Counselling indigenous Australians : human commonalities and self-esteem

Australia's indigenous population is significantly disadvantaged with respect to both physical and mental health when compared with the general population. This is despite enormous and well intentioned efforts by those responsible for the planning and delivery of services to Australia's indigenous people. In this article, two authors, both with many shared years in working with indigenous people in a range of settings, suggest that current strategies are not as effective as they could be due to their emphasis on recognising and addressing cultural differences ahead of human commonalities. In reponse, sound advice is offered which counsellors could use when counselling indigenous people.