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.
Not 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.