FIRST AID FOR THE MIND

In the Pilbara, mental health trainers delivered a four day Aboriginal mental health first aid training session last week.

Indigenous Consulting Group trainer and Noongar woman Rosalie Kickett said Aboriginal families were the first responders when a relative had a mental health crisis.

“We want to educate and to train our mob and our people up to be the first respondents,” she said. “To have these tools and skills to know how to support someone going through a difficult time in their life.”

Noongar man and National Wellbeing Alliance senior coordinator Laurence Riley said shorter sessions for Aboriginal youth were also available.

“ And the last one really is Deadly Thinking Youth program,” he said. “And that’s about giving the tools directly to the young people themselves on how to handle different pressures and things they are facing now as a new culture of young kids. That’s a one-day design or it could be across half a day and it’s for young people aged between 12 and 20. And it’s around culturally tailored workshops where we can yarn about a whole range of stuff affecting young people.”

Aboriginal-owned and Aboriginal-managed company The National Wellbeing Alliance delivered the training with PKKP Aboriginal Corporation.