Genuinely culturally responsive and anti-colonial mental health care requires shifting resources and power back to Indigenous helpers, languages and communities. Indigenous individuals may hold the belief that the only way to seek support from mainstream mental health services is by presenting at Emergency Departments during times of crisis or precarious situations where they fail to be taken seriously or receive assistance . (3) Tertiary mental health services are the highest level of specialised care, typically provided for individuals with severe and complex mental health conditions that often require long-term management and specialised interventions. These Indigenous-focused studies may have different measures of access depending on how utilisation was defined (e.g., for the general or specific mental healthcare) and usually compare the result with the non-Indigenous population 50, 51, 75. To explore factors that reduce access to specialist mental health services in Australia, Amos et al. adopted an access measure as a utilisation-to-population ratio (e.g., annual mental health bed days per 10,000 capita) within a large geographical unit (i.e., Statistical Area Level 3) .
Increasing Culturally Responsive Care and Mental Health Equity With Indigenous Community Mental Health Workers
Asserts and secures Māori identity amid global pressures for cultural uniformity and homogenization. This book examines a collaboration between traditional Māori healing and clinical psychiatry. Individuals should independently investigate, evaluate and verify the content and credentials of any service or resource before choosing to use it or refer a user to it. The information and materials provided throughout this website are for information purposes only and are intended for health professionals. This is noteworthy, as “relationship is the cornerstone of tribal community, and the nature and expression of community is the foundation of tribal identity” (Cajete, 2000 p.86). Tribal empowerment, mobilization, and capacity building underlie tribal sovereignty and represent methods that will provide an appropriate response to the needs of communities (Chino & DeBruyn, 2006).
As we continue to grapple with global mental health challenges, the wisdom of indigenous cultures offers a beacon of hope. As we move forward, it’s crucial that we continue to explore and integrate diverse cultural perspectives in mental health. By embracing these diverse cultural perspectives, we open ourselves up to new ways of thinking about and addressing mental health challenges. As we’ve explored throughout this article, indigenous psychology offers a wealth of insights and approaches that can enrich our understanding of mental health and well-being.
Associated Data
This trauma is not just a memory of the past but a living experience that continues to affect the mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous individuals and communities today. To understand the current state of Indigenous mental health, it is crucial to examine the historical trauma inflicted upon these communities. The mental health of Indigenous peoples is a complex issue deeply intertwined with the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization. It is further conceivable (although not directly evident) that the service evaluation intention of the study, combined with the academic background and largely non-Indigenous composition of the study team may have hampered more effective Indigenous stakeholder engagement. The lack of a designated Indigenous stakeholder and service user voice impeded the examination of the ultimate service implementation success and cultural appropriateness from an Indigenous perspective. Professionals equally highlighted future avenues for and benefits of greater service flexibility regarding referral pathways, session format, funding use, and Indigenous health worker involvement.
These views, combined with research demonstrating positive outcomes for those who seek traditional healing, has led to policy recommendations to allocate funding to tribal programs to support cultural traditions and reimburse traditional healing (see Goodkind et al., 2010; Payne, Steele, Bingham, & Sloan, 2018). Related, there has been a call for institutional health care systems supporting Native traditional practices (Goodkind et al., 2010). Western mental health care is epistemologically different from AI/AN traditional belief systems in a number of ways (Duran & Duran, 1995; Gone, 2010; Hodge et al., 2009). In a qualitative study, AI elders discussed that healing from intergenerational historical trauma involves tribal cultural reclamation, including speaking one’s native language, and spirituality (Grayshield et al., 2015). Stigma has emerged as one of the most consistent barriers to care across several studies for Native communities.
- Moreover, disasters and emergencies have been found to result in some positive experiences, including strengthened relationships and social networks .
- The last 30 years have seen the development of innovative approaches to addressing alcohol/substance use, social services, and mental health issues.
- In summary, quantitative measures of accessibility to health services have evolved progressively over the past 50 years.
- But it does mean that any mental health program for indigenous peoples must offer a community psychiatry perspective broad enough to address both the needs of individuals and the local worlds in which they live.
- A key approach to ensuring both effective and culturally appropriate mental healthcare delivery in such contexts has therefore focused on the cultural adaptation of generic service and treatment models in order to meet the cultural requirements of specific population groups .
Indigenous legal approaches to crime and addressing harm reduction principles that can be important to promoting community healing, reconciliation, and the reintegration of the offender. When discussing trauma-informed care, the embedding of Indigenous culture and values into treatment and healing was described. The holistic approach would take into consideration the individual, family, and community needs to promote healing and recovery. The Cultural humility resources for professionals inclusion of Indigenous voices in the design and delivery of services was highlighted by participants and in particular, engagement and involvement of Indigenous Elders in the design and delivery of services.
‘we’re just implementing culturally appropriate feedback forms that our Aboriginal liaison officer has been helping us to implement and to look at ways of being able to ensure we’re getting feedback in a way that is useful to us, but is respectful to the clients as well.’ (ML02, Female, Medicare Local staff) ‘They are providing 50% clinical services and then 50% sort of partnership work and doing the sort of linkages between the consumer and other services that they may need.’ (ML16, Female, Medicare Local staff) Ten agencies did not utilise Indigenous health workers, eight liaised with Indigenous health workers from other services, and two specifically mentioned the lack of ATAPS relevant skills among Indigenous health workers. ‘I provide services in another funding stream, and they allow people to self-refer to the service.