ArtThink

This project aims to provide education and skills that increase the ability of families and community members to respond effectively to mental illness within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups in South Australia.

Who is this for?

This project has been created for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups to provide education and skills that increase the ability of families and community members to respond effectively to mental illness.

About this project

A review and evaluation of the Mental Health First Aid program found that CALD and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants required greater opportunities to expand and consolidate their knowledge and skills. This project will therefore use the recently tailored Indigenous Mental Health First Aid and the CALD Mental Health First Aid programs as the basis for engaging with families and specific communities.

The key objectives are to:

1. Improve the mental health literacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and CALD groups in South Australia
2. Support the confidence of family and friends to respond effectively to mental health issues and situations including crisis
3. Decrease stigma associated with mental illness.

These objectives will be achieved through the delivery and extension of the nationally renowned Mental Health First Aid  program.

Project stages

The project has three stages: education, community participation and community action.

Education

After completion of the Mental Health First Aid program, each group of CALD or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants will then be offered an extension of the program that will focus on the particular mental health issues, such as self harming, suicide issues, anxiety, drug related psychosis or post traumatic stress, that are relevant to the specific group. In this way, groups of CALD or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants will be able to expand their knowledge of the mental health issues that are most relevant to them, once they have had the opportunity to develop the basic mental health literacy provided in the Mental Health First Aid program.

Community participation

With facilitation from arts based educators, CALD and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, who have attended the Mental Health First Aid programs, will be invited to express and name their understandings of mental health issues using different art forms such as painting, photography, video, stories or theatre. We have extensive networks and existing relationships with a wide range of CALD and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.

Arts based programs have been found to have the capacity to engage a diverse range of community members and enhance connectedness, belonging and social capital. As such, this approach not only acts as a vehicle for developing understanding and awareness of mental health issues within families but also begins to create relationships/community partnerships for positive responses to identified risk and/or crisis situations.

Community action

Through the previous two stages, participants will be able to develop strong peer networks as well as contribute to a local language and naming of mental health issues. The art works produced in these programs, will then become part of future community education and peer support programs for other groups. Key individuals may also become facilitators and contributors to more formal mental health education programs relevant to their communities. It is intended that six to 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and six to 10 CALD programs will be run each year of the project.

For more information

If you would like more information about this program please call (08) 8245 8100.