Craig Raymond, one of this year's recipients of the APS Bendi Lango Bursary, is using his lived experience to help bridge the gap in health care for First Nations Peoples.
Craig Raymond was always driven by a desire to help people in his community. As a child, he'd always dreamt of being a policeman, a goal that he eventually realised and spent a decade of his career dedicating himself to.
In his 40s, however, he felt compelled to try something different. Driven by his desire to continue learning and to support his community in different ways, he decided to pivot his career in a completely different direction, taking up a university degree in psychology.
"As I got older, I felt that I had more career longevity and more to offer as a psychologist," says Raymond, who is now just 12 months away from completing his Master's in Clinical Psychology.
"Assuming we get to live the average life span, there's no reason why you can't be working well into your 70s. So a career change at 40 still leaves you 30 years to make a difference."
Stepping into an entirely new career in your 40s might seem daunting, but to Raymond it was perfect timing.
"Being older is an advantage," he says. "Out of hundreds of students applying for the Master's program, they only picked 15. I have no doubt that emphasising my life experience helped me to get in."
Now, this life experience continues to help him as he starts seeing clients.
"It helps me to understand their perspectives. I can still relate to someone who's in their 20s, because I remember what that felt like, but I can also relate to someone who's in their 40s or 50s.
"As a young police officer, I found it incredibly challenging to respond to domestic disputes at just 20 or 21 years old, especially when I hadn't even been in a relationship myself. I was too shy to talk to girls, yet there I was trying to mediate complex family issues.
"While theory provides a solid foundation, it's the lived experiences that truly shape your understanding," he reflects.
After working undercover towards the end of his police degree, he learned to "see things in shades of grey rather than as strictly black and white".
This perspective is invaluable in the field of psychology, where recognising and navigating life's nuances is essential to helping clients uncover and manage their own complexities.
"It's a lot to learn, but that also keeps it really interesting. A career in psychology just offers a lot of different things and that's what appeals to me."
Driven by personal experience
Despite being the child of an Indigenous mother, it wasn't until well into his adulthood that Raymond discovered his Indigenous roots.
"I remember asking my mum why she was darker than me and she told me, 'There's a lot of pain and shame in my past. Please don't ask me about this again.' I never saw any photos of my grandparents and had really limited contact with my mum's side of the family."
He didn't know it at the time, but his mother was deep in the midst of intergenerational trauma, following incredibly distressing treatment of her family over the years.
This manifested in alcohol challenges, housing instability and undiagnosed mental health issues that Raymond says played a part in her passing away 20 years earlier than the average Australian life expectancy.
"Sadly, as we know, First Nations Peoples have a life expectancy nearly a decade lower than the Australian average."
Following his mother's passing, Raymond's curiosity was piqued, and he decided to learn more about his heritage, with the help of a woman named Aunty Rebecca – a family researcher – who confirmed his Indigeneity and traced his family back to Wiradjuri Country.
"Everything changed for me then and my life has never been the same since," he says.
Now, with a much firmer grasp on his cultural background, he's able to better understand what his mother was going through, which has fuelled a desire to shape the type of work he will go on to do in his psychology career.
“Finding out all this information helped me understand mum's struggles and gave meaning to my past. I also have a drive now to honour her spirit and help our people in the future.
"My own family's past mirrors the enduring nature of intergenerational trauma that touches First Nations Peoples, from undiagnosed mental trauma, disproportionate incarceration, lower life expectancy and barriers to health care.
"I look forward to utilising my former experiences in the policing field, life and family experiences, and my six-years of psychological training, to help bridge this gap."
Finding belonging
Because Raymond discovered his Indigenous identity relatively late in life, he says it was initially a challenge to feel that he belonged to his new-found community.
He's started to embed himself further into the Indigenous community by volunteering his time to work with Indigenous students to help them navigate the university system, and by coaching and refereeing Indigenous players at the Koori Knockout and in the NSW Rugby League Group 19 district.
"I've had gradual exposure to more Indigenous community groups through those roles, including my current psychology placement at the University of New England’s psychology clinic in Armidale.
"Whether coaching, refereeing or providing psychological care, being involved with the Indigenous community is an honour and a wonderful growing experience in terms of cultural knowledge and simply ‘belonging.'"
Raymond is looking forward to continuing giving back to his community via his work as a psychologist, via both clinical treatment and further research, especially into the areas such as disproportionate Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody. He has already started this important work.
"I did my honours project around drug prohibition and their effects on marginalised people. That was an amazing experience because part of that project was still 'Craig the policeman' looking at the drug laws, but it was moving further than that by showing how these laws disproportionately impact Indigenous people."
As well as being an enjoyable project, it was made even more special by being able to do it on Country (Wiradjuri) in Condobolin, the home of Raymond's Indigenous heritage.
"Spending time on Country during my honours year was emotional and validating on so many levels. The work I have done with Indigenous students at UNE, Indigenous youth at the Koori Knockout, and now beginning clinical treatment with Indigenous clients for mental health concerns has given my life real purpose."
Seek out support
When Raymond received the call telling him he was one of two recipients of this year's Bendi Lango bursary, established by the APS to support postgraduate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology students, he was both shocked and honoured.
“Financially, doing two years of unpaid placements, living away from home and having a young family to support is difficult," he says.
"Obviously, part of the impact is financial, but for me that's not the main aspect. It's the validation and the acknowledgement that others see the work I am doing for our people and the work I intend to do in the future. It's such an honour."
For any other Indigenous university students who are interested in studying psychology but perhaps feel there are too many barriers in place, Raymond says: "Go for it."
"Those barriers are the very reason we need you in psychology. If you've gone through problems and overcome them, you've got resilience and strength that other people might not have. It will make you a better psychologist."
Finally, Raymond says it's important to seek out people in your circle who want to help you to succeed.
“The cultural learnings and belonging connected to my psychology educational journey have been assisted by so many, including Dr Bernadine Cocks and Oorala at UNE, Aunty Rebecca from Condobolin and new Indigenous friends, such as Les Cleal, a former Roosters and NSW Rugby League player, who is now coaching the Warialda Rugby League team in Group 19."
Most universities will also have a tutoring program for Indigenous students, he adds.
"Take advantage of that. They not only help you academically, but it also helps having someone by your side helping you from a personal perspective.
"Sometimes university can feel like a lonely experience for any minority groups, so if you're feeling a bit lonely because you're one of the few Indigenous or older students – or perhaps you've encountered traumas that mean you're not comfortable mixing with the general population – a tutor can really help. They offer validation of what you're doing and motivation to keep doing it.
"We can’t change the past, however, we can learn from it and help foster a new generation of proud Indigenous clinicians who are providing culturally safe Indigenous health care programs that break down barriers and close the gap.”
Learn more about the APS Bendi Lango Bursary or donate here.