Editorial: Valuing Indigenous Voices Despite the “No” Vote

Abstract

Despite only 39.9% of “yes” votes in the October 2023 voice to parliament referendum, almost nine in 10 Australians (87%) believe that First Nations peoples should have a voice in matters influencing them, according to a comprehensive post-referendum survey (Biddle et al., 2023). Over three-quarters of “no” voters (76%) support this view. Reflecting the survey findings, two articles (Carmody, 2023; Latham et al., 2023) in the December 2023 issue of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia advocate for valuing the cultural skills, experiences, and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in therapy and therapist education. Another article (O’Hara, 2023a) explores how the counselling and psychotherapy profession defines itself, an important concept given the forthcoming two-year review of national standards by the Federal Government. An attachment-based model for supervision (Soliman, 2023), a literature review on dog-assisted therapy for children with anxiety (Wu & Wei, 2023), a conversation analysis of silence in psychotherapy (Berger & Rae, 2023), and the Power Threat Meaning Framework and self-discrepancy theory (O’Hara, 2023b) are also featured. This issue is the first to showcase new sections called Practice Reflections and Viewpoints.