A former prison officer says breaking the stigma of mental illness will help reduce the over-representation of Indigenous people “in the system”.
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Duncan Gibbs was one of several Indigenous students who received their mental health degrees from Charles Sturt University on Wednesday, a group who were looking forward to making a difference in their communities.
“It’s been a bit of an eye-opener, I was a corrective services officer for 20 years and I’ve seen how Indigenous people struggle with mental health,” Mr Gibbs said.
“Once you get a grasp on mental health you can think clearly about stopping where a lot of people end up – children get removed by (Family and Community Services) and people end up inside.
“A lot of what we did in the course I saw beforehand in prisons, the mental illness and drug-induced psychosis, but with a better understanding I hope we can address the issues and stop the over-representation of Indigenous people in prison and community services.”
According to Associate Professor Faye McMillan, Indigenous people were twice as likely to experience mental health problems.
“These students can now work in the mental health field with any Australian and ensure it is an everyday issue, not something you sweep under the carpet,” Professor McMillan said.
“Having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people trained as mental health professionals allows the lens of being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to come through the work.
“But we also have to respect the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are made up of various different people, non-indigenous people are part of our families and our communities so it’s something we need to address as all Australians and how we do that is working with each other.”
Professor McMillan also worked closely with the newly-graduated Doctor Jane Havelka, whose doctoral thesis focused on how the subject was taught.
“It was about looking at the cultural responsibility that academics within the program have and how to respect the culture,” Dr Havelka said.