ABSTRACT
This chapter explores one area where disadvantage and discrimination converge, the public mental health services. It discusses how Frantz Fanon’s ideas can shape an approach to mental health care that can truly meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. An overview of Indigenous health status can provide an insight into how colonization continues to affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These statistics should be viewed in the context of the tremendous strength and resilience that have been characteristic of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the face of extreme adversities. In the context of public mental health service provision, specialized community mental health service contacts for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were four times the rate for non-Indigenous Australians in 2014–2015. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, social and emotional well-being is the foundation for both physical and mental health.
