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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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
Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Principles and Practice
"An online collection of resources to support the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander frontline health and wellbeing workforces, including: community health and wellbeing workers mental health workers family support education and youth services. The resources focus on social and emotional wellbeing, access to culture, healing and safety planning."
This short resource gives advice to families, friends and community leaders about how to support someone who has been bereaved by suicide. Source: Everymind
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
his resource describes how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may experience sorry business, grief and loss, and the types of support that may help. Source: Lifeline
This resource kit gives advice to families and friends about how to support someone who is struggling. It includes: - Video stories - Written stories - A guide to having a conversation with someone in distress Source: RUOK
This short resource describes how to have a safe conversation with someone in distress. Source: Everymind
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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National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy
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.
The AMA has an extensive body of policy statements and submissions in relation to the health of Aboriginal people.
The LIME Network advocates for improved teaching and learning about Indigenous health in medical schools, as well as for best practice in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous medical students and trainees.
CATSINaM is the peak advocacy body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives in Australia.
The Australian College of Emergency Medicine, which represents emergency department doctors, notes that Indigenous people use Emergency Departments almost twice as frequently as non-Indigenous people - representing 3 per cent of the population but 5.6 per cent of ED visits.
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 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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