My name is Emanjilli and I am a proud woman of Wiradjuri, Scottish, Irish and English heritage. My family traces its roots back to Dubbo and Mudgee on Wiradjuri Country, with known ancestors dating to the early 1800s. For much of our history, our family experienced disconnection from culture. Reclaiming that connection as an adult has been a deeply personal and spiritual journey. Reconnecting with Wiradjuri lore, ancestry and cultural knowledge continues to guide my work and sense of purpose.
I became a mental health occupational therapist because of my own lived experience. I have accessed mental health services myself – sometimes with great outcomes and other times with challenges. These experiences shaped my desire to be part of offering care that is culturally safe, deeply empathetic and grounded in integrity. I wanted to turn my own healing journey into something useful for others.
Working with mob has always felt natural to me. It is more than a career path —-it is a responsibility. That calling became clearer when I was on a spiritual journey through Central Australia with my daughter. While spending time on Country, I began volunteering at a local aged care respite centre. I noticed there were mobility aids and wheelchairs available but unused, simply because there was no occupational therapist to assess people’s needs. In that moment, I realised I had the skills to make a difference. I re-registered as an OT and committed to serving remote First Nations communities.
For the next eight years, I worked across the Northern Territory – in Alice Springs, Mutitjulu, Kintore, Tennant Creek and surrounding communities. I supported people in whatever way was needed, from early childhood to aged care. Much of my work focused on crisis mental health care. Later, I served as a PACER clinician (Police, Ambulance, and Crisis Emergency Response), in Albury Wodonga, responding to people in acute distress.
Through this work, I learned how important it is for a clinician to bring calm, cultural safety and grounded energy. When someone is in crisis, they are looking not just for help but for a sense of safety. I believe a balanced and present nervous system is one of the most powerful tools we can offer in mental health care. I also believe that we must seek alternatives to hospitalisation wherever possible. If we can activate community supports early and walk with people through difficult moments, we can avoid escalation and preserve dignity and connection.
That is why I am so passionate about early intervention and relational practice. I want to meet people where they are and create space for them to remain in community when safe to do so. I know that access to resources, support and cultural connection can change lives and I see my role as being part of that bridge.
Occupational therapy allows me to bring together lived experience, clinical insight and cultural reconnection. Healing is not just a clinical process. It is relational. It happens through connection to land, to culture, and to each other.