Review and Development of policies, procedures, service delivery models & Reconciliation Action Plans
What happens if my client wants to engage a traditional healer? How can I ensure ethical, legal and cultural protection for the healer? What do I do if an Aboriginal Client discloses culturally privileged information that can assist them clinically but put them in danger culturally?
Dilemmas such as these (and many more) prompted IPS to develop clinical and cultural policies, procedures and proforma’s specific to the Indigenous client service delivery field. IPS has continued to refine and develop this product line based on our extensive clinical and cultural experience in Aboriginal mental health service delivery over the past 22 years of operations as well as via our strong research, development and evidence based practice approaches (see Westerman, 2003).
The cultural security of all information provided to our clients is also assured via ongoing cultural validation of this information as well as constant reference to key practice guidelines including (but not limited to) the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Values and Ethical Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research and the Australian Psychological Society Ethical Guidelines for Working with Aboriginal Clients.
Service Options:
OPTION 1:
Review and development of client policies, procedures and proforma’s relative to clinical AND cultural best practice standards in working with Aboriginal mental health, health and emotional wellbeing services. IPS has undertaken a considerable numbers of these reviews across state and federal governments, the private sector and Aboriginal community controlled health organisations.
IPS is also able to develop Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) for organisations that track measurable improvements in cultural competencies based on our cultural competency testing and analysis program.
OPTION 2:
Development of “Cultural Foundation Principles” for organisations. These are developed as standalone organisational policies and procedures that are able to sit across all program areas and guide staff irrespective of their professional and cultural backgrounds. Examples of commonly required cultural foundation principles include:
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- Engagement with Aboriginal clients and communities
- Undertaking Culturally Competent Assessment
- Informed Cultural Consent and Working with Culturally Privileged Information
- Cultural Confidentiality
- Cultural Formulation in Assessment and with Culture Bound Syndromes
- Delivering Culturally Competent Behaviour Management Programs
OPTION 3:
Review of Organisational Service Delivery Model to ensure clinical and cultural governance is in place. IPS is able to review existing service delivery models, identify gaps in effective service specifics and develop these for organisations.