Working Together: Aboriginal Torres Strait Mental Health & Wellbeing Principles

BACK COVER

It will surely mark another watershed in this ever-growing field, and it is my hope that it not only continues to inform mental health policy and practice in Australia to the benefit of Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander peoples, but that all Australians benefit from the understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that it provides!

Dr Tom Calma AO

Chair, Reconciliation Australia; Chancellor, University of Canberra

The expansion of this new edition to include a greater focus on children and young people, the significant impacts of mental health in the justice system and the cultural determinants of social and emotional wellbeing is welcomed. The knowledge contained in this book directly supports the Government's efforts to address the underlying causes of the disadvantages many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face.'

Senator the Honourable Nigel Scullion

. Minister for Indigenous Affairs

Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice was funded by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research/Kulunga Research Network in collaboration with the University of Western Australia

FORWARD

In 2010, I welcomed the publication of the first edition of Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice as an important milestone on the road to understanding and improving the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and closing the overall health gap between us and other Australians.

In fact, the first edition far exceeded my expectations-it met a hitherto unrecognised thirst for knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and social and emotional wellbeing, with over 48,000 copies printed and a similar number of copies downloaded as electronic versions in three years. Feedback suggests that not only mental health professionals benefited, but the work of a wide range of service providers whose worked touched on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and social and emotional wellbeing and its determinants.

It also became an authority in the field, proving an important further step towards recognising the existence of a distinct field of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology, and raising awareness about the inappropriate application of western mental health models to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It did so, in part, by highlighting the unique determinants of our mental health: the resilience that social and emotional wellbeing (drawn from the healthy functioning of our communities, our families, and our cultures) provides us in relation to both our mental and physical health; and, on the other hand, the devastating impact of colonisation, assimilation, racism, trauma, poverty and social exclusion. It demonstrated the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in the field, and the importance of traditional and innovative contemporary healing practices.

I am extremely delighted to welcome this second edition, funded by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and developed under the tireless and passionate editorial leadership of Pat Dudgeon, Helen Milroy and Roz Walker of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the University of Western Australia. Together they have coordinated the efforts of 44 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and 32 other authors to create this significantly expanded and enriched edition. It will surely mark another watershed in this ever-growing field, and it is my hope that it not only continues to inform mental health policy and practice in Australia to the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but that all Australians benefit from the understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that it provides.