Reflexivity: a model for teaching and learning cultural responsiveness in mental health
Cultural responsiveness is a term accepted by many as the best descriptor for professionals working with Indigenous clients in cross-cultural situations. This article sets out a guideline and a model of cultural responsiveness that can be adopted by mental health professionals worldwide. This model positions reflexivity at the centre and as the source and force […]
Joining the dots: A dental Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islandercultural safety curriculum
Commissioned by the Australasian Council of Dental Schools, this document describes a Dental Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Safety Curriculum to inform educational preparation of dental practitioners with reference to Standard 6.3, Australian Dental Council Accreditation Standards, 2021. (See Appendix 1 & 2). The purpose of cultural safety preparation in dental practitioners is to […]
Understanding the Frontier Wars
This resource accompanies the SBS documentary The Australian Wars (produced by Blackfella Films) about the Frontier Wars – Australia’s longest war fought on home soil between 1790 and the 1940s. SBS Learn strongly advises completing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols Guide – for Teachers before engaging with this teaching resource. This is essential […]
Developing cultural responsiveness
How do higher education providers introduce an understanding of cultural responsiveness to psychology students? We’re joined by three academics from the University of Western Australia to discuss the issues. Professor Pat Dudgeon is Australia’s first identified Indigenous psychologist. Dr Joanna Alexi is a research associate. And Professor Romola Bucks is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Health and Medical […]
Australia needs to decolonise its mental health system and empower more Indigenous psychologists
Cultural Safety in Trauma-Informed Practice from a First Nations Perspective: Billabongs of Knowledge
Indigenization in clinical and counselling psychology curriculum in Canada: A framework for enhancing Indigenous education
This article considers how to advance Indigenous education in counselling and clinical psychology in Canada, particularly at the intersection of curriculum, programmatic, and systemic shifts in graduate education. This article focuses on the curricular practices that the counselling and clinical psychology field could enact in efforts to advance reconciliation, reduce educational and mental health disparities […]
Indigenous peoples and professional training in psychology in Canada
With the release of the Canadian Psychological Association’s (2018) response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) there has been increased attention on the ways psychology in Canada might better serve the needs of Indigenous communities, in particular in terms of education and professional training. To date, there has been almost no research […]
Viewpoint: Professor Jeffrey Ansloos on the importance of Indigenous content in Canadian classrooms
Decolonising higher education: First Nations student perspectives in Australia
First Nations students at RMIT shared their perspectives on how universities can promote inclusion and Indigenous perspectives at the recent UNESCO World Higher Education Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Building Indigenous health workforce capacity and capability through leadership – the Miwatj health leadership model
Aim: In the crowded field of leadership research, Indigenous leadership remains under-researched. This article explores the Leadership Model of an Aboriginal Community Controlled Primary Health Care Organisation providing services to the Yolngu people of remote northern Australia: the Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation (Miwatj). Background: The limited research which does exist on Indigenous leadership points to […]
Collaborative practices and partnerships to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
Griffith University has one of the largest cohorts of Indigenous students, with 815 enrolments to date. The Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and Bachelor of Psychological Science programs attract a high number of students from around the country each year. Of the 295 students enrolled in health-related degrees, 70 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students are […]
Australia needs to decolonise its mental health system and empower more Indigenous psychologists
Decolonising psychology and the transformative role of the AIPEP
Responding to COVID-19 and Beyond: Key Recommendations for the Effective Public and Mental Health Response to Support the Well-Being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia
The Australian response to COVID-19 demonstrates how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, partnership, and self-determination are critical in ensuring public health measures and pandemic response planning is effective for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This chapter outlines the key evidence-based recommendations and actions developed by three national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led groups, […]
Wings to fly’: a case study of supporting Indigenous student success through a whole-of-university approach
Although there have been repeated calls for empirical evaluations focused on if and how the activities of Indigenous Education Units contribute to Indigenous student success at university, data demonstrating the outcomes of these activities remain scarce. As a first step in addressing this gap, a case study of the Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre is presented which […]
“Getting It Right: Creating Partnerships for Change”: Developing a Framework for Integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledges in Australian Social Work Education
This article proposes a theoretical framework for integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges in Australian social work education as a central focus of the Getting it Right: Creating Partnerships for Change project. This article presents analysis from a literature review to suggest ways Australian schools of social work can adapt their curriculum in order […]
Communicating cancer and its treatment to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with cancer: a qualitative study
Purpose To investigate the successful strategies of health workers who support and regularly communicate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about cancer and its treatment. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to face or via telephone and audio-recorded with twenty-three health professionals (medical and radiation oncologists, oncology nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers), 5 identifying as […]
Layered spaces: a pedagogy of uncomfortable reflexivity in Indigenous education
University disciplines are grappling with how best to incorporate Indigenous content and frameworks for practice into their teaching to better prepare graduates to work with Indigenous communities. Yet the pedagogical approaches that can best engage students in Indigenous Studies as a field of critical study are still being debated. This article has two aims. The […]
Working at a cultural interface: co-creating Aboriginal health curriculum for health professions
Historical exclusion of Aboriginal people and Aboriginal epistemologies in Australian higher education, including health professions education, has produced generations of healthcare professionals who are ill-equipped and lack confidence to provide culturally safe care for Aboriginal communities. This article recounts efforts undertaken at a university in Melbourne to foreground Aboriginal ways of knowing and being through […]
Mental health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia during COVID-19
In May 2020, an independent working party was convened to determine the mental health and well-being needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, in response to COVID-19. Thirty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and allies worked together in a two-month virtual collaboration process. Here, we provide the working party’s five key […]
The Role of Psychologists in a Changing Time
This is the third video in a three-part video series and collaboration between the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing project and Pearson Australia. This dynamic three-part video series provides foundational learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledges, and explores contemporary global issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Together, the video […]
Kaartajin Ngundabut Indigenous Cultural Knowledge
This is the second video in a three-part video series and collaboration between the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing project and Pearson Australia. This dynamic three-part video series provides foundational learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledges, and explores contemporary global issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Together, the video […]
Introduction to Indigenous Psychology
This is the first video in a three-part video series and collaboration between the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing project and Pearson Australia. This dynamic three-part video series provides foundational learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledges, and explores contemporary global issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Together, the video […]
School psychological practice with Indigenous students in remote Australia
This chapter presents a brief snapshot of Australian Indigenous culture and history and discusses the challenges and opportunities of providing school psychological services in remote Indigenous communities in Australia. It is a unique and rewarding experience to work as a school psychologist in this context. Available research on this topic is limited, and some of […]