Psychology Tutor: Mentor (PSI) Psycho-Social Incarnation

Introduction

Australian Aborigines suffer far higher rates of mental illness than non-Indigenous peoples. In 1996, a report called “Ways Forward” found that mental health problems affected at least 30% of Australian Aboriginal communities. During the 1990′s, 54% of urban Indigenous people seeking medical attention were also found to have a mental health disorder (Yunkaporta, 2007).

New millennium figures indicated little improvement. Twice as many Indigenous males than non-Indigenous males were hospitalized for mental illness, while Indigenous women were one and a half times more likely to be hospitalized than mainstream females (Yunkaporta, 2007).

Arguably, the true causes and indicators of Aboriginal mental illness stem from the dominant culture’s pervasive and destructive influence on Indigenous social space, demolishing what were once healthy communal social structures and replacing them with an individualistic and self-centred paradigm. Perhaps this paradigm is such a mismatch with Indigenous ways of thinking and knowing, that it causes a sickness of spirit, heart and mind that manifests as “mental illness” (Yunkaporta, 2007).

http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/determinants/physical-environment/reviews/our-review

This paper will look at:

• How does the current understanding of mental health and mental illness in state and federal policy documents consider the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

• How does the presence of mental illness impact on the stability of housing for someone from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background?

• Deinstitutionalisation represented a major shift in mental health policy direction in Australia. What impact (positive and negative) might this have on support plans you put in place for service users from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds?

• What are the implications of this from a human rights and social justice perspective?

National Policies on Indigenous Mental Health [Answer this question here: How does the current understanding of mental health and mental illness in state and federal policy documents consider the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?]

http://www.facs.gov.au/housing/housing_assistance_act/haa_report.pdf

http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/housing/saap_nav.htm

http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/mentalhealth/nav.htm#1

http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/vIA/mental_health/$file/national_consultations_report.pdf

Housing [the question to answer here is: How does the presence of mental illness impact on the stability of housing for someone from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background?]

With the numerous recent changes to Australian mental health goals, such as ………………….., it appears that now is a time for positive change and growth (cite, date). More and more  government agencies are working together in collaborative and integrative styles to improve the quality of life for those who have a disability. With regard to Indigenous mental health aid, Disability Services Queensland (DSQ) provides housing programs which allocate funding to source accommodation which will support their socio-cultural as well as psychosocial needs (cite, date).  The Department of Housing, a federal program (?) also provides housing programs that provides funds for accommodation suited to the identified needs and expectations of Indigenous Australians who experience a mental disorder (cite, date).

The National Building Economic Stimulus Plan was announced by the Prime Minister on the 3^rd of February, 2009 (cite, date).  The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs  (FaHCSIA) is responsible for the implementation of The Social Housing Initiative, which aims to …………………………………………………….[relate specifically to Indigenous Australians with mental disorder].

http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/housing/nbjp_factsheet.htm

[draw on above links as well]

Deinstitutionalization [is this all re-written into your own words?; the question to answer is: Deinstitutionalisation represented a major shift in mental health policy direction in Australia. What impact (positive and negative) might this have on support plans you put in place for service users from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds?]

As part of its colonial inheritance Australia, like other Commonwealth countries, inherited a system of mental health care steeped in the asylum as the locus of care and a view of people with mental illness as different and as an “Other” to be excluded from the mainstream of society (cite, date). Like many other Western countries in the past 100 years, Australia has been going through a process of dismantling the asylum network and rethinking the social position of people with mental illness. In Australia also, there has been a dedicated process for the past 50-60 years of deinstitutionalizing its approach to Indigenous Australian health as well.

Savy (     ) notes that much of the focus of deinstitutionalization in Australia has been on service improvement, and that there is now a need to focus on citizenship, and to develop indicators by which this can be evaluated. Hazelton identifies a challenge for mental health posed by the possible segregation of people with mental illness who pose a risk from those who do not. Were this to happen (and trends in the use of mental health legislation and growth in forensic services indicate that it is happening) then some of the gains of deinstitutionalization would be lost.

With regards to the deinstitutionalization of Indigenous Australian mental health approaches it is necessary that social/welfare workers and policy makers start to understand what indigenous people who have a mental illness needs to ask questions about indigenous people as a whole. Communicating with those who are unfamiliar to us does not always come easily. It is important and often vital for people working in fields such as medical professions, people in customer service and any staff working in a government sector to understand the information that is being given by a person from a different culture.

Workers should be aware that their own use of language and gestures can be interpreted as racist and demeaning. In the reading from Irwin (1996) it describes communication under different headings, one of those is ‘Intercultural Communication’. This communication is described as symbolic and interpretive; it’s about coming from different cultures and sharing their meanings. Having some knowledge of the culture with which they are dealing with, and be aware that a metaphor or phrase may not always come across as they are suppose to. It is important to remember that it is impossible to avoid all misunderstandings, so workers need to have the training and the knowledge to cope with the situation when it arises, such as conflict resolution. (Tomlinson, 1985).

As such, it is critical that social/welfare undergraduates be educated in the importance of their practices being inclusive of indigenous knowledge values and skills (SW2510 workshop, 2009). The culturally sensitive practices are based on the observation that practice must be adjusted to the values and outlook linked to clients ethnic group membership. Ethnic sensitivity requires that social workers have an in-depth understanding of the effect of oppression on racial groups (Omaji, 1999).  Self-determination and empowerment are words that are used a lot in social work practices as these terms refer to the process of helping groups, families and individuals to enable themselves (Wehmeyer, Agran & Hughes, 1998). As such, these terms are used to guide decision making of social/welfare workers in a client-centred approach that allows the client to motivate themselves to change areas in their lives that they see as dysfunctional in achieving their goals (Blanchard, 2005).

Another positive perspective that will contribute to deinstitutionalization of Indigenous Australian mental health approaches is the strength perspective, which refines the empowerment process to emphasize building on the individuals’ strengths and abilities (cite, date). Thus, reinforcing the individual’s interests, aspirations, beliefs and accomplishments, providing a client-focused approach that enables self help and motivation to get out of a mindset of “helplessness”  (cite, date). To achieve these goals in social/welfare practice it is necessary that such professionals have communication styles which are open minded, show a willingness to listen, to learn, to be patience and to accept mistakes that an individual will make on their journey to selfhood (Working with Indigenous People, 2003).

http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/bach/2033/kidd98.htm

http://hsr.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/14/issue/3/review/20/closing-asylums-for-the-mentally-ill-social

http://www.find-health-articles.com/rec_pub_16445488-the-australian-experience-deinstitutionalization-interaction.htm

Human Rights and Social Justice [the question to be answered here is: What are the implications of this from a human rights and social justice perspective?]

http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/health/index.html

http://www.auseinet.com/journal/vol3iss3/huntereditorial.pdf

Other References

Yunkaporta , T. (2007) Aboriginal Mental Health Indigenous Mental Illness In Australia – Causes, Effects and Misconceptions, http://aboriginalrights.suite101.com/article.cfm/aboriginal_mental_health