Deconstructing Whiteness in Mental Health Care: Recommendations for Training, Practice, and Research

Australia is known for its multicultural population characterized by a vast diversity of cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. This variety results in the need for mental health care systems and practitioners to adapt to a range of health and wellbeing needs for diverse individuals and groups. This goal is challenged by Whiteness—a prevailing and overarching socio-political and ethnocultural construct present in Australia, other Western nations and much of the world. The chapter first acknowledges Whiteness and its consequences, within the context of mental health and wellbeing, and then describes recommendations for mental health care training, research, practice and theory. In doing so, this chapter provides steps toward increasing cultural safety in mental health care.