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Biomedical subjects

J Cawte

Publications and source records attributed to J Cawte.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Mental health services by and for Aborigines and Islanders: a follow-up report.

The indigenous behavioural health programme for Aborigine and Islander Community of the Townsville area was belatedly funded and has recently been expanded. An additional group of five behavioural health technicians have been trained to provide broadened services emphasizing alcoholism counselling and community based activities. Evaluation of the programme indicates a considerable increase in the utilization of mental health services by the community as compared to utilization prior to the behavioural health service. Self-referrals account for 40% of the cases. Referrals from the centre's physician and from family account for much of the others. Problems seen are multiple, often both of personal-emotional and of a social service nature. Alcoholism, family-material child-school problems, anxiety and depression were frequent emotional problems. Issues as to whether or not such indigenous programmes should rather deal with social problems or physical health are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Multidisciplinary collaboration in fieldwork: Australian studies.

The Australian situation offers special insights for cross-cultural psychiatric research. The two cultures that "crossed" in Australia were diametrically opposed in their characteristics. Suffering, which is considered to be the raison d'être of cross-cultural psychiatry, became pandemic among Aborigines, not only because the invading society was ruthlessly aggressive, but also because the invaded society did not have the social institutions and modal personality patterns enabling it to adapt to the introduced culture. It is suggested that no applied science makes more demands of more scientific disciplines than does cross-cultural psychiatry. Psychiatry itself is a multidisciplinary science. The amount of information needed by the cross-cultural extension of psychiatry is further expanded. Only a multidisciplinary approach can furnish the necessary level of information. An outline is given of multidisciplinary field work in Australia, indicating advantages and difficulties inherent in it. Attention is drawn to literature in which details of the results may be found. The Australian work leads to the conclusion that if the relief of suffering is the aim then greater involvement is needed in cross-cultural psychiatry from the culture that has been "crossed".

Australia↗

Mental health services by and for Austrailian aborigines.

Based on a program developed for the Papago Indians of Arizona, five Australian Aborigines were trained as Behavioral Health workers, to deliver mental health services to their group. The problems of the Aborigines are very similar to those of the Indians. The training consisted of developing basic skills in interviewing, case indentification and several methods of intervention, including crisis intervention, family and alcoholism counselling. A mental health clinic was developed for the Aboriginal community for health services and training. Community projects and field trips were part of the training, as was report writing, record keeping and presentations to professional groups.

Adolescent↗

Psychosexual and cultural determinants of fertility choice behavior.

Although traditional societies in Oceania direct their fertility choice behavior (if any) toward spirits rather than sexual intercourse, closer observation shows that these fertility choice behaviors, while groping and magical, sometimes have empirical value. The author notes that the alternative to effective fertility control in these societies has sometimes been population regulation of the Malthusian variety (e.g., murder and starvation). Efforts aimed at spacing the family in a less savage and more effective manner deserve encouragement, the author believes.

Australia↗