An exploratory study of culture in treatment for Aboriginal Australian men in residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services

Abstract

The objectives of the research are to describe the cultural activities offered in residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation for Aboriginal Australian men, along with client perceptions of the benefits associated with these cultural activities. Participants were 101 Australian Aboriginal male clients attending five residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in New South Wales. Participants completed a semi-structured interview and questionnaires that included the Growth and Empowerment Measure, the Aboriginal Cultural Engagement Survey, Clinical Global Impressions, and two questionnaires regarding cultural engagement while in treatment. Service users indicated that the most beneficial cultural activities offered within services were traditional art/craft, culturally-focused talks/meetings, and being on the land. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that cultural engagement in everyday life significantly predicted empowerment but not other measures of mental ill-health. The opinions of service users are presented, and recommendations are made regarding ways to enhance the effectiveness of cultural activities within drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

Keywords:

• Aboriginal
• culture
• drug and alcohol
• empowerment
• treatment

Additional information

Funding

The research was partly funded by a New South Wales Health Drug and Alcohol Research Grant. The authors acknowledge the work of Justin Cain-Bloxsome and Stephen Mitchell in building positive relationships with services and conducting interviews with clients. Results of the research were presented at the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR) conference in Switzerland in June 2011 and in Australia in 2013.