Finding Our Way, Telling Our Stories: A Story-Informed Transformation Toward Person-Centred Culture and Practice after Australia’s Oakden Report: An introduction and critical appraisal in partial fulfilment of the Doctor of Philosophy degree by retrospective publication.

Abstract

This doctoral study by retrospective publication examines the transformation of health, aged and social care environments from dehumanised and dysfunctional into compassionate, person-centred cultures. The research is grounded, firstly, in my experience as a reviewer of South Australia’s Oakden Older Persons’ Mental Health Service, a profoundly flawed institution whose exposure led to several national inquiries and, secondly, in my subsequent experience as the strategic clinical lead of systemic reforms occurring after the report’s publication. Through immersive, embodied scholarship, involving practice-based learning, reflective practice, and autoethnographic research, this study explores the role of storytelling as a mechanism for culture change.

The thesis explores the relationship between storytelling, organisational culture, and person-centred care, synthesising insights from philosophy, theology, and social science. It argues that a story-informed approach—where storytelling and story-listening are embedded in work and care practices—enhances empathy, disrupts power hierarchies, and fosters psychologically safe environments. This principle, alongside the co-designed Culture Framework developed in the Oakden reform process, provides a strategic model for sustainably embedding person-centred values into health, aged, and social care services.

The critical appraisal considers theologically informed personalism as an ontology, functioning as a wellspring for a dynamic embodied scholarly practice. It also positions storytelling as an epistemology that humanises care and builds ethical, empathetic, and inclusive cultures. It evaluates the study’s methodological foundation in evocative autoethnography and reflexive scholarship, addressing the ethical complexities of narrating lived experience. The findings affirm that systemic failures, such as those at Oakden, are often rooted in the erosion of personhood and relational care. By offering an applied model of cultural transformation, this thesis contributes new knowledge to the field of person-centred practice, advocating for narrative as a central mechanism in achieving sustainable, compassionate care environments.