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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Literature review on culturally appropriate trauma responses Source: Thirrili
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
The toolkit was intended for use to support suicide prevention and postvention responses in schools. It includes fact sheets to help teachers respond to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, that may also be valuable to other service providers: Grief: how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people might respond to suicide Remembering a young person: memorials and important events in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities Suicide in schools: information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families Self-care for school staff working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in remote areas Suicide contagion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people Source: beyondblue
Evidence-based practice resource which links approaches to engagement and support with a discussion of the evidence for them. Source: Orygen Youth Health
Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project builds on the legacy of the 1986 Women’s Business Report. The Australian Human Rights Commission (the ‘Commission’) and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) have partnered on a national conversation to elevate the voices of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander women and girls. Led by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO, Wiyi Yani U Thagani (Women's Voices) is a multi-year initiative set out to capture what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls consider to be their strengths, challenges and aspirations for change. Throughout 2018, the Commissioner and her team travelled to 50 locations in urban, regional and remote areas across every state and territory. They conducted 106 engagements and met with 2,294 women of all ages. Over 100 submissions and 300 survey responses were also received. Informed by the findings from engagements and submissions, the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women's Voices): Securing our Rights, Securing our Future 2020 report was prepared, and published in December 2020. The report is an extensive whole-of-life report that captures the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls, the principles they think ought to be enshrined in the design of policy and programs, and the measures they recommend ought to be taken to effectively promote the enjoyment of their human rights in the future.
This resources describes how grief, loss and intergenerational trauma can affect children, and gives advice to families about how to respond. Source: Trauma & Grief Network
Nathan Sutherland - one of only two hundred psychologists in Australia who identify as Aboriginal - talks about how to seek support from friends, family, community and healthcare professionals. Source: Desert Pea Media/WNSWPHN
Video discussion of how to support the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people involved in the criminal justice system, based on the Journey Home program from Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS) in South Australia, featuring: - Jamie Sorby – Kamileroi woman, Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing worker - Sharmaine Williams – Bidjara Gunggari woman, Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing worker - Curtis Falla – Kaurna Narungga man, Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing worker - Marshall Watson – Noongar man, Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist Source: Orygen Youth Health
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 Royal Australian College of Physicians (specialist doctors) does not include Indigenous health among its current 15 policy and advocacy priorities.
CATSINaM is the peak advocacy body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives in Australia.
Cultural Respect Framework 2016-2026 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
The Apology
NACCHO represents the Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation (ACCHO) sector, which offers primary health-care to Indigenous communities across Australia
Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention leadership body. It is governed and controlled by Indigenous experts and peak bodies working in these areas, promoting collective excellence in mental health care.
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.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy
Coroner's Court Resources
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