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Unit Summary

Unit type

UG Coursework Unit

Credit points

12

Unit aim

Explores aspects of Indigenous mental and spiritual care in relation to terms, definitions and diagnoses used in the area of Australia's Mental Health Services. Students will examine the social, and political issues impacting on the psychological wellbeing of Indigenous people and consider appropriate health worker responses to recognised mental illnesses, trauma, substance and physical abuse patterns within Indigenous families, communities and mainstream society.

Unit content

1. Introduction

2. Cultural safety

3. Historical background

4. Wellbeing – diverse perspectives

5. Resilience & resistance

6. Classification and assessment

7. Connection and relatedness

8. Anxiety, stress and violence

9. Organic mental disorders – delirium, dementia and drugs

10. Voices and visions

11. Healing Together

12. Where to from here?

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1 describe, from an Indigenous perspective, common disorders or states of ill health and discuss the ethics involved in working with a person with mental health problems
2 provide cross-cultural perspectives on mental health and ill health, using both Indigenous Australian and western psychiatric frameworks
3 identify and describe a range of culturally safe healing approaches to assist individuals and communities towards mental, emotional, spiritual and cultural health.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. describe, from an Indigenous perspective, common disorders or states of ill health and discuss the ethics involved in working with a person with mental health problems
  2. provide cross-cultural perspectives on mental health and ill health, using both Indigenous Australian and western psychiatric frameworks
  3. identify and describe a range of culturally safe healing approaches to assist individuals and communities towards mental, emotional, spiritual and cultural health.

Prescribed texts

  • No prescribed texts.
Prescribed texts may change in future teaching periods.