Indigenous Mental Health and Role of Mental Health Nurse

Running head: PRESENTATION
Indigenous mental health and role of mental health nurse
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PRESENTATION
Slide 1
Indigenous mental health and role of mental health nurse
Slide 2
Introduction-
• Mental health problems are regarded as direct manifestation of disharmony or imbalance.
• High rates of mental health issues are experienced by the Aboriginal and Torres Islanders
(Reiss, 2013).
• Most common issues include high mortality rates, behavioral disorders, intentional self-
harm, and psychological distress (Sveticic, Milner & De Leo, 2012)
Speaker notes- A mental disorder, or mental illness refers to presence of mental or behavioural
patterns, which lead to significant impairment or distress of basic personal functioning. These
mental abnormalities are generally relapsing, persistent, and remitting. Moreover, they can also
get manifested in the form of single episode. A healthcare professional is responsible for
diagnosing range of such disorders presented by an individual or community. Indigenous
Australians refer to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals of Australia, who are
considered to have descended from several groups that were present in Australia and other
islands before British colonisation. Such indigenous Australians are twice as likely to get
affected by poor health conditions and are 1.5 times more likely to suffer from disabilities or
long-term adverse health conditions (Kelaher, 2014).
Slide 3

2PRESENTATION
Relevance of indigenous mental health to mental health nursing-
• Indigenous communities underwent rapid social changes that led to changes in patterns of
mental health problems faced by them.
• Indigenous people suffering from mental problems have high unemployment rates.
• Mental health is therefore not considered separate from spirituality or physical health.
Aboriginals and Torres Islanders have also demonstrated specific mental health needs
(Rickwood, Telford, Parker, Tanti & McGorry, 2014)
Speaker notes- There exist special strengths in the Aboriginal culture that considers mental
health to be an essential part of the continuum, which pertains to the individuals, families or
entire communities. These are generally attributed to a combination of discrimination and
disadvantage that combined with the devastating trauma and grief. These are direct manifestation
or consequence of previous removal of their children, colonization of their land and destruction
of their communities. Furthermore, premature death of loved ones or family members and loss
from incarceration significantly contributed to poor mental condition
Slide 4
Role of mental health nurse-
• Evaluating and assessing the health needs of a patient
• Devising or formulating specific treatment plans
• Providing a range of psychotherapy related services

3PRESENTATION
• Delivering patient centered care
• Administering therapeutic interventions
Speaker notes- Mental health nurses are required to work with several individuals belonging to a
wide range of age groups and coming from all walks of life. The primary role of these nurses are
based on utilizing advanced behavioral therapies that will help in facilitating physical and mental
recuperation. These nurses are expected to care for all patients, suffering from a range of mental
dysfunctions or disorders, regardless of their cultural and ethnic backgrounds (Happell & Gaskin,
2013). The job of providing appropriate mental care services to all patients is challenging and
creates an emotional drain on the professionals. Thus, they are required to assess patients who
are mentally ill, help them participate in several activities and assist in adherence to behavior
modification programs, in addition to implementing pharmacological interventions.
Slide 5
Relevance of indigenous mental health-
• Mental illness are commonly associated with high levels of disability
• Regional isolation, financial costs and waiting lists are major barriers to low utilization of
mental health services (Jorm, Bourchier, Cvetkovski & Stewart, 2012)
• Inability to identify mental illness and holding opinions and attitudes that do not favor
mental health care increase mental illness among indigenous people
Speaker notes- Even when the indigenous people are recently being valued by the wider society,
they still feel marginalized due to existence of power imbalance between the non-Aboriginal
Australians. Indigenous people have reported significantly lower levels of usage of benefits that