Shark Cage

The Shark Cage Framework was developed by Melbourne psychologist, Ursula Benstead. The Five Step framework is a way of preventing, understanding, and healing from violence against girls and women. It is based on the concept of Universal Human Rights and draws on a powerful metaphor and multiple psychological modalities for working in trauma informed ways to help women interrupt patterns of abuse in their lives and in ways that empower girls and women and challenge victim blaming. This is an eight-week program that explores the types of abuse and how it violates one’s human’s rights. We can offer this individually or in a group setting.

The five steps in the framework are combined with key trauma and gender violence psychoeducation to address the following eleven program objectives:

• Increase knowledge of healthy & unhealthy relationships.
• Increase capacity to set boundaries.
• Increase skill in assertive communication.
• Increase awareness of the impacts of abuse
• Decrease any feelings of self-blame for abuse.
• Increase ability to for self-care & kindness.
• Increase connection to feelings.
• Increase sense of self-worth.
• Increase connection to body.
• Increase belief in entitlement to human rights.
• Increase ability to recognise a potentially abusive or exploitive person.

If you are interested in organising a group training session or participating in an existing training session as an individual, please email admin@binaalbilla.com.au.

Wellbeing Days

Wellbeing days are focused on the importance of Social and Emotional Well-being and self-care for Aboriginal Survivors of family and domestic violence and or sexual assault, our wellbeing days are to empower, support and encourage survivors on their healing journey. We offer a culturally appropriate space, for women to come together and share in mindfulness, meditation with fun interactive games with prizes to encourage and build strong foundations of heathy lifestyle, relationships, social and emotional wellbeing and selfcare on their healing journey.

Binaal Billa are delighted to offer Wellbeing days within our service area, for more information regarding Wellness Days, please call our service for more information.

Healthy Relationships
Delivered to Aboriginal female students in year 9 and 10 covering what healthy relationships look like, boundaries, red flags and green flags and support services available in the local area.

Community Legal Education sessions
Covering family law, ADVO’s, and Victims’ Services Compensation.

Love Bites

Love Bites is a Respectful Relationships Education Program for young people aged 15-17 years. It consists of two interactive workshops: one on Relationship Violence, and one on Sex and Relationships, followed by creative workshops and community campaigns. Love Bites is a flexible model with options to use a full day or multi session delivery approach. The program emphasises the importance of a whole-of-school commitment to respectful relationship education.

Love Bites aims to provide young people with a safe environment to examine, discuss and explore respectful relationships. All Love Bites programming takes a strength-based approach and views young people as active participants who can make choices for themselves and their relationships when supported with information and opportunity for
skill development.

What are the aims of the Love Bites Program

• To provide a safe environment in which young people can talk about Relationship Violence, and Sex and Relationships.
• To promote and model respectful relationships for young people.
• To raise awareness about Relationship Violence – its prevalence and forms.
• To bring about attitudinal change in relation to Relationship Violence.
• To engage young people, male and female, on the issues of Relationship Violence in a non-sex-segregated environment with male and female facilitators.
• To challenge gender stereotypes, attitudes, values, and social institutions that perpetuate male violence against women.
• To deconstruct the myths that exist in local communities and society generally on Relationship Violence.
• To encourage and educate young people to support their friends.
• To educate young people through a creative and relevant process that builds on their existing knowledge base.
• To introduce young people to local service providers in an informal environment.
• To develop youth-led community campaigns on the issues of Relationship Violence

If you are interested in organising a group training session or participating in an existing training session as an individual, please email admin@binaalbilla.com.au.

Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid

Binaal Billa FVPLS works in partnership with Yoorana Gunya to deliver Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid, providing the 14-hour training course to any community members or organisations who are interested. The course is generally delivered over 2 days.

The training will provide individuals with the ability to be able to assist an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander adult who may be experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis is resolved.

The course includes content surrounding social & emotional wellbeing and mental health problems in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

This course has been produced by the consensus of Aboriginal Mental Health Professionals.

The specific content in the course includes:

• Depression and anxiety
• Psychosis
• Substance use problems
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviours
• Non-suicidal self-injury (deliberate self-harm)
• Panic Attacks
• Traumatic events
• Sever effects of drug and alcohol abuse
• Severe psychotic states
• Aggressive behaviours

Please note this training is available to those 18 and over and does contain sensitive content.

Once individuals have completed the training, they have the choice of completing an online quiz to become an accredited Mental Health First Aider and they will receive a certificate of completion.

If you are interested in organising a group training session or participating in an existing training session as an individual, please email admin@binaalbilla.com.au.