On a cool morning in Arnhem Land, a group of young people walk quietly across red earth alongside their Elders. The day begins not with therapy sessions or paperwork, but with ceremony, song, and time on Country. Here, healing is not delivered in a consulting room but found in the strength of cultural practice, language, and connection to land.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, this understanding of health is both ancient and enduring. It is carried in stories, in kinship systems, and in the reciprocal relationship with Country that sustains identity and belonging. Mental health, in this worldview, cannot be separated from spiritual health, family ties, or cultural practice. To speak of wellbeing is to speak of balance — a balance that links people with ancestors, community, and the land itself.

This perspective contrasts sharply with Western models of mental health, which often focus narrowly on the individual and on symptoms of illness. By placing culture, family, and Country at the centre, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wisdom shows that healing is not just about recovery, but about reconnection and strength.

This holistic worldview is often described as social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB). As the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) explains in its Core Services and Outcomes Framework (2024):

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concepts of health are holistic, encompassing mental health and physical, cultural and spiritual health. Social and emotional wellbeing is the foundation for physical and mental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It recognises the importance of connection to land, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and community, and how these connections have been disrupted by colonisation, racism and intergenerational trauma.”

Healing, in turn, is about restoring those connections and nurturing identity, not simply treating symptoms of illness.

Despite the strength of this framework, the gap in outcomes remains stark. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are more than twice as likely to report high or very high levels of psychological distress as the wider population. Yet mainstream services have too often struggled to provide care that feels safe or culturally meaningful. Experiences of racism and exclusion in healthcare settings mean many people are reluctant to seek help at all.

Community-led solutions are showing another path forward. At Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations, social and emotional wellbeing is woven into everyday care, delivered by staff who understand local contexts. Elders and cultural mentors are guiding younger people through trauma and recovery, using storytelling, ceremony, and art as powerful therapeutic tools. Healing on Country programs are another vital example. These initiatives are grounded in the understanding that connection to land is central to wellbeing. By spending time on ancestral land, engaging in cultural practices, and strengthening identity through Country, participants report improved mental health, stronger cultural resilience, and reduced stigma. Research shows that land-based healing contributes significantly to improved social and emotional wellbeing and recovery from trauma, precisely because it reflects and validates lived Indigenous experiences.

What is striking is how much these models can also teach the broader health system. Co-designing programs with communities, embedding cultural safety training for clinicians, and creating space for cultural practices alongside clinical care are not only respectful — they are effective. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021–2031 places SEWB at the heart of its strategy, and the federal government’s National Mental Health Workforce Strategy 2022–2032, updated in 2025, commits to building a more diverse and culturally capable workforce. But translating these commitments into lived change remains the challenge.

For non-Indigenous clinicians, the task is not to adopt cultural practices wholesale, but to listen and collaborate. Indigenous voices have long emphasised that wellbeing is strongest when grounded in community, culture, and Country. Respecting and supporting those perspectives may be one of the most important steps Australia can take in reshaping mental health care — not just for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but for everyone.