Clinical practice points

cULTURE 101

It is imperative that workers and services provider culturally responsive and safe care to young people and their families when accessing mental health support.

The Culture 101 clinical practice point for mental health professionals introduces key concepts that provide a baseline understanding for those accessing Orygen's cultural diversity and mental wellbeing suite of resources.

The Culture 101 resource:

• introduces a definition for culture, with some consideration to various communities’ relationships to culture and language;
• encourages mental health professionals to reflect on their own relationship to culture;
• encourages consideration to the use of language and self-identifying labels when working with young people and families;
• explores the relationship between culture, identity, wellbeing, systems and service provision;
• provides questions to promote case based formulation, reflexivity and reflection ;
• includes take home messages for how approaches outlined in the resource may be represented in practice, representing young people and staff in quotes; and
• recommends useful resources from clinical and community organisations.