Our Approach
One relationship.Seven ways of showing up.
Ngawilyi's Aunty model allows therapeutic, mentoring and practical support to occur together — responding to what is actually happening in a young person's life, not just what a referral category says.
Story
Narrative therapy and narrative conversations — separating people from problems and making room for preferred stories.
Connection
Relationships with family, carers, community and peers — because healing happens in relationship, not isolation.
Culture
Identity, belonging, family, Country and connection to appropriate cultural knowledge holders.
Movement
Walking, fitness, outdoor activities and side-by-side conversations — sometimes it's easier to yarn while moving.
Mentoring
Consistent relationships and practical support that show up in real life, not just in appointments.
Community
Creating networks around children rather than creating dependence on services.
Knowledge
Recognising children, families and community as knowledge holders — lived experience that can help the next person.
Healing through story. Strength through connection.
How Support Begins & Grows
Many starting points. No one-size-fits-all.
People connect with Ngawilyi through different starting points — and you don't need to join a structured program to access individual support. Initial yarns identify what matters to you: your preferred goals, strengths, existing supports and the type of engagement you're seeking.
Connect
However you arrive — referral, request or yarn.
Yarn & Explore
What matters to you, your hopes, strengths and existing supports.
Agree on a Starting Point
A collaboratively developed support outline — never one-size-fits-all.
Begin Support
Engagement shaped around your goals, interests and ways of working.
Reflect & Review
Regular, strengths-based progress conversations — together.
Adapt or Transition
Review goals, adapt supports, or plan transitions, endings or ongoing engagement.
Your support outline may include
- Initial engagement and relationship building
- Identifying hopes, strengths and concerns
- Agreeing on goals and areas of focus
- Identifying preferred activities and ways of working
- Regular reflection and progress conversations
- Reviewing goals and adapting supports
- Planning transitions, endings or ongoing engagement
Progress is more than attendance.
It can include changes in confidence, relationships, identity, belonging, education engagement, emotional wellbeing and connection to community. Progress reviews are collaborative, strengths-based and appropriate to your circumstances.
Flexible across supports
Entering through one service or program never restricts you to it. A young person referred for education engagement may also benefit from narrative conversations, family connection, mentoring, cultural identity work or movement — explored collaboratively. Any change to agreed services, information sharing, referrals or other professionals is always discussed first and supported by appropriate agreements, permissions and informed consent. Joining one program never automatically authorises others.
Where Support Happens
Support doesn't always happen in a therapy room.
Ngawilyi uses a flexible, mobile delivery model. Location and delivery methods are agreed based on your needs, safety, accessibility, privacy, consent and service capacity.
Face-to-face sessions
Individual sessions in a space that works for you.
Community-based & outreach
Support where community and life already happen.
Mobile support
At suitable agreed locations — subject to availability, travel and safety.
School-based engagement
Working alongside education settings where agreed.
Online sessions
Telehealth yarns when distance or timing calls for it.
Hybrid delivery
Combining online and face-to-face engagement.
Group yarning & community
Circles, cook-ups and community activities.
Outdoor & fitness
Walking, movement and physical activity where appropriate.
Mobile and outreach services are subject to availability, location, travel arrangements and relevant safety requirements — always agreed with you first.
Find your starting pointNot an office-only service
Important conversations often happen side-by-side.
Ngawilyi recognises that not everyone wants to sit opposite a professional in an office and talk. A yarn on a walk, a letter written over lunch, a gym session, a cook-up — these are not distractions from the work. They are the work. Support happens where life happens.
And always: the person is the knowledge holder in their own life. Our practitioners never position themselves as the expert on somebody else's life — we walk alongside, helping the knowledge, strengths and hopes already there become more visible.