Wellbeing and Healing Through Connection and Culture
This review summarises the emerging research and knowledge, key themes and principles surrounding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural perspectives and concepts of healing and social and emotional wellbeing as they relate to suicide prevention. These discussions will support Lifeline to enhance and refine their existing knowledge and practices to promote culturally responsive suicide prevention […]
“Every client has a trauma history”: Teaching respectful relationships to marginalised youth. An evaluation of NAPCAN’s Respectful Relationships Program Northern Territory 2017-2018.
This report presents findings from a research evaluation of a one-year program run by NAPCAN in the Northern Territory which sought to develop a trauma-informed approach to Respectful Relationships Education (RRE). The program was undertaken under contract with Territory Families, and focused on providing training in traumainformed RRE to staff in the youth services sector […]
Culturally informed case conceptualisation: Developing a clinical psychology approach to treatment planning for non-Indigenous psychologists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients
Background:In the context of the Australian Psychological Society’sformalapology and the increasing awareness of the need to develop interventions thatimprove the social and emotional wellbeing of clients who identify from Abo-riginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural backgrounds, this article considers theclinical psychology case conceptualisation. The primary aim of any case concep-tualisation is to inform intervention and, […]
Indigenous Healing Practices in Australia. Women & Therapy
Indigenous Australian women are among the most disadvantaged women in the world. Over two centuries of colonization have had a damaging impact on perceptions of their gender roles and status as well as many other consequential oppressions. These experiences have affected the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous women of all ages, resulting in socio-economic […]
Decolonising Psychology: Validating Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Objective Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) is a multifaceted concept that acknowledges that a person’s wellbeing is determined by a range of inter-related domains: body, mind and emotions, family and kinship, community, culture, Country, and spirituality. This paper explores the meaning of these seven domains of SEWB. Method A […]
Housing and Overcrowding in Remote Indigenous Communities: Impacts and Solutions from a Holistic Perspective
Over three years, a $12 million Commonwealth funded consortium project implemented energy efficiency initiatives in six remote Indigenous communities. An ecological community-based participatory action research design that utilized qualitative and quantitative research approaches in a multiple methods design was employed to clarify how Yolŋu use power, to identify the barriers and enablers of Yolŋu using […]
The aftermath of Aboriginal suicide: Lived experience as the missing foundation for suicide prevention and postvention
This paper aimed to highlight the systemic and theoretical barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been bereaved by suicide. Incorporating the lived experiences of two advocates, Leilani Darwin and Julie Turner, and professional experiences of Matthew Trindall and Laura Ross, the paper explores the importance of including Aboriginal lived experiences in […]
The Australian Psychological Society’s Apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
The gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non‐Indigenous health, education, mental health, and social and emotional wellbeing remains a major concern. Bridging these gaps and working in culturally safe and responsive ways with people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent presents considerable challenges, including for the discipline and profession of psychology. At […]
An Evaluation of the National Empowerment Project Cultural, Social, and Emotional Wellbeing Program
An array of cumulative risk and stress factors, and social inequities, have contributed to high suicides and family and community dysfunction, in two communities in Queensland. An independent, post-program evaluation of the National Empowerment Project (NEP) Cultural, Social and Emotional Wellbeing (CSEWB) Program specifically developed to address these issues was conducted in Kuranda and Cherbourg […]
What the people said: Findings from the regional Roundtables of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project
This paper summarises key findings from the six community regional Roundtables that were undertaken as part of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project. The six community regional Roundtables were held in different locations across the country. Common themes emerging included the need for self-determination and local leadership, the need to […]
The Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH): a long-term platform for closing the gap
The full potential for research to improve Aboriginal health has not yet been realised. This paper describes an established long-term action partnership between Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs), the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales (AH&MRC), researchers and the Sax Institute, which is committed to using high-quality data to bring […]
Cultural experiences of student and new-graduate dietitians in the Gomeroi gaaynggal ArtsHealth program: a quality assurance project
Issue addressed: Undergraduate dietetic students are required to demonstrate cultural awareness and culturally respectful communication to meet national competencies, but exposure to practical experiences may be limited. The Gomeroi gaaynggal ArtsHealth Centre was established in 2009 after community consultation with the Indigenous community in Tamworth, New South Wales. The Centre provides a safe and welcoming […]
Improving healthcare for Aboriginal Australians through effective engagement between community and health services
Background Effectively addressing health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians is long overdue. Health services engaging Aboriginal communities in designing and delivering healthcare is one way to tackle the issue. This paper presents findings from evaluating a unique strategy of community engagement between local Aboriginal people and health providers across five districts in Perth, Western […]
Who Cares and does it matter for the labour market? A longitudinal analysis of the labour force status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous carers
Indigenous Australians experience higher rates of severe or profound disability than other Australians, and the gap in rates of disability between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians increases with age. The relatively high rates of disability among the Indigenous population corresponds with heavy caring burdens. It has been well established that carers of a person with a […]
Back to the Future: Traditional knowledge healing learning journeys
The theme of this paper is embracing traditional knowledge in innovative educational change to move back to the future while stepping into action. A pertinent theme given many Indigenous health professionals have been leading action in our nation for many years in providing holistic healing opportunities for Indigenous communities. However, there is still much to […]
Colonisation, racism and Indigenous health
In settler-colonies such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the historical impacts of colonisation on the health, social, economic and cultural experiences of Indigenous peoples are well documented. However, despite being a commonly deployed trope, there has been scant attention paid to precisely how colonial processes contribute to contemporary disparities in health […]
Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health
SEARCH, the Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health, is Australia’s largest long-term study of the health and wellbeing of urban Aboriginal Children. An estimated 60% of the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Australia is attributable to the health of people living in non-remote, urban areas. While 57% of the […]
Indigenous and tribal peoples’ health (The Lancet-Lowitja Institute Global Collaboration): a population study
Background: International studies of the health of Indigenous and tribal peoples provide important public health insights. Reliable data are required for the development of policy and health services. Previous studies document poorer outcomes for Indigenous peoples compared with benchmark populations, but have been restricted in their coverage of countries or the range of health indicators. […]
Achieving stability for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care – SNAICC Policy Position Statement
SNAICC and many of its members have been watching with concern as, around the country, a range of processes are undertaken to progress longer-term care arrangements for children. They vary in detail but have been broadly described as permanency planning measures. Some of these proposals have already taken the form of legislative changes (NSW, Vic. […]
A 10-year-old girl kills herself, and a nation asks: what can be done?
Last week’s terrible news that a 10-year-old Aboriginal girl had taken her own life shook many Australians. Yet there would be few Aboriginal families who have not already been affected by the suicide or attempted suicide of their young people. This includes our own extended families and kin.
The Jekkora group: an Aboriginal model of early identification, and support of persons with psychological distress and suicidal ideation in rural communities
Objective: To describe a community developed Aboriginal model for early identification and referral of people with psychological distress and suicidal ideation. Method: A description of an Aboriginal mental health service model is presented, as established at the Njernda Aboriginal Corporation, Echuca, Victoria. Results: The model is presented under five headings: Setting; Recruitment and appointment of […]
Gambay – Languages Map
First Languages Australia is working with regional language centres nationally to develop a map of Australian languages that reflects the names and groupings favoured by community. Regional language centres have provided updated maps for their regions to be collated into this interactive map of languages and language families. Some regions have choosen to show related […]
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and well-being: implications for a cognitive behavioural therapy framework
Objective: It has been acknowledged that the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been “bedeviled” by the inappropriate application of non-Indigenous models of mental health. To enhance Indigenous health and well-being it is necessary for non-Indigenous practitioners to find a culturally safe way to enter the negotiated space of cross-cultural mental […]
First languages Australia
First Languages Australia works to ensure that the wishes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members are voiced in key decision-making processes that impact on the current and future management of their languages. This will in turn shape the survival of Australia’s traditional languages into the future. The organisation facilitates discussions between communities and […]
Worry boss
Worry Boss has been made with the Royal Flying Doctor Service together with communities in Central Australia. ‘Worry Boss’ is a story about anxiety. The story focuses on what makes people worry, how that makes them feel and what they can do about it.