The Stolen Generations: The forced removal of First Peoples children in Australia
This chapter considers the removal of Indigenous children as a global colonial and neocolonial tactic. The history of the Australian Stolen Generations is focused on, from the beginning of the abduction of children in the early 1900s up until 2015. The landmark 1997 Bringing Them Home: Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of […]
Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023
Both the Implementation Plan and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023 (Health Plan) have been developed in close partnership with the National Health Leadership Forum and reflect the priorities that will improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Implementation Plan outlines the actions to be […]
Social Justice and Native Title Report 2015
The Social Justice and Native Title Report from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner is delivered to the Australian Parliament on the exercise and enjoyment of the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This also includes reporting on the operation of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) and its […]
Indigenising the Psychology Curriculum – Traps and Tips
An easy to read spreadsheet listing traps, tips, and resources for psychology educators in the process of Indigensing the psychology curriculum. This document is a work in progress, all feedback and suggestions are welcomed.
Our Healing: Indigenous men break the cycle of violence
On White Ribbon Day a few weeks ago the Healing Foundation celebrated the success of Our Men, Our Healing, a groundbreaking capacity-building pilot for Indigenous men in Darwin and three remote NT communities – Ngukurr, Wurrumiyanga and Maningrida. The program aims to strengthen, support and empower Aboriginal men through cultural, educational and therapeutic healing activities. […]
Overview of Australian Indigenous health status 2014
This Overview of Australian Indigenous health status provides a comprehensive summary of the most recent indicators of the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia (states and territories are: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic), Queensland (Qld), Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (Tas), The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and The […]
9 Ways Native Men Can Heal From Historical Trauma
Historical trauma has taken its toll on Native people, and Clayton Small, Northern Cheyenne, founder of Native Prevention, Research, Intervention, Development, and Education, or Native P.R.I.D.E., spent years developing ways to help Native men overcome the effects.
The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2015 is the eighth in a series of reports that provide a comprehensive statistical picture of a range of topics considered important for improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people. The report presents up-to-date statistics, as well as trend information. It examines […]
Lost in the great desert, preventing Aboriginal suicide
“We are working at a pace to make a real difference but in the end it will come down to governments recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. If you are an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged 15 to 35, nearly one in three deaths will be a […]
Health services explore new technology to overcome language barriers in Indigenous healthcare
With a life expectancy gap of about 10 years and poor health outcomes, some health services are looking towards new forms of technology to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health services in Australia.
Racial Bias in Health Care and Health: Challenges and Opportunities
This Viewpoint describes the contribution of racial bias to disparities in health care and discusses the need to increase awareness of disparities and work toward eliminating discrimination and its adverse effects. A landmark report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2003 documented that from the simplest to the most technologically advanced diagnostic and therapeutic […]
What constitutes benefit from health care interventions for Indigenous Australians?
The health of Indigenous Australians is poor compared to that of their counterpart Australians. Further, their health is worse by international standards. The Australian Government recently made a commitment to improving the health status of Indigenous Australians through the ‘closing the health gap’ initiative. Achieving this requires an improvement in the priority setting process through […]
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2014 Report
This is the fifth report against the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework (HPF). The HPF monitors progress in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes, health system performance and the broader determinants of health. The health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is improving for a number of measures, although there […]
Developing a best practice pathway to support improvements in Indigenous Australians’ mental health and well-being: a qualitative study
Objective There is a need to adapt pathways to care to promote access to mental health services for Indigenous people in Australia. This study explored Indigenous community and service provider perspectives of well-being and ways to promote access to care for Indigenous people at risk of depressive illness. Design A participatory action research framework was […]
The Elders Report into preventing Indigenous self-harm and youth suicide
Interview excerpts of Elders featured in the Report. The Culture Is Life campaign aims to give a platform for Indigenous Elders and community leaders to influence public awareness, policy-making and service provision around Indigenous suicide prevention. One of the initial actions of the Culture Is Life campaign was the development of the’Elders Report on Preventing […]
Principles of practice in mental health assessment with Aboriginal Australians
In this chapter, concepts and history of assessment and testing in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing and mental health are discussed. Importantly, recently revised diagnostic guidelines and the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce 20131 and their appropriateness for meeting the distinctive needs of Aboriginal people […]
A history of Indigenous psychology
This chapter discusses how the discipline and practice of psychology has been part of the colonising process influencing the mental health of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It outlines events where the discipline of psychology has been supportive of, and responsive to, the Aboriginal mental health movement, heralding the empowerment and inclusion of […]
Addressing individual and community transgenerational trauma
This chapter provides a focus on trauma as cause and effect which, when untreated, can compound within and across generations. The result is physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social distress for individuals and broader social groups. While the experiences and transfer of trauma are not limited to members of specific racial or cultural groups, religions, […]
Aboriginal health promotion through addressing employment discrimination
The Localities Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) program aimed to improve the mental health of Aboriginal Victorians by addressing racial discrimination and facilitating social and economic participation. As part of LEAD, Whittlesea Council adopted the Aboriginal Employment Pathways Strategy (AEPS) to increase Aboriginal employment and retention within the organisation. The Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training Program […]
Family Violence: Pathways Forward
This chapter briefly examines the context in which various types of violence occurs in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. In particular, it explores how they define and contextualise the violence they or their family members are experiencing. This context is important in determining pathways forward for healing for the victim, the offender, their families […]
Seven phases to integrating loss and grief
This chapter describes an innovative and unique loss and grief model—the ‘Seven Phases to Integrating Loss and Grief ’—to ‘work with’ major challenges impacting on the social and emotional wellbeing and mental health in Aboriginal communities. Incorporating 25 years of personal and professional experiences, the Seven Phases model comprises a comprehensive process addressing many of […]
Mental Disorder and Cognitive Disability in the Criminal Justice System
This chapter examines what is known about the prevalence of mental disorder and cognitive disability amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in contact with the criminal justice system and how these issues impact on individuals, families and communities. The literature in this area is reviewed; there is now a considerable body of evidence supporting […]
Red Dust Healing: Acknowledging the past, changing the future
This chapter provides a view from a new angle. It briefly describes a critical perspective on how a history of dispossession, rejection and powerlessness negatively affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family structures and individual development and behaviour, and gave rise to the intergenerational transmission of trauma. However, it is important to note that conveying […]
Preventing suicide among Aboriginal Australians
This chapter begins with an overview of the recent epidemiological trends in suicide and attempted suicide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal Australians and how this compares with the situation in other post-colonial English speaking nations such as Canada and New Zealand. It then reviews studies exploring the historical and social aetiology of […]
The Marumali Program: healing for Stolen Generations
There are an estimated 10,625 people who directly experienced the trauma generated by forcible removal, an estimated 25,844 children (second generation) who have been living with parents affected by forcible removal, and an estimated 40,612 grandchildren who continue to experience the effects of their grandparents’ removal.1 Two models developed by Aboriginal people have been evaluated […]