Presentation Information
[SY-30-01]Culturally Grounded Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention: Lessons from Work with Indigenous Youth
*Laurence J Kirmayer (McGill University(Canada))
Keywords:
suicide prevention,Indigenous mental health,cultural adaptation
Cross-cultural research points to the possibility of developing a typology of social predicaments affecting specific sociodemographic groups and populations. This typology could be elaborated and applied in clinical and public health practice through an ecosocial approach that considers the ways that suicide is embodied and enacted in social systemic contexts. This presentation will discuss how this framework approaches the dilemma of suicide among Indigenous youth. It will outline an approach to culturally grounded mental health promotion that takes into account historical, transgenerational, and contemporary contexts and seeks to build on the strength and resilience of Indigenous communities and youth. The examples come from Canada but have broader application for Indigenous peoples in many countries as well as for youth from other marginalized communities that have faced historical loss and devaluation and must meet the challenges of globalization and ongoing culture change.