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The majority of Aboriginal families I know in South Australia carry intimate histories of domestic service through living memory and inter-generational blood-memory passed on. Despite the significance of these stories within families, this government-orchestrated system of indentured labour targeting Aboriginal girls remains largely hidden and unacknowledged in the state's dominant and official public narrative of history. This paper considers the historical, unfolding rationale for inter-dependent policies of child-removal, institutionalisation and training, as context to the burgeoning Aboriginal domestic service workforce into the twentieth century. It also examines popular culture discourse, coupled with prevailing racialised attitudes toward Aboriginal women at the time, exemplified through representations of 'Abo Maids' in a prominent national women's magazine, The Australian Woman's Mirror. 'Archival-poetics', as an active, embodied reckoning with history and the colonial archive, is also introduced as creative praxis; one way to bridge this labour knowledge gap and contribute to larger stories of resistance, resilience and refusal with healing and decolonising intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proportionately few problem gamblers seek formal help for gambling problems. However, research into gambling help-seeking behaviour is limited, especially qualitative studies capturing experiences of recovery. This paper conducted narrative analysis of in-depth interviews relating the help-seeking behaviour of 10 recovering problem gamblers. A common temporal sequence moved from self-help, professional and nonprofessional help, then returned to self-help, in a journey that emphasised the importance of their sharing of narratives. Key themes in the plot structures were: self-loathing and loss of identity; fear of failure, of the loss of the gambling experience, and of being judged; negotiation of control, being in control, and needing to be in control; changing based on insight, cognitive behavioural interventions, or integrative interventions; and finally, the shared narrative. The findings highlight the need for policy makers and practitioners to acknowledge the power of narrative and to open the door to a broader community awareness of problem gambling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understandings of culture and multiculture are broad and deeply embedded in every day talk and practices. In an increasingly globalised world, how we understand and work with these terms affects how parents and their families experience health care services and the support intended by health care professionals. This is particularly important for parents who are new to Australia. In this paper we report on findings from an ethnographic study undertaken across two community child and family health nursing sites in South Australia. Using examples, we explore how child and family health nurses appear to understand and use constructs of culture and multiculture during everyday, intercultural communication with parents who are new to Australia and Australian health services. By analysing these understandings through postcolonial and feminist theories we found pervading evidence that neo-colonial constructs of a white western monoculture shaped intercultural communication practice. We conclude by reflecting on how these constructs might be addressed to improve intercultural communication in child and family health settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health disorder and alcohol and other drug comorbidity is prevalent in Australia. This qualitative study used semistructured interviews (N= 20) to elicit clinicians' and workers' knowledge, experiences, and opinions regarding issues pertaining to service needs of people with comorbidity in a metropolitan region of South Australia. The study revealed barriers to effective access and delivery of comorbidity care by MH and AOD services. Participants reported difficulties with identification, access, suitability, policy, funding, and collaboration between sectors and services responding to comorbidity. Results suggest that these models of practice were inadequate influencing the delivery, consistency, and reliability of comorbidity care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a significant shortage of clinical psychology services in rural and remote Australia. It is proposed that tele-web psychology may provide one potential solution to this inequity in health provision. A tele-web psychology project was developed through a partnership between a university and country health service setting in rural South Australia. Tele-web psychology was conducted by Provisional Psychologists on their first clinical placement, with patients attending sessions in a community mental health team hub in a regional centre north of Adelaide. This article describes the logistics of setting up a collaborative tele-web psychology service and makes recommendations on how to expedite the success of this type of venture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total laryngectomy (TL), a life-preserving surgery, results in profound physical and communication changes for the individual. Physical and psychosocial adjustment to a TL is complex, and quality-of-life (QoL) measures have provided useful knowledge to assist clinical management. However, many tools were developed without considering the perspectives of people who have experienced TL. To improve understanding of the phenomena of living with TL, a qualitative study was conducted which explored the views and experiences of seven men and five women from a range of ages, geographical locations, and social situations who had undergone a TL. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, journals, and field notes, and analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach and symbolic interactionism. The emergent concept was identifying with the altered self after TL as reflected in dynamic multi-level changes (physical, communication, and psycho-emotional) continuously interacting with intrinsic and extrinsic interpersonal factors including personal and socio-cultural constructs, e.g., age, gender, resilience, beliefs, and supports. This process affected the strategies these individuals used to negotiate their social experiences. The extent to which communication changes disrupted social roles affecting a person's sense of self appeared to relate to long-term adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into a relatively neglected aspect of feminist, or anti-oppressive practice, namely that of practitioners’ experiences of this work, and specifically, their personal and professional identifications with feminism. It explores the question: is feminism, in the context of feminist practice, something one does, a professional “persona” adopted at particular times and for particular purposes at work, or something one is, transcending—or linking—the personal and professional realms? Drawing upon a qualitative, exploratory study, this article investigates understandings of, and identifications with, feminism within the context of an area of practice, namely domestic violence intervention, which is explicitly feminist. It focuses on the relationship of the research participants, practitioners in this field, to feminism in terms of their identification with feminist principles. Paying attention to these issues has implications for feminist and other anti-oppressive ways of working, particularly where these are adopted by organisations as the required model of practice. The broader question, that of whether one needs to—or “should”—be (or identify as) feminist in order to engage in feminist practice, while beyond the scope of the current study, is critical, both for feminist theorising in general and in relation to specific concerns such as professional education, development, and supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Women who have experienced domestic and family violence use health services more frequently than women who have not. Early identification and intervention by the health system may reduce health problems associated with domestic and family violence and lead to savings for the health sector. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a new domestic and family violence screening program, which was based on an ecological model and introduced by a social work team in the Emergency Department of a major metropolitan hospital. The evaluation method included an audit of social work case files to assess the effect on referral rates and a survey of Emergency Department staff to obtain perceptions of the impact of the program on the staff and clients. In the 3-month period following the introduction of the program, the rate of referral to social work increased by 213%. Staff agreed that the Emergency Department is an appropriate place to ask about domestic and family violence, under certain conditions. Findings suggest that an ecological social work model provides an approach to screening for domestic and family violence that not only contributes to increased identification and supportive client interventions but may also contribute to more sustainable systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

New Zealand has been offering third country resettlement to refugees, migrants, and their families since the end of the Second World War. Migration itself is a source of considerable distress. The study reported here used a set of self-report scales to determine the degree of demoralization and psychological distress among a sample of refugee and migrant clients living in Australasia. A degree of depression and demoralization was evident across the sample. The findings indicated that while many of the participants had attracted a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, in the main they did not benefit from a course of antidepressants. Additional factors known to impact on mental health were also apparent placing emphasis on the need for further development of culturally competent and evidence-based practice in resettlement and mental health services. While the study is based on refugee experiences in Australasia the perspective is much broader and should be seen in the international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]