Grief and Courage in a River Town: A Pilot Project in the Aboriginal Community of Kempsey, New South Wales

Abstract

The Aboriginal Mental Health Workers and psychiatry registrar jointly managed a significant number of Aboriginal people, often with assistance from the local mental health service at Kempsey. The registrar gained insight into the local Aboriginal community and more culturally appropriate clinical methods, as well as some cultural factors that can influence the presentation and management of mental illnesses. The Aboriginal Mental Health Workers increased their clinical knowledge and confidence through working with the registrar.

Examining the potential contribution of social theory to developing and supporting Australian Indigenous-mainstream health service partnerships

“…• Recognising ‘strangeness’ is also important in the social and political environment, as the experience of ‘strangeness’ impacts on policy decisions. 6. The Intercultural Space • Recognises the significance of the relational and situational context of communication [76,101]• Recognises that apprehension and ethnocentrism can negatively affect the ability to communicate effectively and to reduce uncertainty [102]• Examines the inter-relationships between uncertainty, anxiety, mindfulness, and communication effectiveness [103]• Describes the complexity of key positions of activity in the intercultural field (from the ‘silent majority’ and ‘spectators’ through to leaders and external stakeholder—each with their own ‘domain’ of cultural activity), not only interculturally but cross-sectorally and interprofessionally [104]. • Individual psychological and emotional responses to relations in an intercultural exchange can be a centrifugal force or can serve productively to establish necessary boundaries. Individual (agency) Organisation (structure) • Individuals are encouraged to shift focus from reducing negative emotional responses (such as anxiety) to managing them, according to individual capacity [103].…”

“…If the purpose of building partnerships between the Australian Indigenous and mainstream health services is to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes, collaboratively identifying ways to do this is important. This might include two-way, cross-cultural learning to facilitate the more effective delivery of comprehensive and culturally congruent services [1,22,23,39,40,101-105]. Mainstream health services might offer professional development, such as education and training in culturally safe healthcare, that concomitantly leads to increased access to services by Australian Indigenous people while acknowledging and building staff capacity to respond to the broader social determinants of Australian Indigenous health [25].…”

Preliminary development and content validity of a measure of Australian Aboriginal cultural engagement

“…This has had a devastating impact on the physical and mental health of Aboriginal Australians (Cleworth et al 2006), and as a result there is a significant need for health services within this population. Despite this, there is evidence that Aboriginal Australians do not access health services at a level consistent with their level of need (Westerman 2004), and it has been suggested that a major factor contributing to this is the lack of culturally appropriate services available for Aboriginal individuals (Berry and Crowe 2009).…”

Measuring cultural appropriateness of mental health services for Australian Aboriginal peoples in rural and remote Western Australia: a client/clinician's journey

“…There are many expert health practitioners in these services, who demonstrate social justice as a core value (Cleworth, Smith, & Sealey, 2006). These nurses, doctors and allied health practitioners will advocate for appropriate treatments and services, often at a cost to their careers.…”