disability, and how it may align within First Nations social emotional wellbeing Framework.

The impacts of colonisation (dispossession, trauma, systemic racism, and the erosion of cultural identity) have directly contributed to the disproportionate mental health burden carried by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As reported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2022), First Nations adults are nearly three times more likely to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress than non-Indigenous Australians.

These are not just statistics; they are signals from history. The trauma of the Stolen Generations, the legacy of exclusion, and the ongoing fight for land, language, and justice continue to affect social and emotional wellbeing today.

But First Nations communities are not defined by deficit. They are rich with cultural strength, collective resilience, and deep knowledge of healing and care. As Professor Pat Dudgeon, a leading Aboriginal psychologist, reminds us:

“Self-determination is at the heart of social and emotional wellbeing. When we walk alongside First Nations peoples and truly listen, we begin to dismantle systems that have failed.”

The Present: Building the Bridge

“Bridging Now to Next” reminds us that change isn’t just a destination; it’s a practice. In the psychosocial disability space, that practice begins with acknowledging that mainstream mental health models often do not serve First Nations people well.

The Mind-Life project embraces a reframed approach to psychosocial disability; one that centres lived experience, challenges systemic exclusion, and works toward enabling participation in community life on one’s own terms. This vision aligns strongly with the principles of social and emotional wellbeing frameworks developed by First Nations leaders, which advocate for connection to culture, Country, family, spirit, and community as essential to mental health.

Bridging the now means co-designing supports with communities, not for them. It means confronting stigma around psychosocial disability and mental distress—especially when shaped by racism, poverty, and intergenerational trauma and, replacing it with understanding, agency, and compassion.

As a participant in a recent Mind-Life co-design workshop shared:

“We don’t want labels. We want understanding. We want tools that reflect our way of healing.”

The Future: Stepping Forward Together

Looking to what’s next, the path to reconciliation and psychosocial wellbeing must be walked side by side. It’s time to invest in culturally safe, strengths-based services. To elevate First Nations voices in leadership, design, and delivery. To move beyond awareness and into structural change.

This year’s Reconciliation Australia theme asks us to take bold, informed steps together. Not only to acknowledge past harms but to build futures where all people, especially those living with psychosocial disability can live well, contribute meaningfully, and belong wholly.

As the Uluru Statement from the Heart so powerfully states,

“When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.”

Mind-Life commits to being part of that journey. We acknowledge the wisdom of First Nations communities in shaping how we understand and support psychosocial disability. As we bridge from now to next, we invite our partners, practitioners, and policymakers to listen deeply, act respectfully, and stand in solidarity.

Because reconciliation is more than a word. It’s a future we build together.

References:

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2022). Mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• Reconciliation Australia. (2025). National Reconciliation Week Theme: Bridging Now to Next

• Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., & Walker, R. (2014). Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice

• Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017)