A Review of Michael Hart's 'Seeking Mino-Pimatisiwin: An Aboriginal Approach to Healing'

Thank you for taking time to read my letter. As a nursing student of University of Technology Sydney, I studied contemporary indigenous subject this semester. In this letter I want to illustrate 3 main social determinants of health that impact indigenous Australian health which I found and analysed during my recently study. And also offer some suggestion that could help the government improve aboriginal Australian mental health conditions in the future.

According to Vass, Mitchell, and Dhurrkay (2011), the incidence of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, renal disease, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive airway disease among Indigenous Australians is quite significant. In addition, the presence of mental health conditions and infectious diseases such as scabies, skin infections and rheumatic fever has also attributed considerably to the disease burden (Vass, et al, 2011). As a disability support worker, I had the opportunity to look after indigenous clients. With my experience working with them, it shed some light on me with how they value their culture and gave me an insight on their view about health concerning issues. I had my misconceptions about how aboriginal people

The poor health position of Indigenous Australians is a contemporary reflection of their historical treatment as Australia’s traditional owners. This treatment has led to Indigenous Australians experiencing social disadvantages, significantly low socio-economic status, dispossession, poverty and powerlessness as a direct result of the institutionalised racism inherent in contemporary Australian society.

The Indigenous culture was viewed as inferior and unable to adequately provide for the needs of their children, which was fully fuelled by disproportionate poverty rates as well as the repercussion of residential schools (Russell, 2015). Due to not being able to maintain the standards of European child-rearing practices and common values, social services workers attempted to rescue these children from the conditions they were living in (O’Connor, 2010). These issues have detrimental effects on the families of survivors of the residential schools for generations, also known as multigenerational trauma. Instead of addressing this social policy concern the government was contributing and controlling it, where Indigenous people had little power to address

Government policies authorising the removal of Aboriginal children have caused extensive and unrepairable damage to every aspect of Indigenous culture. It could be argued that the emotional turmoil which occurred as a result of this policy, is greater than any physical abused ever faced by the Australian Aboriginal people. The act of child removal would be a scarring experience for parents and children of any race or culture. This policy had a particularly damaging impact on the Indigenous people as their identity is based within a set of strong traditional guides and teachings. These lessons are not recorded, but can only be taught through speaking with elders and learning through a connection to others within the mob, connection to art forms

The CFCSA states in part 1, section 4, that “if a child is an aboriginal child, the importance of preserving the child’s cultural identity must be considered in determining the child’s best interest” (1996). In both cases, both youth had family members within their Indigenous culture that were willing to take them but due to unrelated circumstances these requests were not taken into consideration. The overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care is demonstrated here, where child protection workers are not equipped with the training or resources to adequately identify and address risk when dealing with Indigenous children. This is one of the recommendations within the TRC where “ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child

In the article “Domestic violence against indigenous women is everybody’s problem” domestic violence is depicted as a serious social problem that involves “unspeakable acts of violence” that leaves victims experiencing fear and despair (Taylor 2014). More specifically, the social construction of domestic violence will be discussed with an emphasis on Aboriginal women and a typology of intimate partner violence. The social construction of domestic violence has serious implications for victims of domestic abuse because there is a failure to address the processes that perpetuate the violence. Instead, domestic violence is addressed through the illusion of social support. What is evident is that domestic violence is a social problem that requires comprehensive services, particularly for indigenous women, to address the complexity of the interaction between the individual’s social location and the causes that lead to the violence.

     One other advantage to the healing practices of the Aboriginal people was the formation of bonds and ties with one another through the ceremonies and rituals

It is clear that Aboriginal people are in critical need of the proper services to cater to their trans-generational trauma. Understanding the Aboriginal’s culture, spirituality, and values will provide the social work counsellor the tools needed in being culturally competent. This paper will examine the historical background of the Aboriginal people, the conflicts social workers face with cultural differences, as well as methods to overcome these challenges

The Social Work professional would benefit from completing SCS130 because they would gain insight into the impact of British colonialism on Indigenous Australians and how the laws of control and protection forced them to become dependent, this, enables an understanding in terms of the present situation of disadvantage. Hollinsworth (2008) maintains that the historical impact of colonisation by Europeans on Indigenous Australians, is the basis for contemporary racism in Australia (pp. 35,67,77,79-80,83-84,97). This is supported by, The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) report, which, highlights the impact of European settlement on the dispossession and institutional racism of Indigenous peoples. This racist ideology is based on the belief of superiority of the dominant group, in Australia this was enforced by racist legislation (Hollinsworth 2008, p. 47,77,79-80,97). Australia does have a racist history and as a consequence, these racist ideologies still exist today. This has resulted in Indigenous Australians experiencing racism through the oppressive effects of marginalisation in political, economic and social structures (Hollinsworth 2008, p.9,14,20,38,83-84,100). Therefore, it is imperative to the Social Work profession to complete a course such as SCS130 to enable comprehension of the present disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians in the context of the impact of European settlement.

Social work is a complex and broad field and the relationship between social workers and Indigenous Australians can be equally intricate and difficult to navigate. The theme of this paper will be; ‘understanding the relationship between the social work profession and Indigenous Australians’. A priority will be placed on analysing the historical relationship in reference to social work practice and related Government policy. Firstly, the history of social work and Indigenous policy will be discussed in relation to present work

The author state all four types of cultural supervision (cross-cultural, culturally appropriate, culturally competent, and culturally effective) are applicable the work done between the Māori social workers and their clients. The author believes it is difficult for mainstream agencies to “find appropriate cultural supervisors [added to the] lack of confidence in using Māori approaches…by many young Māori

Non-Indigenous CAS workers working with Indigenous families, it is important that the professional relationship reflects the current context based on collective knowledge when working with Indigenous populations. In which, the social workers should practice cultural competence, concerning the consideration of the family’s context; mutuality; holistic case planning; familiarization of cultural interventions; an ability to tolerate ambiguity; flexible in regard to the timing and phasing of the helping process, and; and an accommodating frame of mind (Zapf, 2009).

The healing circle is valuable technique used within Aboriginal communities to initiate healing through their own traditional belief systems (Stevenson, 1999). Traditionally, “a sharing of one’s journey is a great teacher, for it acknowledges that the pain, laughter, and love we experience can bring us closer together and helps us to learn from one another’s experiences” (Stevenson, 1999, p.9). Moreover, Aboriginal peoples created the healing circle to help each other learn by personal experiences, and to ensure the community says connected to one another. An organization that uses healing circles to connect individuals is called the Community Holistic Circle Healing. This organization uses healing circles as a response to sexual abuse in

This case had several ethical, legal and professional ramifications, including aspects of cultural differences between non-indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. There is a requirement for counsellors to actively understand the diverse cultural backgrounds, and differences in behaviour of their clients; stated in; The Australian Counselling Association (ACA-Au., 2008); Code of Conduct (2, 2.1), American Counselling Association (ACA, US, 2005), Code of Ethics (A.2c; B.1a; c.2a) and Education Queensland (EQ) Code of Conduct (1994) 2.1.1, and Education Queensland (EQ) (2008) Ethical Code, and Watson, Herlihy & Pierce, 2006.