Culturally responsive mental health care: a completed pilot
Project completed · September 2024Pola Practice partnered with North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) to strengthen culturally responsive mental health assessment and practitioner care. The project tested a culturally informed intake process and delivered training, supervision and reflective practice for clinicians.
Training strengthened clinicians’ confidence and capability
Participating clinicians reported that the program helped them deliver culturally responsive care. They described greater self-awareness and reflection, a deeper understanding of cultural dimensions in therapy, and more confidence and intentionality in their practice.
A promising result for practitioner learning
In this nine-clinician pilot, self-ratings of confidence and capability improved on every measure after the training, individual supervision and group reflective practice. The report also identified different starting levels of knowledge across clinicians, underscoring the value of learning that can meet practitioners where they are.
These are findings from a small pilot and clinician self-report. The report does not establish a measured improvement in consumer outcomes.
What we did together
Culturally responsive assessment
Pola applied the Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) within its culturally responsive intake process with 50 clients. The work explored how cultural identity, family, community, spirituality and experiences of marginalisation can inform assessment and referral.
Training with ongoing reflection
Pola developed and piloted a learning program with nine CAREinMIND clinicians. It combined a full-day workshop, individual supervision and group reflective practice, using clinical scenarios to help practitioners apply learning in their work.
Read the full report
The NWMPHN report, Responsive mental health assessment and support for multicultural consumers (2025), sets out the pilot approach, evaluation findings and implications for future practitioner training.
Open the report (PDF)Making practitioner learning more accessible at scale
The pilot showed the value of pairing training with supervision and space for reflection. It also raised a wider question: how can more practitioners access culturally responsive learning while retaining the depth, nuance and opportunities to reflect that this work requires?
This question connects with Pola founder Nasalifya Namwinga’s PhD research into the opportunities and risks of emerging technology, including AI, for mental health practitioners and culturally responsive practice. Pola’s digital training modules are one example of how practitioner learning could reach more people across different services and locations. We are exploring how digital learning can be combined with facilitated discussion and reflective practice, and how its impact should be evaluated as it grows.
Interested in culturally responsive practitioner training?
We can work with health services and organisations to adapt training, supervision and reflective practice for their practitioners and setting. Tell us about your team and what you would like to strengthen.
Contact Pola PracticeOr email info@polapractice.com.au