Honours - Social Work

Social workers are often involved with people who die by suicide as members of treatment teams or as providers of other community services. In Australia coroners investigate the manner and cause of death of persons who die or who are suspected to have died in care, in custody, or in unknown circumstances, often by suicide. Depending on the jurisdiction, coroners may direct that written findings are published. These written findings include: who the deceased person is, how the person died, when the person died, where the person died, comments or recommendations made by the coroner relating to public health and safety, the administration of justice or ways to prevent similar deaths. That is, coroner reports document details on the circumstances surrounding suicides and offer suggestions for enhancing mental health services to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The detailed analysis of these documents is a vehicle for social workers to critically reflect on how they work with people at risk of suicide. The student on this project will be undertaking document analysis to develop recommendations for practice.

Project supervisor(s) including affiliations: Dr Eliana Sarmiento (ACU), Michelle Parker ACU

Young people in Australia experience high rates of mental health disorders and benefit from accessible and supportive mental health services. Recent research highlights a positive relationship with at least one parent is a major protective factor against self-harming behaviour in adolescents; and Australian mental health policy increasingly recognises the need to adopt a family approach to youth mental illness. Despite this, research in this area primarily refers to a universal youth experience and considers global strategies for engaging families. Practice strategies for working with young people are also commonly informed by developmental perspectives grounded in white cultural assumptions. There is limited consideration of varied cultural experiences of youth mental health and conceptualisations of young people within families. If practice with young people and their families is not culturally responsive, outcomes for young people and engagement of families in supportive care for young people is compromised. Understanding current practices for engaging families in youth mental health support and the ways in which this is adapted for, and responded to by Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) families is essential to further culturally responsive practice. The honours student on this project will be conducting qualitative interviews with mental health practitioners about their culturally responsive practice with families to support youth wellbeing.

Project supervisor(s) including affiliations: Dr Aniqa Farwa (ACU), Dr Jennifer McConachy (ACU)

Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) mandates that children and young people be provided opportunities to express their views in all matters which affect them, and have those views considered with due weight. Despite this, research from Australia and around the world demonstrates that children and young people engaging with services frequently experience a lack of agency and feel excluded from decision making processes. This has been shown to undermine trust, impact mental health and prompt young people to engage in problematic behaviours to reclaim agency. Further research is needed to better understand how to translate the principles of participation into effective practice which ensures children and young people feel empowered and retain a sense of agency throughout decision making processes. In this project the honours student is conducting interviews with key stakeholders to understand in what ways children's participation is, or could be evaluated, to improve participatory practice.

Project supervisor(s) including affiliations: Rhys Thorpe (ACU), Dr Eliana Sarmiento (ACU)