Indigenous Knowledge and Mental Health


Book Description

This book brings together Indigenous and allied experts addressing mental health among Indigenous peoples across the traditional territories commonly known as the Americas (e.g. Canada, US, Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil), Asia (e.g. China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia), Africa (e.g. South Africa, Central and West Africa) and Oceania (New Guinea and Australia) to exchange knowledge, perspectives and methods for mental health research and service delivery. Around the world, Indigenous peoples have experienced marginalization, rapid culture change and absorption into a global economy with little regard for their needs or autonomy. This cultural discontinuity has been linked to high rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide, and violence in many communities, with the most dramatic impact on youth. Nevertheless, Indigenous knowledge, tradition and practice have remained central to wellbeing, resilience and mental health in these populations. Such is the focus of this book.




Indigenous Cultures and Mental Health Counselling


Book Description

North America’s Indigenous population is a vulnerable group, with specific psychological and healing needs that are not widely met in the mental health care system. Indigenous peoples face certain historical, cultural-linguistic and socioeconomic barriers to mental health care access that government, health care organizations and social agencies must work to overcome. This volume examines ways Indigenous healing practices can complement Western psychological service to meet the needs of Indigenous peoples through traditional cultural concepts. Bringing together leading experts in the fields of Aboriginal mental health and psychology, it provides data and models of Indigenous cultural practices in psychology that are successful with Indigenous peoples. It considers Indigenous epistemologies in applied psychology and research methodology, and informs government policy on mental health service for these populations.




"Ways Forward"


Book Description

Presents a National Aboriginal and Mental Health Policy and Plan developed in consultation with Indigenous Australians and relevant groups and organisations; provides information on, and makes recommendations about priority actions relating to the mental health needs and mental health problems of Aboriginal people; mental health services; relationship of mental health and well-being to physical health.




Aboriginal Mental Health Worker Program


Book Description

"This is the final report of the evaluation of the Aboriginal Mental Health Worker Program of the Top End Division of General Practice, prepared by the evaluation team at the School for Social and Policy Research, Charles Darwin University. This final report contains most of the content and recommendations of the draft mid-term report which was issued for comment at the beginning of 2004. It updates the conclusions and recommendations to take into account developments in 2004 and incorporates some of the preliminary findings of the baseline report issued by the evaluation team in 2003 (Robinson, et al. 2003). There has been some response to earlier recommendations by the Top End Division of General Practice and its partners, as the Program moves into a new phase of funding. One or two of these most recent changes may not be captured here"--P. 7.




Journey to Healing


Book Description

Helping to promote healing in Aboriginal people with addiction and mental health issues requires specialized knowledge and unique skills. Health, social service and justice workers must first have a grasp of history and the emotional legacy that today's generation of Aboriginal people carry. They must also be prepared to blend Aboriginal and Western approaches to match their clients' unique world views. Journey to Healing is a comprehensive and practical evidence-based resource. It was written to help prepare students and professionals to provide counselling and social services to Aboriginal people with mental health and addiction issues in urban, rural and isolated settings. The scope of the book is broad; each chapter focuses on a specific topic. Many of the authors are Aboriginal and all are respected experts in their fields. Each author shares his or her scholarly learning, insight, wisdom and experience of addressing addiction and mental health issues in Aboriginal populations. The guide is intended to serve as a course text for health, social service and justice programs in universities and community colleges. It will also be of interest to social workers, addiction and mental health service providers, and prison, probation, parole and police officers working with Aboriginal communities.




Healing Traditions


Book Description

Aboriginal peoples in Canada have diverse cultures but share common social and political challenges that have contributed to their experiences of health and illness. This collection addresses the origins of mental health and social problems and the emergence of culturally responsive approaches to services and health promotion. Healing Traditions is not a handbook of practice but a resource for thinking critically about current issues in the mental health of indigenous peoples. Cross-cutting themes include: the impact of colonialism, sedentarization, and forced assimilation; the importance of land for indigenous identity and an ecocentric self; and processes of healing and spirituality as sources of resilience.




A Theory for Indigenous Australian Health and Human Service Work


Book Description

Winner of the 2015 Educational Publishing Awards Australia - Scholarly Resource Most people of European background are not aware that they see the world through the lens of the Western tradition, but for Indigenous people, it can seem like a foreign language. Indigenous ways of thinking and working are grounded in many thousands of years of oral tradition, and continue among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people today. Lorraine Muller shows that understanding traditional holistic approaches to social and emotional wellbeing is essential for practitioners working with Indigenous clients across the human services. She explores core principles of traditional Indigenous knowledge in Australia, including relatedness, Country, circular learning, stories, and spirituality. She then shows how these principles represent a theory for Indigenous practice. A Theory for Indigenous Australian Health and Human Service Work offers a deep insight into Indigenous Australian ways of working with people, in the context of a decolonisation framework. It is an invaluable resource for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners and researchers in health, social work, community work, education and related fields. 'In today's global environment, where Indigenous Peoples continue to fight for self-determination, Muller's work is an exemplary model of Indigenous self- determination. It is bound to be a foundational model of Indigenous practice in field of health and well-being.' - Michael Hart, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledges and Social Work, University of Manitoba 'Lorraine Muller's work covers some centrally important issues for those that work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and who want to understand indigenous knowledge frameworks.' - Dr Mark Wenitong, Apunipima Cape York Health Council




Health Care and Indigenous Australians


Book Description

Now in its third edition, this core textbook offers a comprehensive framework for creating a culturally safe environment and enhancing health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Through case studies, discussions, reflections and critiques of health issues in Australia today, Health Care and Indigenous Australians offers a starting point for learning about cultural safety in an Indigenous health context, and is essential for students, academics and practitioners alike. This is key reading for anyone taking courses on Indigenous health modules in nursing, midwifery and health related courses at undergraduate or postgraduate level, as well practitioners and academics




Revenge of the Windigo


Book Description

What is known about Aboriginal mental health and mental illness, and on what basis is this 'knowing' assumed? This question, while appearing simple, leads to a tangled web of theory, method, and data rife with conceptual problems, shaky assumptions, and inappropriate generalizations. It is also the central question of James Waldram's Revenge of the Windigo. This erudite and highly articulate work is about the knowledge of Aboriginal mental health: who generates it; how it is generated and communicated; and what has been - and continues to be - its implications for Aboriginal peoples. To better understand how this knowledge emerged, James Waldram undertakes an exhaustive examination of three disciplines - anthropology, psychology, and psychiatry - and reveals how together they have constructed a gravely distorted portrait of 'the Aboriginal.' Waldram continues this acute examination under two general themes. The first focuses on how culture as a concept has been theorized and operationalized in the study of Aboriginal mental health. The second seeks to elucidate the contribution that Aboriginal peoples have inadvertently made to theoretical and methodological developments in the three fields under discussion, primarily as subjects for research and sources of data. It is Waldram's assertion that, despite the enormous amount of research undertaken on Aboriginal peoples, researchers have mostly failed to comprehend the meaning of contemporary Aboriginality for mental health and illness, preferring instead the reflection of their own scientific lens as the only means to properly observe, measure, assess, and treat. Using interdisciplinary methods, the author critically assesses the enormous amount of information that has been generated on Aboriginal mental health, deconstructs it, and through this exercise, provides guidance for a new vein of research.