Dr Kathomi Gatwiri

Background: First Nations children and young people are disproportionately represented in residential care in Australia. This overrepresentation is a direct consequence of the enduring legacy of colonialism and assimilation policies that have fractured Indigenous families and communities.
Objective: This article examines the lived experiences of First Nations young people living in Therapeutic Residential Care (TRC) settings, exploring what supports their wellbeing and what constrains it.
Participants: Sixteen First Nations young people aged 12–18 living in TRC settings across New South Wales, Australia.
Methods: Using thematic analysis informed by Critical Race Theory, the study privileges the voices of young people, positioning them as knowledge-holders whose insights are too often marginalised or excluded from policy discourse.
Results: Participants identified key enablers of wellbeing, including relational stability, cultural affirmation, and opportunities for autonomy and growth. Constraints included frequent relocations, disempowering routines, fractured identity, and cultural disconnection. Themes of systemic racism and the need for cultural safety emerged strongly. Young people articulated both what the system must stop doing (e.g., disempowering practices) and what it must do more of (e.g., honoring relationships, embedding cultural safety, and enabling agency).
Conclusions: The study highlights the urgent need for structural reform in TRC, grounded in Indigenous perspectives and relational accountability. Elevating the lived expertise of First Nations young people is essential to creating culturally safe, empowering care environments.

This study explores the role of relationships in therapeutic residential care (TRC) for young people in Australia, applying Honneth's Recognition Theory and Social Capital Theory. Through in-depth interviews with 38 young participants, the research identified key relational practices that promote safety, wellbeing, and self-worth. Young people valued workers who built trust, engaged with their families, and respected their autonomy. The paper utilises Recognition Theory to understand these findings and advocates for intentional, relationship-based practices that encourage young people to form meaningful connections within and outside of care, contributing to improved outcomes in residential care settings.

Young people living in therapeutic residential care face major challenges that can prevent them from forming healthy relationships and connections within the community, which are critical building blocks for their wellbeing and safety. To address these challenges, Australia has introduced ‘therapeutic residential care’ (TRC) models in a number of states and territories. TRC in Australia is designed to respond to high levels of complexity of need, for those young people who are unable to live in a home-based care arrangement.  This research sought to explore whether and how relational practices in TRC enable the experience of positive, trusting relationships for young people. Young interviewees between the ages of 12 and 18 years reported experiencing trust when staff members genuinely invested time in their wellbeing, demonstrated care and respect, and made them feel valued. Conversely the lack of these practices and/or particular organisational and systemic conditions were often considered barriers that could lead to ‘misrecognition’. Drawing directly from the lived experience as recounted by the young people currently living in residential care, the researchers conceptualise and introduce a new dimension of relational practice in residential care settings.