Aboriginal Mental Health Analysis

The continuing issue of social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, is one that needs to be addressed in order to raise struggling health outcomes that compromise the lives of Aboriginal people. This is underlined by the fact that suicide, in 2014, was found to be the fifth leading cause of death in Indigenous populations, as well as one of the significant factors leading to a high life expectancy gap (ATSISPEP, 2016). It was also found that compared to the non-Indigenous Australian rate of suicide, Aboriginal people were twice more likely to attempt to end their life (Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, 2017), which has consequently lead to the creation of policies and recommendations

This will be done using Piat and Polvere’s (2014) framework for transformative change in the mental health sector. The principles from this strategy, as well as input from Aboriginal people from multiple reports on their own experiences and constructions regarding mental health, will then form the basis for recommendations for a paradigm shift for Aboriginal mental health in Australia.
Indigenous Mental Health: Context The Aboriginal perspective on health is holistic, wherein physical, cultural, spiritual and mental health must be harmonious in order for a person to be in good health. Should these not be in balance, ill-health would persist (Social Health Reference Group, 2004). As such, it is important to talk about the history of Aboriginal people as affected by the arrival of the British in 1770 to put Indigenous health into context. Inter-generational trauma, as caused by the effects of colonisation, loss of country and the enforcement of discriminatory government policies over the history of Australia, has negatively

In a recovery-focused mental health system, challenging pre-conceived notions that underpin these these calls for a widespread change in society’s understanding of Indigenous mental health, and the bridging of the gap that structural discrimination creates based on cultural identity. Addressing both social and economic barriers that exist for Aboriginal people that can be the result of stigma and discrimination is consequently a step towards social inclusion, which Closing the Gap (Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, 2015; 2017) reports have consistently targeted as a key area by underlining the importance of higher education and employment rates of Aboriginal people. This can be considered first-order change, however, because the proposal to bridge these gaps and the action that will be taken to do so still occurs within the current disadvantaging system, and does not fully act on the ways current systems are inappropriately equipped to provide Aboriginal people with culturally-competent pathways to success. Adding to that, the aim of targeting education and employment outcomes is mainly to utilise the possible contribution that the Aboriginal workforce can provide for the Australian economy (Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, 2015). It is important to note that throughout the years, as well, that in the reports