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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Short resource describing the role of the coroner, including after a suicide. The resource covers identification, autopsy, funeral planning, death certification and Aboriginal family liaison. While it relates to Victoria, most content is general in nature and relevant in other states. Source: Coroner’s Court Victoria
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
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 fact sheet shares some types of things that might make us worry or feel 'anxious', and ways that respect our culture for dealing with these worries and feelings. Source: 13YARN
Human Services Standards Evidence Guide
This clinical protocol aims to reduce deliberate self-harm and suicidal behaviour by ensuring that people at risk are able to access consistent levels of support across the Kimberley, including: Appropriate screening and assessment Effective follow-up and safety planning. The protocol recognises the role in suicide and self-harm of historical and current trauma, grief and loss, racism, child abuse and neglect, cultural breakdown, family and domestic violence, homelessness, poverty and sexual assault. It provides additional guidance on drug or alcohol dependence, acknowledging the complexities of supporting Indigenous people who experience these issues after an episode of self-harm. Source: Kimberley Aboriginal Health Planning Forum
Literature review on culturally appropriate trauma responses Source: Thirrili
This fact sheet describes the four elements of the community-wide reliance model – fire, water, land and air – and how they relate to spirit, purpose, belonging, identity, hope, healing and meaning. Source: Northern Territory PHN
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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