Mental Health Perspectives Assignment Report

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 1
Mental Health Perspectives
Name
Institutional Affiliation

MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2
Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Vs Mental Health
Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) refers to the view of health in a
multidimensional perspective that includes mental health , and various health and well-being
domains linked to the country or land, spirituality, culture, ancestry, community and family.
Lack of SEWB results in various negative aspects such as depression, stress and distress,
anxiety, suicide and use of drugs for recreational purposes (Langham et al., 2017). On the
other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) refers to the wellbeing that enables an
individual to work successfully and productively, cope with stress that occurs in the daily
lives of individuals, realize individual abilities and significantly contribute to the community.
Generally, the outcome of mental health is positive emotions and functioning (Galderisi,
Heinz, Kastrup, Beezhold, & Sartorius, 2015). Mental health is also associated with the
social, psychological and biological factors that significantly contribute to the mental
abilities, environmental state and function (Manwell et al., 2015). Therefore, SEWB differs
with mental health as SEWB is significantly connected to the ancestry, culture and identity,
while mental health is associated with the context of the social and psychological issues
within an individual’s environment.
Mental health is a unique concept among Aboriginal Australians. Aboriginal
Australians and Torres Strait Islander have a strong attachment to their land, culture and
identity. They are also a disadvantaged community based on the the increased occupation of
their indigenous lands and prejudice by more dominant societies. In Australia, the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities describe SEWB to conceptualize mental health.
Social and emotional wellbeing is a terminology that has culturally been accepted to address
the holistic health-related philosophy of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities. Social and emotional wellbeing is characterized by various experiences that can
affect the well-being of an individual that are familiar to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait

MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 3
Islander backgrounds such as emotional grief and trauma, environmental deprivation, family
breakdowns, racism, removal from a family setting, cultural disconnection, substance abuse,
domestic violence, discrimination and other social challenges (Day & Francisco, 2013).
According to Gee, Dudgeon, Schultz, Hart, and Kelly (2014), the term SEWB is an
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concept of different from the Western concept of mental
health. The concept of SEWB is commonly used by Aboriginal Australians to refer to the
concept of mental health in the perspective of a state of wellbeing in relation to an
individual’s awareness of his or her capabilities to cope with the stressors that occur in the
daily lives and to work productively with the aim of contributing positively to the society.
The personal well-being is described in the context of social influences such as the levels of
social support and emotional states. In the concept of mental health, personal well-being
entails a wide spectrum of issues such as personal values and choices, culture, language,
socio-historical factors, and social values that may result in distress (Day & Francisco, 2013).
Evolution of Aboriginal Medical Services How They Align With the Principles of
Primary Healthcare As Outlined By WHO
The first Aboriginal primary healthcare services in Australia was established in 1971
in Sidney, and currently there are over 150 health services controlled by Aboriginal
communities. Until about 1981, the Aboriginal services and other Aboriginal community
controlled health service (ACCHS) was funded through donations since the governments
were reluctant to to support the initiatives, based on the argument that the indigenous people
were able to access the mainstream health services (Baba, Brolan, & Hill, 2014). Prior to the
introduction of ACCHS, Aboriginal medical services (AMS) provided healthcare services to
indigenous Australians. The ACCHS provided a better option for Aboriginal Australians
were able to access autonomous and culturally appropriate primary health services. Currently,
ACCHS is funded through Medicare, and the funding is supplemented by short-term grants.