In partnership with local communities, Charles Sturt University (CSU) is to address the emotional and social wellbeing of Aboriginal people in a national Indigenous mental health pilot training project, announced today by the national project director, CSU’s Dr Basseer Jeeawody.

The University will conduct the 18 month project under a $660 000 agreement with the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.

The project expands on the University’s highly successful mental health degree course that educates and trains Indigenous mental health professionals – the only course of its kind in Australia.

“The project aims to achieve a coordinated national approach to enhance tertiary education and continuing professional education in Indigenous mental health,” Dr Jeeawody said.

To be known as the Aboriginal word Djirruwang for “light”, the project is a collaboration between CSU, State Government departments, Indigenous groups, national area health authorities and education institutions.

Dr Jeeawody said the University’s School of Clinical Sciences at the Wagga Wagga Campus would develop and implement a framework for high quality tertiary education to ensure employment success with graduates.

“The outreach program will be set up in regions across Australia and will have a ground-up approach to enable CSU staff to implement relevant programs in collaboration with local groups,” he said.

“We want to involve local Indigenous people so they can work with and make a difference in their own communities,” Dr Jeeawody said.

A model for the project is being established in Broken Hill with the Far West Area Health Service, where six Indigenous trainees have been appointed and are enrolled with CSU.  A member of the Broken Hill steering committee, Sandra Thomas, is one of the first graduates from CSU’s Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) degree – illustrating how the graduates are already contributing to the welfare of their communities.