A new webinar hosted by Flinders’ National Centre of Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worker wellbeing and resources and strategies for dealing with stressful issues e.g., working with people using methamphetamine.

Working in the alcohol and drug sector can be rewarding but also stressful and challenging, particularly when with working with Aboriginal clients and communities given their unique requirements and needs.

The webinar, presented by Allan Trifonoff, NCETA’s Deputy Director of Programs, provides practical strategies and intervention options to support workers.

Recent statistics indicate:

• More than a quarter of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported using an illicit drug in the past twelve months (mostly cannabis)
• 1 in 20 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders aged 15+ years reported using amphetamines in the same period
• While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to abstain from alcohol than non-Aboriginal people, those who drink do so at risky levels each month.

Allan Trifonoff says there is a lot of concern about methamphetamine use and its impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

“In this 3-part webinar we talk about some of those issues & challenges and provide examples of practical resources & strategies that you can use to address those issues,” Mr Trifonoff says.

Webinar topics include ways to utilise NCETA’s extremely popular Feeling deadly, working deadly resource kit which provides workers, supervisors and managers with strategies to reduce the risk of stress and burnout and enhance worker wellbeing.

Practical examples are given of what workers and organisations can do to support each other like making wellbeing a priority, introducing clinical supervision, peer support and creating opportunities for spending time with family and community.

There is also information available about a new NCETA resource which provides information about why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use methamphetamine, examples of some of the associated health, social and emotional wellbeing issues, and the range of intervention options that workers can use when responding to people using methamphetamine.

The webinar runs for approximately 48 minutes, and is available at