Abstract
This chapter discusses mental health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the requirements for these services under Western Australian (WA) law. It documents the experiences of Traditional Healers working with Aboriginal mental health patients and discusses the views of Western mental health practitioners. It highlights the importance of the role of Traditional Healers and the capacity for them to inform reforms in the health system that will benefit Aboriginal people. It also identifies first-hand cultural considerations that are embedded in Traditional Healing practices. This will assist Western mental health practitioners to better understand the needs of their Aboriginal patients and the adjustments to practices this dictates, including collaboration with Aboriginal Healers. The aim is to establish a research-informed basis for the synergistic collaboration between Aboriginal and Western approaches to mental health services. These developments should lead to Aboriginal people having much better access to culturally safe, responsive, person-centered services provided by a culturally competent and confident workforce.
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Notes
- 1.
For the rest of this chapter, when we speak of Aboriginal people, we include those who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
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Jones, J., McGlade, H., Davison, S. (2022). Traditional Aboriginal Healing in Mental Health Care, Western Australia. In: Danto, D., Zangeneh, M. (eds) Indigenous Knowledge and Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71346-1_14
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