Dr Westerman holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Science (Psychology), a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology.
Dr Westerman is the founding Managing Director of Indigenous Psychological Services, a company founded in 1998 for the specific purpose of providing mental health and psychology specific services for Aboriginal people.
Dr Westerman’s work, the cornerstone of which has been her award winning PhD has provided a much needed evidence base regarding the cultural manifestations of mental illness for Aboriginal people. She explored population level differences which are evident in the expression, course and etiology of mental illnesses and the role of culture within this. She has developed a unique psychological test for Indigenous youth; a range of assessment protocols which address the established error (or bias) of mainstream tests for use with Aboriginal people as well as an extensive number of Indigenous specific workforce development services and products the cornerstone of which are the in-demand Indigenous mental health and psychology specific training packages as well as Cultural Audits of Organisations. She has also developed four unique Indigenous specific intervention programs which are delivered within whole community and focus on the development of capacity.
For more information, see:
www.indigenouspsychservices.com.au/index.php?page=viewStory&title=Publications
The Indigenous Psychological Services mission statement is:
"to provide the highest quality, culturally appropriate, mental health service to Indigenous (Australian) people, that directly affects their social and emotional well being. This will be achieved through the provisions of training, community based interventions, research and consultancy services."
Westerman, T. (2004). Guest Editorial. Engagement of Indigenous Clients in Mental Health Services: what role do cultural differences play? Australian e-journal for the Advancement of Mental Health (AeJAMH), Volume 3, Issue 3
Westerman, T.G. & Vicary, D.A (2004). Guest Editorial. That's just the way he is': Some implications of Aboriginal mental health beliefs. Australian e-journal for the Advancement of Mental Health (AeJAMH), Volume 3, Issue 3.
Westerman, T.G. (2003). Development of an inventory to assess the moderating effects of cultural resilience with Aboriginal youth at risk of depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviours. Available from Curtin University, Perth, WA.
Westerman, T (2002). Psychological Interventions with Aboriginal People. Connect Magazine, Health Department of Western Australia.
Westerman, T. & Vicary, D. (2001). Preventing Aboriginal Youth Suicide. In Dudgeon, P., Pickett, H. & Garvey, D. Working With Aboriginal People: A Handbook for Psychologists. Curtin University, Perth WA: Centre for Aboriginal Studies.
Westerman T. & Wettinger, M. (1998). Working with Aboriginal People. Psychologically Speaking, Western Australian Psychological Society.
Dr Westerman trains an average of 1,200 throughout Australia annually. IPS has 24 Indigenous specific training courses which have been developed uniquely for Indigenous people based on significant research and cultural validation. The workshops are presented extensively throughout Australia, including the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia for the past ten years in response to overwhelming demand.
IPS has developed a range of Indigenous specific workforce development products which enable organisations to identify baselines of cultural competency and specific target areas for development via the range of training and other skills development products available from IPS.
The range of products include: (1) the Aboriginal Mental Health Cultural Competency Test (CCT: Westerman, 2003); (2) Cultural supervision plans; (3) Training and e-learning; (4) Culture specific client policies and procedures; (5) Program and assessment protocol review, and (6) Comprehensive Indigenous specific client information management systems.
IPS has conducted extensive work into rural and remote Indigenous communities who are often in crisis following numerous critical incidents and ongoing and entrenched trauma.
IPS has been engaged to complete numerous state and national program and organisational reviews since it's inception in 1998.
IPS provides a range of services for organisations who wish to increase the number of Indigenous people in their organisations.
For more information, see: www.indigenouspsychservices.com.au.