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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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
"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."
Cultural Respect Framework 2016-2026 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
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
This short resource can help people think through their alcohol and drug use and find help if they need it. Source: Menzies School of Health Research Aboriginal and Islander Mental Health Initiative (AimHi)
Human Services Standards Evidence Guide
Short video describing the concept of social and emotional wellbeing. Source: KidsMatter
Literature review on culturally appropriate trauma responses Source: Thirrili
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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