In September, Flinders’ team in Alice Springs held a record-breaking Student Networking and Inter-Professional Session (SNIPS) with 28 students in attendance!
While most students were from the Northern Territory Medical Program, we also had students from six other universities that are currently completing Flinders’ supported placements in Central Australia.
The session focused on the Aboriginal-led, co-design suicide prevention and postvention program ‘Culture Care Connect’ (CCC) delivered by the Social & Emotional Wellbeing services from Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress). The team manager Alice Campbell-Jones specialises in suicidology. She works alongside a team of only four Aboriginal Health workers, who connect with clients in need in remote communities.
This session was co-presented by Alice, Rachel Abbott and Emele Radinitoga. The collaborative work between the CCC team and the Alice Springs hospital bridges the gap between worlds of clinical practice and culture, delivering mental health and suicide prevention programs grounded in cultural and Aboriginal knowledge. The Program has been gaining traction, and this year they have helped 200 people so far.
After the session, many students reflected on how the examples and case study discussion really emphasised the importance of changing their practice-thinking.
“This session was super insightful. The bridging between cultural practice and the Western biomedical systems made preventative mental health care feel more forward-thinking and practical. It gave clear ideas on how we, as mental health professionals, can do better. Understanding how our language and approach to mental health and suicide can really shape a person’s experience and journey was valuable. The speaker was great, and I’d love to see more sessions like this.”
SNIPSs are relaxed sessions where students can learn about remote practice and meet with students from other universities and disciplines. They take place regularly across our five NT campuses in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Darwin and Nhulunbuy.