Healing Through Connection: Shibs Sharpe Shares the Power of Culture in Mental Health

The Centre for Mental Health Nursing is proud to highlight the recent feature of Consumer Academic Program Team member, Shibs Sharpe on the Extremely Human podcast episode, Healing Through Connection.

In this powerful conversation, Shibs, a proud Wulgurukaba and Gunggandji woman and lived experience worker shares her personal journey navigating identity, chronic pain, and mental health. With honesty and warmth, she speaks to the profound role that culture, connection, and lived experience play in healing.

A passionate advocate for improving access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Shibs highlights the importance of culturally responsive approaches within mental health systems. She reflects on the value of traditional healing practices, including experiences with Ngangkari (Aboriginal traditional healers), describing the transformative impact of reconnecting with culture alongside clinical care.

“When you’re drawing on the strength of connection with your culture… there’s something really beautiful and powerful that happens.”

The episode reinforces a critical message: that healing is not one-dimensional. Instead, it is deeply relational shaped by identity, community, and cultural knowledge. Shibs advocates for a future where traditional and Western approaches to mental health can coexist, creating more inclusive and effective systems of care.

This conversation reflects the Centre’s ongoing commitment to elevating lived experience voices and supporting approaches that are person-led, culturally safe, and grounded in connection.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: Healing Through Connection.