According to Professor Pat Dudgeon, an Aboriginal, Fellow of the Australian Psychology Society and academic from the University of Western Australia, there are insufficient numbers of Indigenous psychologists in Australia. She says that non-indigenous practitioners are currently providing services to indigenous Australians, even though cultural awareness is not a standard competency in undergraduate or post-university training.

In response to the problem, the Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) was given a $350,000 grant by the Federal Government to start a project geared towards increasing the number of Indigenous psychology students and enhancing the practitioners’ efficiency in dealing with Indigenous communities.

With Professor Dudgeon as the leader, the project is titled: “Curricular approaches to increasing cultural competence and Indigenous participation in psychology education and training.” The objectives of the newly funded project include:

• To increase recruitment and retention of Indigenous psychology students
• To integrate Indigenous studies in psychology courses  for all students
• To facilitate training pathways for indigenous mental health workers