Involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health education

Involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health education

The GPMHSC respectfully acknowledges that a strong connection to country, culture and community is integral to strong health and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As part of the GPMHSCs dedication to Closing the Gap, and determination to provide more equitable healthcare to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a list of recommended inclusions to GPMHSC accredited activities have been developed by experts such as the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Faculty, Professor Helen Milroy, descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Ramjan, Chair of Psychosis Australia, The Healing Foundation, and Professor Peter O'Mara, Wiradjuri man and Professor of Indigenous Medical Education.

Training Providers wishing to have their activities accredited by the GPMHSC will need to include a minimum of two of the following 15 recommendations in each of their activities to remain accredited. Training Providers will be given 18 months from January 2026 to implement their chosen recommendations.

Training Providers are advised to follow the principles and guidance described in Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Wellbeing Principles and Practice.

Recommendations

Partner with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander expert, medical educator, or community group in at least two of the four development stages of the activity, ensuring shared ownership and leadership.

Include pre-reading on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Kinship system, which will help GPs to provide culturally safe, respectful, and effective care that acknowledges the central role of family, community, and cultural obligations in health and wellbeing.

Include a predisposing activity on social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients in their area, which could include topic areas such as: What country do you practice on Learn about the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (if in the Torres Strait) history, significant events, cultural festivals, local services in your area of practice. Identifying Aboriginal health workers, senior cultural members or community experts in their area How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients are in your practice, the places you work and in your local community? What strengths do you observe in your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities? In what ways does your clinic create a culturally welcoming environment? Why might an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person choose you or your practice? Would an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person give the same answers?

Include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data, research and epidemiology in learning outcome 1 in Mental Health Skills Training and Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training activities, ensuring First Nations data governance and principles as applied to the research.

Engage an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumer representative (if possible from a remote or rural area) in the consumer learning outcome, recognising the value of lived experience and community voice.

Engage an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carer representative (if possible from a remote or rural area) acknowledging the strengths of family and kinship roles in social and emotional wellbeing.

Include education around the role of cultural safety, norms and trauma informed care in the GP approach to assessing and managing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Support GPs to apply culturally responsive mental health assessment skills that are appropriate and strengths-based when engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients (Learning Outcome 2).

Work through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing Template with GPs, alongside MHTP requirements, to promote holistic care planning

Include, within activity information, discussion on the limitations of diagnostic categories when it comes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the management of mental health symptoms

Include information about the cultural safety and limitations of commonly used mental health assessment tools when used with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and identify alternative tools that might be used

Include information about cultural assumptions and cultural practices which can be mistaken for behaviour indicative of mental health problems, and suggest local guidance on how to navigate these, such as sickness because their community is sick, visions of deceased loved ones, sorry cuts and so on.

Develop a dedicated module or section focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander approaches to mental health and social and emotional wellbeing, informed by community-led frameworks and strengths-based narratives

Incorporate content that adequately supports GPs to deliver holistic, safe, and strengths-based care with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, recognising cultural, spiritual, and community strengths.

Incorporate content on Narrative Therapy, exploring its alignment with story-based and relational approaches to healing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts.

Incorporate content on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on the impacts of intergenerational trauma, with a focus on community resilience, healing practices, and culturally safe engagement with services. This recommendation is particularly important for Focused Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS ST).

Incorporate content on the impacts of racism and discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on mental health

Include a list of useful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources for GPs to refer to, such as 13 Yarn, National Guide to preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural and Health Training Framework and The Dulwich Centre.

 

Useful resources National Guide to preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Available at: https://www.racgp.org.au/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines/key-racgp-guidelines/national-guide/mental-health Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia. For resources and Consumers and Carers. Available at: https://www.gayaadhuwi.org.au/ Treatment of ADHD in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Available at: https://adhdguideline.aadpa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ADHD-Guideline-Factsheet-ADHD-in-Aboriginal-and-Torres-Strait-Islander-Peoples-C-AADPA.pdf The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural and Health Training Framework. Available at https://www.racgp.org.au/cultural-and-health-training-framework/home The Dulwich Centre. Available at https://dulwichcentre.com.au/ Lived Experience Australia. For Consumers and Carers. Available at https://www.livedexperienceaustralia.com.au/ National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. For Consumers and carers. Available at: https://www.naccho.org.au/ James Cook University: Partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Consumers. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TczbUZkQ80M The Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention (CBPATSISP): Wellbeing Our Way. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GapXJEUrR5IOur Wellbeing Our Way: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing Emerging Minds. The value of diversity in Lived Experience. Available at: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/the-value-of-diversity-in-lived-experience-work/?utm_source=chatgpt.com#aboriginal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lived experience