The Queensland Forensic Mental Health Service (QFMHS) has established the Indigenous Mental Health Intervention Programme (IMHIP), a multi-million-dollar Indigenous-led service delivered in custodial and transitional care settings. The novel programme provides for a partnership between Government and non-Government services to ensure continuity of culturally appropriate care in custody and during transition to the community.
The IMHIP is Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led, multidisciplinary, social and emotional wellbeing service for Indigenous people in custody. It provides early identification, in custody care and transitional support to connect individuals back to their community. This priority-driven service has been developed in partnership with Indigenous colleagues, communities and organisations to ensure that it is culturally informed. In addition to its client focus, IMHIP strives to develop the Indigenous workforce and support Indigenous leadership.
The IMHIP service is developed from an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views of health and mental health, including the interconnections between spiritual, social, emotional, cultural and physical wellbeing, as such, the service model is holistic and more readily accessible. The team have incorporated a range of culturally valid outcome measures into routine practice and mental health applications delivered via Android tablet PC’s. Evaluation findings indicate that the IMHIP approach is valued and that outcomes are positive and meaningful.
The project won the Connecting Healthcare Category at the 2018 Queensland Health Awards for Excellence.
