October is Mental Health Month, and we are ‘Celebrating Diversity, Healing Together’.

It is a commitment to fostering an inclusive society where every individual, regardless of their cultural background, can access the mental health resources they need.

Within our Community Care Units (CCU), which provide recovery-focused rehabilitation in a community residential setting, 24 per cent of participants were born outside of Australia, and six per cent are First Nations People. This in turn is reflected in our workforce, with 53.1 per cent born in a country outside Australia and 0.6 per cent First Nations People.

The CCU team support individuals to increase their independence through a variety of person-centred programs, focussed on developing daily living skills. One such consumer was Raj (name changed), an Indian consumer who was experiencing depression and spent most of his time, alone in his room, not engaging in activities within the CCU. He had limited experience cooking his own meals but needed to build this skill to manage independent living on exit from CCU.

That was until one of our Associate Nurse Unit Managers, Sumeet, with an Indian background, provided Raj with some recipes for familiar, traditional and vegetarian dishes, and encouraged him to start cooking.

With one-on-one support, Raj began cooking. He then joined a group led by the CCU Senior Occupational Therapist (OT) Louisa, and Peer Worker, Graeme, where a spinach and paneer curry was prepared. Raj was encouraged to take on a leadership role within the group. Raj was then further supported by CCU OT Ira, who also shared his ethnic background, to cook a few other traditional dishes.

Raj gradually became less withdrawn. He invited others to taste his curries. Raj was clearly pleased and proud of his curry. It was the first time he had smiled in a while.

Whilst Raj had initially been reluctant to use public transport, his rapport with staff and enhanced self-efficacy helped him start using public transport to get out into the community with his OT. He has built his confidence to use public transport independently.

Belinda Scott, Executive Director, Mental Health Services says, “This year’s theme highlights the importance of ‘coming together to support each other’. Helping consumers like Raj grow their independence with everyday living skills, whilst rebuilding and maintaining their cultural identity, is vital to a recovery-oriented model.”

Click here for the paneer and spinach curry recipe.

Featured image: Sumeet (Associate Nurse Unit Manager) and Ira (Occupational Therapist) from Northern Community Care Unit.