Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers
‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health worker’ is a broad term that refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working in different roles across the mental health sector. Discover more about culturally responsive mental health services, led by First Nations people.
Mental health care for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community
For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, good mental health is connected with a strong cultural identity, participation in culture, family and community, connection to Country, and spirituality. The term Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) is used by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to describe holistic physical and mental wellbeing, which extends beyond Western concepts of mental health and mental health disorders. Social and emotional wellbeing can be influenced by many factors, including:
- mind and emotions
- physical health
- family and kinship
- connection to culture, community and Country
- access to culturally safe healthcare services and other community resources
- social determinants, such as education, employment, housing and income
- historical and political issues.
Social and Emotional Wellbeing and mental health closely interact. Someone with good overall social and emotional wellbeing may experience a mental health condition, and mental health challenges may negatively influence other aspects of social and emotional wellbeing.
These roles may be in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations, other non-governmental organisations, and mainstream public health services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers support and empower Indigenous people to achieve their goals and aspirations by working towards balance in the mental, emotional, spiritual, cultural and social aspects of health and wellbeing.
They are connected to the communities they care for and have a deep understanding of the social and cultural determinants of Social and Emotional Wellbeing. Different skill sets and qualifications may be required depending on the setting and the individual’s specific role.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing. However, Indigenous communities also experience high rates of psychological distress, mental health conditions and suicide. The significant gap in mental health and wellbeing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia is related to a number of factors, including intergenerational trauma, the impact of colonisation, experiences of racism, cultural dislocation, loss of cultural identity and practices, and grief and loss associated with past government practices.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people report difficulties accessing health services, especially mental health services, for several reasons, including lack of cultural safety, limited opportunities for support from Indigenous peers and Lived Experience workers, and previous experiences of racism and discrimination.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers can help to break down barriers to access mental health services for Indigenous people through shared cultural connections, knowledge of community, engaging from an Indigenous frame of reference, and expertise in mental health and social and emotional wellbeing.
There is a pressing need to expand and strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workforce. The National Agreement on Closing the Gap (2020) identified building the community-controlled sector as a priority reform, noting that community-controlled services are better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, employ more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and are preferred over mainstream services. Mainstream services used by Indigenous people also need to be delivered in a culturally responsive way and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers have an important role in enhancing the cultural responsiveness of mainstream services.
About the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Workers
What qualifications do I need?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers may work in a range of different roles. Some have clinical qualifications in psychology, social work, mental health nursing, and allied health. Others have undertaken training and education in mental health, counselling, alcohol and other drugs, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers are employed in roles that draw on their lived experience, knowledge and skills in identifying and addressing social and emotional wellbeing challenges in their communities. Formal qualifications are often not necessary or can be pursued as part of an individual’s development in their role.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers will have intrinsic knowledge and understanding of Indigenous culture and ways of seeing, knowing, doing, belonging and being, which improves the cultural safety of care. Cultural safety is determined by the experience of Indigenous people in relation to the care they receive and their access to services. Promoting cultural safety involves understanding a person’s culture, acknowledging differences, being mindful and respectful of differences, and an appreciation of the historical context of colonisation and individual and institutional racism and its impact on Indigenous people now and in the past.
Working settings
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers are based in a range of settings, including mental health clinics, hospitals and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health and wellbeing services. These positions often involve extensive outreach work, meeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people where they are and working alongside them when they access other health and social support services.
In addition to providing care directly to individuals in their community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers may also be involved in a range of consultative and leadership projects. They may have a direct role in developing services, policies and models of care and managing and leading mental health and other health and wellbeing services. Some are involved in research, including pursuing postgraduate qualifications, and may be employed as researchers or lecturers.
The daily life of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Worker
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers undertake a broad range of activities, including:
- outreach support
- mental health care planning and support
- planning and delivering group programs to support cultural, social and emotional wellbeing
- advocating for people when they access other services and agencies
- connecting people with other healthcare services, including warm referrals and walking alongside people at appointments
- connection and coordination of a range of health and social support services to ensure people’s needs are met holistically
- counselling
- health promotion activities
- working with families and communities to build capacity and resilience
- supporting access to specialist clinical mental health services, such as psychiatrists and inpatient mental health supports
- supporting people with substance use challenges
- developing new services
- managing mental health teams and services
- providing support, supervision and mentoring for colleagues
- teaching and training
- service improvement activities, such as responding to feedback from clients, families and community and program evaluation.
Meet Keith
Senior Care Coordinator – Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH)
“For me, knowing the history of Indigenous Clients’ engagement with the various services around Mental Health and AODS, and how these services only addressed these health needs to a limited extent, and just seeing how this new service addresses so many unmet needs of this client group would have to be one of the most rewarding parts of my role.”
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