Challenging role: Dr Siva Bala is a regional psychiatrist with the Kimberley mental-health service.
Dr Siva Bala, a regional psychiatrist with the Kimberley mental-health and drug service, says he has to dispense with some conventions of traditional psychiatry to forge ties with remote indigenous communities.
Adopting an overly formal approach to consultation or relying on office or hospital-based environments can be detrimental, he has found. It is often more appropriate to see patients on their own terms, Bala says.
‘‘Seeing them in their homes with their family members can be very helpful and advantageous, and very secure for Aboriginal people.’’
Bala is responsible for helping ensure clients in the region have adequate access to quality mental-health services. He supervises teams of indigenous mental-health workers and mental-healthnurses, trains psychiatrists, takes outreach trips, contributes to policy and planning and looks after his own patient loads.