Programs to Improve the Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities

ABSTRACT

Attending to the social and emotional wellbeing of those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural backgrounds is widely recognised to play a key role in effective social work practice. However, relatively little is currently known about what effective practice comprises, and significant challenges exist in any effort to demonstrate that programs do achieve significant change both for individual participants and the communities in which they live. This paper considers one program, Seasons for Healing, to illustrate the type of intervention that holds promise when working with adults and discusses the difficulties that arise in both defining and assessing program outcomes.

要进行有效的社会工作实践，就必须关注原住民以及托利海峡岛民的社会及情感福利。但目前我们对有效的实践知之不多，要想证明这些项目给个人及其所生活的社区带来了了不起的变化，诚非易事。本文考察了一个项目——治疗季，说明这类干预是有可为的。本文还讨论界定并评估项目成果的诸多困难。

Keywords:

• Indigenous Issues
• Mental Health
• Evidence-based Practice