Manual of Resources for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention

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 toolkit helps people to recognise and take action where there is a risk of suicide. Source: Lifeline Information Services

Guidelines for Best Practice Psychosocial Assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Presenting to Hospital with Self-harm and Suicidal Thoughts

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

Wellbeing and Healing through Connection and Culture

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

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

Let's yarn about something that can hurt us, our mob and community. Let's talk about the misuse of alcohol and other drugs. It can be a hard thing to talk about and the journey can be long and challenging, but remember with the right support, together we can heal. Source: 13YARN

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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Coroner's Court Resources

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