Clinicians & Front-line Workers
Resources for Clinicians & Front-line Workforces
Clinicians, including psychologists, psychiatrists, emergency medicine specialists, GPs and nurses, have important roles to play in supporting the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and in preventing suicide.
Other front-line workers who provide services to Indigenous people can also make essential contributions. Social workers, youth workers, and any staff who support community programs and services, need to understand how Indigenous people may exhibit distress and how to respond to individuals, families and whole communities.
For some professionals, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s mental health and social and emotional wellbeing will be part of their education, training and supervision. For many others, their development in these domains will occur in the workplace, with limited formal oversight.
All workforces need to understand how to work with Indigenous people in a culturally responsive and safe way that supports positive and trusting relationships.
This section of the Manual includes resources that apply in all these situations.
Resources
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This Powerpoint presentation describes the roles of language and culture in the social and emotional wellbeing of people in the East Kimberley. From a 2019 Empowered Communities workshop. Source: Binarri Binyja Yarrawoo
Wellbeing and Healing through Connection and Culture
CBPATSISP Tools & Checklists This link takes you to listings of clinical tools and checklists on the main CBPATSISP website, with separate sections for: - Social and emotional wellbeing assessment - Mental health outcome measures - Stress and trauma assessment - Youth Assessment - Suicide risk assessment - Perinatal mental health assessment
This short checklist can help people think about when to seek help. Source: Menzies School of Health Research Aboriginal and Islander Mental Health Initiative (AimHi)
This short film describes simple ways for Aboriginal Health Workers to look after themselves, including strategies to sustain and enjoy working in Aboriginal health so they can continue to support their communities. Source: VACCHO/beyondblue
This toolkit, designed to support the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander alcohol and other drugs workforce, may also be valuable for mainstream workers supporting Indigenous clients with AOD and social and emotional wellbeing issues. It addresses issues including: Heavy work demands Defining roles and boundaries Role stigmatisation Translating mainstream work practices to ensure they are culturally sensitive A lack of cultural understanding and support Geographical isolation. The toolkit comprises workbooks, case studies and a discussion guide as well a collection of fact sheets for supervisors to support their teams: The complex personal lives of Indigenous AOD workers Indigenous ways of working Rewarding workers Mentoring Recruiting and retaining workers Clinical supervision Developing teams. And fact sheets for workers to prevent stress and burnout: Worker wellbeing – A Guide For Workers Mentoring – A Guide For Workers Clinical Supervision – A Guide For Workers Goal setting – A Guide For Workers. Source: NCETA
This framework supports Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations to improve their cultural security, both for employees and for clients/patients. While developed specifically for the Kimberley, the principles are likely to be valuable in other regions. The framework sets out performance targets under four categories: Professional development of the workforce The workplace environment Care models Systems and processes Source: Kimberley Aboriginal Health Planning Forum
A collection of resources for people and agencies working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, to help advise them about safe and appropriate online interactions. These co-designed videos and posters address topics including: Bullying Sexting Respect Source: eSafety Commissioner
Policies & Position Statements
From Clinical and Peak Groups
This section of the Manual outlines the policies and positions of key groups in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s mental health and social and emotional wellbeing, highlights the commitments of these groups to improving outcomes for Indigenous people, and describes the expectations on their members.
Professional bodies and sector peak organisations have a strong influence on how their members practise. This is true at an individual level, in terms of professional standards and continuing professional development. It also applies at an organisational level, as service providers influence and are influenced by the collective decisions of peak groups.
Australia has multiple Indigenous organisations which focus holistically on the health, mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and/or on the education and employment of Indigenous people in health professions.
Mainstream clinical professional representative organisations may be less focused on and/or less capable in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The intersection between clinical and cultural support may sometimes be a particular challenge for mainstream clinicians.
Published policies and positions with regard to the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from both groups are summarised here.
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The Apology
Implementing Integrated Suicide Prevention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
The Royal Australian College of Physicians (specialist doctors) does not include Indigenous health among its current 15 policy and advocacy priorities.
The APS promotes its advocacy on Indigenous issues; among its public actions it has made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and funded a bursary for Indigenous psychology students.
The RANZCP’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Committee includes Indigenous psychiatrists, non-Indigenous psychiatrists who work closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, and Indigenous community members who work in mental health service provision and policy development.
IAHA is a national, member-based organisation that leads sector workforce development and support, to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
AIDA is the national body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors and medical students. It promotes population parity of Indigenous medical students and doctors, as a means of achieving a culturally safe healthcare system and equitable health and life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that partners with communities to address the ongoing trauma caused by actions including the forced removal of children from their families.
Coroner's Court Resources
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