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Indigenous people around the world have long healing traditions. Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing projects are designed to empower individuals, families and communities; strengthen connections to culture; and reduce the damaging effects of colonisation and government policies such as the forcible removal of children (the Stolen Generations). Evidence on the conditions necessary for healing to occur, and how healing works for different people and in different contexts, is limited. Evaluations that will help identify good practice and document the full range of outcomes are sorely needed. This paper is based largely on experiences and learnings from Stolen Generations projects around Australia funded by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, and the reflections of experienced scholar-practitioners. It argues that evaluations that are responsive to, and ultimately owned and led by, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities need to be designed and implemented differently to mainstream evaluations. Timeframes, methods, relationships between evaluators and stakeholders, and the identification and measurement of outcomes all need to be carefully considered. Challenges include definitions of healing, diversity of landscapes and programs, and data collection. Qualitative methods that preference and support Indigenous cultural frameworks and ways of creating and sharing knowledge work well. In addition to ensuring culturally sensitive methodologies and tools, working ethically and effectively in the Indigenous healing space means emphasising and enabling safety for participants, workers and organisations.

The cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity of Australia's population presents challenges for mental health service delivery. Arabic-speaking communities in Australia underutilise mental health services despite high levels of trauma and psychological distress. Clinicians who work with this population lack linguistically and culturally appropriate clinical resources. The aim of this study was to explore the acceptability and clinical utility of a Mindfulness Skills CD translated into formal Arabic. The 70 participants were Arabic-speaking adults, mostly Lebanese-born Muslim women, who enrolled in a 5-week mindfulness program using the CD and agreed to follow-up at 12 weeks. Both recruitment and data collection were undertaken by a female project officer who is a widely respected member of the Arabic community in south-east Sydney. Compliance with the program protocol was high and all but 4 participants continued to use the CD beyond the 5 weeks. Overall, participants reported that mindfulness techniques fitted well with their way of life and were compatible with their cultural and religious practices. Most found mindfulness complementary to their regular reflective prayer. Using the Mindfulness Skills CD was associated with statistically significant reductions in psychological distress as measured by the Kessler Scale (K10) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS21) postprogram (K10; DASS21 Depression and Stress subscales) and at follow-up (all measures). The evaluation showed that the Arabic Mindfulness Skills CD is an effective and culturally appropriate mental health resource for this population group. This low-cost, easily distributed resource is suitable for use in individual self-management and as an adjunct to primary and specialist mental health care.

Background: Chinese-language speakers comprise the largest non-English speaking population in Australia but they have among the lowest rates of mental health services utilisation. Material: A bilingual (Mandarin/English) researcher conducted in-depth interviews with China-born mental health patients and members of the general community, and mental health service providers. Discussion: Participants identified several factors that limit access to mental healthcare as well as the quality of care received: mental health literacy, communication difficulties, stigma, confidentiality concerns, service constraints and discrimination. Cross-cultural communication was not just a matter of hearing individual words but also appreciating idioms and cultural and social references. Conclusion: Findings have implications for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders among migrants from China, and caution against assuming heterogeneity within ethnic groups. Mental health services must become more culturally competent in their attempts to engage the target group and to deliver both acute and continuing care.