Are you still hearing voices? Are they talking to you?
This is why you come here. Do you have medication? Mental illness is a big issue in our society
especially if you live in remote communities like Nguiu on Bathurst Island, in the Arafura
sea. Take tablets
Every night Tablets for voices?
For Voices In early 2000 the area recorded 10 times the
national average rate of suicides. In response to this the community developed
a home-grown health initiative. Instead of talking about the sickness we are
trying have this place talk about good mental health, see how it’s going to help our people
get well. They came up with the wellbeing centre based
on a philosophy that provides a combination of modern and traditional knowledge.
It’s going to help our people get well and help them take their medication to stay strong.
And while you’re here you’ll have your flu shot.
Julie, a clinical nurse, and Cathy a local health worker, have high hopes for this new
centre. It was set up to de-stigmatise mental health
in the community to make it more accessible but also look at it before it becomes a problem,
so it’s also a preventative strategy. What keeps you strong? What makes you strong
in yourself? Key to that strategy is getting clients to
talk about their feelings. Can you point to the picture that keeps you
strong? Out bush.
Do you walk around? To country it makes you feel good connecting with the land and the
sea. And that’s exactly what Lizzie, another
health worker from the centre, has planned for today.
I’m taking them out to the bush to help them feel better.
Charlene, who suffers from schizophrenia and depression, often feels lonely and confused.
They forgot what they used to do. You know, get them back on track again.
Come on Across town, Danny another health worker,
is picking up the men who are off for day at the beach.
Bush is like a medicine eh, medicine good medicine for us, You know we feel good good
about the bush like freedom, you know. A freedom that comes from being out in bush
with friends, doing what they love most. The men are going fishing. And the women are looking
for natural dyes for basket weaving. We looking for the dye for the pandanus it’s
a root. When I’m at home I feel sleepy, but whenever
[I’m in] the bush, I feel all right. You smell the bushes nice come out, yeah.
For the men, just being out here is making all the difference.
When I’m in the community I feel terrible. But out here I’m hearing the wind and not
voices in my head. And as they begin to concentrate on fishing,
the voices grow quiet and disappear. What we’ve been seeing and hearing from
our clients is they feel better coming out and it makes our program more easy, understanding
them. I’m happy
Meanwhile at the well being centre, clients drop in to be treated in a relaxed home like
environment. It breaks down that stigma of it being an
illness so it’s a much more friendly environment, they can have a cup of tea and relax while
they’re doing this. If we can do it here it makes it less stressful for them. It also
gives the opportunity for the health workers to have a more informal assessment completed.
They find it much easier. And this holistic care extends to home visits
for patients who can’t make it to the centre. We are trying, I suppose, to take the stigma
away from mental health being an illness so that it gives people a better understanding
that it’s just part of who they are and that it can be managed in a lot of ways rather
than a medical model. Today, Julie’s visiting Crystal to monitor
her ongoing recovery and medication. Is it ok if we come in?
Yeah just come in. So we just want to check how things were going?
Yeah been going ok. Are you back on that medication?
Yes I am back on the medication. I’m not suicidal or anything like that. But sometimes
when you are in depression you have those feelings of suicide and sometimes when you
miss out on medication never miss out on medication because it is very, very, very bad if you
do. Mental health is a really important part of
someone’s life. And I think that’s what this clinic does.
Charlene’s finally made it to the beach, and with the billy boiling, Cathy uses the
relaxed atmosphere to run her unique counseling sessions.
So what’s on your mind today? We alright here good thing to remember.
It brings back a lot of good memories for Charlene when she was a child.
At days end the men haven’t caught any fish but their spirits are high again.
It’s all part of a recovery for our clients For Charlene it’s been both a day of connecting
with friends in the bush and an important opportunity to talk about things that matter.