Mental health support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this resource may contain images, audio or names of people who have passed away.

Social and emotional wellbeing is the foundation for physical and mental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a holistic concept which results from a network of relationships between individuals, family, kin and Community. It also recognises the importance of connection to Land, culture, spirituality and ancestry, and how these affect the individual.

Building the cultural capacity of an organisation is an important step in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and wellbeing. In this episode, Lou Turner and Nancy Jeffrey discuss how they’ll be guiding Emerging Minds’ partnerships and implementation work to better support the mental health and wellbeing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Lou Turner is a proud Anangu father with Pitjantjatjara connections to Docker River and Mutitjulu communities. Lou shares his hopes for his work with Emerging Minds; and discusses the journey of ‘walking in two worlds’ to promote and realise intergenerational healing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, and the generations to come.

You’ll also hear from Nancy Jeffrey, a proud Woolwonga woman from the Northern Territory who lives and works on Larrakia Country. Nancy shares her passion for supporting the social and emotional wellbeing  of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, and the cultural protocols that have helped her work in rural and remote communities. Nancy has a long history in supporting infants and children’s mental health and the work of Emerging Minds – she has been a member of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing National Consultancy group since it began in 2019.

In this episode, Nancy and Lou share the hopes and worries they have for their First Nations communities. They also outline steps and strategies that non-Indigenous practitioners can use to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families’ mental health and wellbeing.

In this episode you will learn:

• why it’s important to understand the impact of colonisation and how intergenerational trauma plays out in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities [07:21]
• how mental health impacts and interacts with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concepts of social and emotional wellbeing [11:56]
• the importance of understanding ‘double stories’ when supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families [15:10]
• practical steps you can take to build confidence in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families [16:24]

Further information and resources:

A story of two-way learning and healing (podcast)

In focus: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (article)

Improving the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (online course)