Australia's Aboriginal Population and Mental Health

Abstract

It appears that mental illness was present in Australian Aboriginal culture prior to European colonization of Australia but was, most likely, a relatively rare occurrence. The much greater prevalence of mental illness and suicide in the current Aboriginal population is a reflection of the significant disruption to Aboriginal society and has a strong context of social and emotional deprivation. Management of the issues of mental illness in Aboriginal people requires a strong emphasis on cultural safety along with the recognition of family, culture and community in any therapeutic process.

Cardiometabolic Health Nursing to Improve Health and Primary Care Access in Community Mental Health Consumers: Baseline Physical Health Outcomes from a Randomised Controlled Trial

“…To our knowledge there are no RCTs describing the impact of a CHN on the physical health of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. It should be noted, however, that this population experiences a higher rate of both mental illness and chronic illness compared to the general population (Parker, 2010), although the relationship of causation is not confirmed. As suggested by Parker (2010), the involvement of an Aboriginal Health Worker when working with Aboriginal clients may lead to culturally safe practice and improve the reliability of data.…”

Providing culturally appropriate mental health first aid to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander adolescent: development of expert consensus guidelines

“…These include a history of racism and discrimination and resultant lack of trust in mainstream services, misunderstandings caused by cultural and language differences, and inadequate measures to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness [17]. Cultural safety should be a component of any mental health programs with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities [18]. Recently many countries have recognised the important role that culture plays in the identification, treatment and prevention of mental illness and have specialised cultural adaptations of health education programs [19-22].…”

“…Cultural considerations might include how an Aboriginal adolescent conceptualises their world, including mental health, family, relationships and identity [42]. Symptoms of mental illness need to be understood within a cultural context [18]. Furthermore, how to best engage and communicate mental health messages with Aboriginal adolescents is a key consideration [16,43].…”

Intellectual disability and Aboriginal Australians – training needs for psychiatrists

“…It reflects a context of emotional and social deprivation, characterised by trauma, loss and grief, the separation of families from their children, and the loss of their land, culture and identity. It is exacerbated by the impact of social inequity, stigma and racism in the post-colonial period (Parker, 2010).…”

“…Mental ill health is also a major issue. Aboriginal rates of depression, suicide and self-harm, trauma and grief, domestic violence and substance misuse are relatively high (Swan & Raphael, 1995;Parker, 2010 Statistics, 2006) found substantial psychological distress, especially among Aborig inal young people. The latter suffer more emotional and behavioural problems but are less likely than other Australians of their age to access mental health services (Zubrick et al, 2005).…”