Roz Walker

This chapter outlines specific issues relating to behavioural and emotional problems in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. It describes the most common disorders and their consequences, and how young Aboriginal people are at higher risk for developing such problems than other young Australians. The chapter also discusses the importance of psychosocial, cultural and environmental issues that need to be recognised in assessing and treating Aboriginal young people with behavioural and emotional problems. Issues concerning the delivery of both universal and culturally responsive prevention and intervention programs to address social and emotional wellbeing and mental health are discussed and possible interventions to enhance student engagement at school are provided. Finally, a range of mental health services for Aboriginal families which offer a culturally responsive approach to mental health treatment are listed.

Indigenous voices began to question the authority of an exclusive circle of scholars, insisting that their knowledges be incorporated into the academic world in a manner and style that resonated with the realities of their cultural life-worlds. They challenged the very foundations of the academic world, questioning many of the philosophical assumptions embodied in the ongoing life of the university. Indigenous methodologies within the Centre for Aboriginal Studies legitimated the lived experience of Indigenous people and the priority of Aboriginal voices. They insisted that Aboriginal voices be pre-eminent in discussions of Indigenous issues and that decision making around these issues should be under the control of an active Aboriginal leadership. In these ways the Centre for Aboriginal Studies opened the doors for inclusion of Aboriginal knowledges into what previously had been considered exclusively academic territory. Issues investigated were not just subject to abstract scholarly debate, but dynamically embedded in the very fabric of people's lives. The purpose of academic debate was not just to extend understanding, but to arrive at culturally acceptable, practical solutions to the issues engaged. These processes were a constant point of contention and struggle that not only applied to teaching and learning processes, but also to processes of investigation and research.

Despite significant historical progress, social indicators reveal a deep-seated malaise affecting the well-being of Indigenous Australians. Programs and services directed to Aboriginal people have failed to make a dent in the appalling statistics associated with almost all elements of their lives - health, education, employment, incarceration, justice, youth suicide and so on. The chapter asserts the need for universities to more directly engage in pragmatic practices that "make a difference" to the distressing dynamics evident in the lives of Aboriginal people. The lessons of history embedded in previous chapters, focusing as they do on the principles and practices so successful in past eras, point to the need for programs of education and research that are controlled by Aboriginal people and directed to the real-world issues and problems inherent in the diverse contexts in which they live. While mainstream programs continue to serve the needs of many Aboriginal people, they fail to provide for the needs of marginalized Indigenous groups most in need of innovative and culturally appropriate services. Policies and practices directed to the assimilation of Aboriginal people into society's mainstream must be tempered by the need to provide practical solutions to problematic issues while concurrently strengthening the identity and culture of Indigenous people.

The Centre for Aboriginal Studies "flagship" course, the Aboriginal Community Management and Development program, providing degree and associate degree studies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples proved highly successful. Emerging from an innovative competency-based design the program eventually drew hundreds of students from across Australia, continuing to embody the principles of self-determination, empowerment and community development, culturally appropriate teaching and learning strategies identified and addressed the real-world problems experienced in students' everyday life and organizational settings. This not only opened the doors to many opportunities for graduates, but enabled them to more effectively address the needs, priorities and aspirations of their communities. The immense sense of excitement, joy and accomplishment emerging from these ground-breaking innovations was evident in the intense feeling associated with the individual and collective achievements experienced by graduates. Throughout these developments, a commitment to Aboriginalization and Aboriginal governance ensured Aboriginal people had major input and control of the processes of development and operation of the program. An Aboriginal Community Health Program based on similar educational principles and processes further added to the strength and influence of programs and services that recognized Aboriginal heritage, culture and identity and rights as central to Aboriginal people's well-being.

The intrusion of corporate values and practices into university systems brought with it pressures to have Centre for Aboriginal Studies practices conform to those commonly applied to other sectors of the university. The emphasis on efficiency and production and the commercialization of educational practices inhibited the capacity of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies to provide for the social, cultural and education needs of Aboriginal people. Aboriginal leaders found themselves subject to continual pressure to comply with common university practices and directives and there was a continuing struggle to maintain Aboriginal control. Planning, development and evaluation of Aboriginal programs became integrated into standard University protocols that were increasingly applied by administrative personnel with limited understanding of the reality of Aboriginal life-worlds. The focus on Aboriginal learning styles, Aboriginal pedagogies and practical application became further diminished as programs and courses of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies became integrated into the mainstream of University administrative arrangements. The need for culturally appropriate programs was exemplified in the Statement from the Heart, where a powerful assembly of Aboriginal leaders spoke of the dimensions of their crisis and the need for "reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our country" and to have power over our own destiny."

Until the latter stages of the 20th century Aboriginal people were effectively denied access to Australian university education. Focusing on an institute of higher education, this chapter describes the initial steps that provided preparation to provide a pathway to higher education for Aboriginal people. Notwithstanding the impediments of cultural diversity and the alienation of Aboriginal people due to the long history of oppression that followed colonization, an Aboriginal Bridging Course emerged that provided for the social, cultural and educational needs of Aboriginal people. Though the course provided greater access to employment, entry into and graduation from university programs remained extremely low. What became evident was the need for educational and support processes that embodies culturally safe processes of teaching and learning more aligned to the social, cultural and educational needs of Aboriginal students.

This chapter explores the emerging international evidence-base within Indigenous suicide research which supports holistic, strengths-based, culturally safe prevention and focuses on the importance of self-determination and cultural-continuity within communities. The social and cultural determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide are discussed along with culturally specific understandings of living well, or social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB). The results of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Project (ATSISPEP) are highlighted. Supporting the restoration of life-affirming Indigenous knowledge systems is also argued to be vital to building resilience and cultural-continuity.

This chapter explores current understandings of the social determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing and its development. We show that the determinants of this wellbeing are multiple, interconnected, and develop and act across the lifecourse from conception to late life. This chapter firstly focuses on the theoretical frameworks linking social factors to health and their applicability in Aboriginal population contexts. It then examines how social and emotional wellbeing develops in individuals, with a specific focus on the broad mechanisms that prompt, facilitate or constrain social and emotional wellbeing in all individuals. The chapter then discusses the social determinants and processes that pose a risk to the development of poor outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as the factors that promote or protect positive wellbeing. We highlight that there are a unique set of protective factors contained within Indigenous cultures and communities that serve as sources of strength and resilience.

It should be noted that this chapter primarily examines and refers to ‘social and emotional wellbeing’, as opposed to the terms ‘mental health’ or ‘mental illness’. The social and emotional wellbeing concept reflects the broader, holistic view of health that is an intrinsic part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (herein referred to as ‘Aboriginal’) culture. It recognises the importance of connection to land, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and community, and how these affect individual’s wellbeing.

This chapter discusses and defines the difference between multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary/interprofessional care with a focus on interdisciplinary care as a model of practice which supports equality and interconnectedness of responsibility amongst team members when working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts. The chapter describes the various professional and para professional practitioners that comprise interdisciplinary teams working in mental health and wellbeing contexts and their roles. The focus is on an interdisciplinary team approach to providing health and wellbeing care as its ethos of equal relationships and interdependent collaboration is more encompassing of social and emotional wellbeing values. Identification of the issues and limitations of interdisciplinary practice and the means to addressing them are explored within the context of how interdisciplinary care fits into mental health best practice and human rights.

This chapter explores the relevance of Aboriginal perspectives of empowerment, healing and leadership, as strategies to address the social inequality and relative powerlessness of Aboriginal people in contemporary society. These Aboriginal-led strategies are key social determinants that influence Aboriginal health, mental health and social and emotional wellbeing. Programs that facilitate Aboriginal understandings of healing, empowerment, and leadership can redress much of the grief, loss, and trauma experienced by Aboriginal families and communities. The chapter highlights the need for Aboriginal people to have ownership over the issues and the solutions to the devastation brought about from a history of social injustices and disadvantage. Based on the findings from Aboriginal community consultations in the Kimberley, this chapter outlines community-identified strategies to take charge of their lives, strengthen their families and address the unacceptable and devastating rates of suicide in their communities. Importantly, the community proposed solutions are confirmed by the extensive literature and program review undertaken as part of the Hear Our Voices project led by Dudgeon.