title: Australia's aboriginal population and mental health.
abstract: It appears that mental illness was present in Australian Aboriginal culture prior to European colonization of Australia but was, most likely, a relatively rare occurrence. The much greater prevalence of mental illness and suicide in the current Aboriginal population is a reflection of the significant disruption to Aboriginal society and has a strong context of social and emotional deprivation. Management of the issues of mental illness in Aboriginal people requires a strong emphasis on cultural safety along with the recognition of family, culture and community in any therapeutic process.
authors.affiliation: Departent of Psychiatry, James Cook University and Northern Territory Clinical School, Casuarina, Australia. robert.parker@nt.gov.au
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence; D013405:Suicide / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data