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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Continuing professional development webinar for mental health and other clinicians featuring: Marshall Watson – Noongar man and psychiatrist Louis Peachey – Djabugay man and rural generalist Jeff Nelson – Indigenous psychologist Source: Mental Health Professionals Network
This app is designed to be used by service providers and clients in a client session. It is available in iOS and Android versions and facilitates discussion about: Friends and family who help keep clients strong and healthy Personal strengths relating to spiritual and cultural, physical, family, social and work, and mental and emotional aspects of clients’ lives - represented visually as leaves on a tree Aspects of clients’ lives that take away their strength in the same four areas Setting client-driven goals for change to work on Plans for achieving their goals and steps towards goals It includes screening based on K5 and K10 scales and help-seeking prompts for people who score high levels of psychological distress. A youth version of the AIMhi app, AIMhi-y, is under development but not yet available for download. It is funded by Northern Territory PHN as part of the National Suicide Prevention Trial. Source: Menzies School of Health Research
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
iBobbly is a social and emotional wellbeing self-help app for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over. Using iBobbly for six weeks has been shown to reduce depression, distress and suicidal thinking. Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and co-designed with young people in the Kimberley, the app helps people to recognise troubling thoughts and responses, and apply more positive thinking and behaviours. Source: Black Dog Institute
This toolkit, designed to support the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander alcohol and other drugs workforce, may also be valuable for mainstream workers supporting Indigenous clients with AOD and social and emotional wellbeing issues. It addresses issues including: Heavy work demands Defining roles and boundaries Role stigmatisation Translating mainstream work practices to ensure they are culturally sensitive A lack of cultural understanding and support Geographical isolation. The toolkit comprises workbooks, case studies and a discussion guide as well a collection of fact sheets for supervisors to support their teams: The complex personal lives of Indigenous AOD workers Indigenous ways of working Rewarding workers Mentoring Recruiting and retaining workers Clinical supervision Developing teams. And fact sheets for workers to prevent stress and burnout: Worker wellbeing – A Guide For Workers Mentoring – A Guide For Workers Clinical Supervision – A Guide For Workers Goal setting – A Guide For Workers. Source: NCETA
Krista, a mum and active community member, talks about how parents can advocate and seek help for a child who is struggling. Source: Desert Pea Media/WNSWPHN
Human Services Standards Evidence Guide
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
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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