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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The Apology
The Healing Foundation launched Stories from community: How suicide rates fell in two Indigenous communities at the Second National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference in Perth on 21 November 18. The stories captured from the communities of Yarrabah and the Tiwi Islands demonstrate the power of community control and self-determination. The two case studies presented explore the dramatic fall in suicide rates across both communities, from the high rates they experienced in the 1990s.
Short resource describing the role of the coroner, including after a suicide. The resource covers identification, autopsy, funeral planning, death certification and Aboriginal family liaison. While it relates to Victoria, most content is general in nature and relevant in other states. Source: Coroner’s Court Victoria
This fact sheet is designed to help mob better understand the five main types of trauma - acute, chronic, complex, secondary and intergenerational - how they may look and feel, and coping strategies. Source: 13YARN
This clinical protocol aims to reduce deliberate self-harm and suicidal behaviour by ensuring that people at risk are able to access consistent levels of support across the Kimberley, including: Appropriate screening and assessment Effective follow-up and safety planning. The protocol recognises the role in suicide and self-harm of historical and current trauma, grief and loss, racism, child abuse and neglect, cultural breakdown, family and domestic violence, homelessness, poverty and sexual assault. It provides additional guidance on drug or alcohol dependence, acknowledging the complexities of supporting Indigenous people who experience these issues after an episode of self-harm. Source: Kimberley Aboriginal Health Planning Forum
1.5 hour e-learning course designed to assist non-Aboriginal practitioners to develop the skills and understanding to build genuine partnerships with First Nations children, families and communities. Source: Emerging Minds
Two-part podcast with concepts and practical skills to support mainstream professionals working with First Nations children, young people and their families and communities, featuring: Professor Judy Atkinson Dr Carlie Atkinson Source: Emerging Minds
This planning tool is based on the principles described in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP). It shows how communities can plan and lead suicide prevention projects, using essential criteria for success. Note: This 2017 resource is under review Source: Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention
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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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.
AIPA provides leadership on issues related to the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Coalition of Peaks is made up of more than 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled peak and member organisations across Australia that have come together as an act of self-determination to work with Australian governments on a new National Agreement on Closing the Gap, agreed in 2020.
CATSINaM is the peak advocacy body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives in Australia.
NACCHO represents the Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation (ACCHO) sector, which offers primary health-care to Indigenous communities across Australia
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.
Implementing Integrated Suicide Prevention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
The Apology
Coroner's Court Resources
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