Honorary Research Fellow
BA MAE PhD
Michael is a Yuat Nyoongar man from the Moora and New Norcia area of Western Australia, north of Perth. He has worked as a hospital-based social worker and as a mental health service manager. In 2010, Dr Wright graduated with a PhD that investigated issues of access to services by Aboriginal families whose lives are affected by mental illness. Michael holds a Fellowship position at Curtin University in the Division of Health Sciences and is based at the Curtin University National Drug Research Institute.
Dr Wright has held an extensive and varied array of positions throughout his career, including Aboriginal health and mental health and education. He has worked in partnership with Nyoongar (Aboriginal) families, mental health and drug and alcohol service providers, Ruah Community Services, The Mental Health Commission, Curtin University and the Telethon Kids Institute.
Dr Wright’s experience, understandings, and expertise are highly regarded and recognised in the Aboriginal community, with Government and non-Government agencies, and policy-makers.
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Publications
January 2015
A systematic review: Identifying the prevalence rates of psychiatric disorder in Australia's Indigenous populations
A systematic review: Identifying the prevalence rates of psychiatric disorder in Australia's Indigenous populations.
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & Wellbeing Youth Mental HealthSeptember 2013Making a difference: Engaging both hearts and minds in research practice
This paper discusses the findings and the research process undertaken thus far for the Looking Forward Aboriginal Mental Health Project.
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & WellbeingJanuary 2013Weaving the narratives of relationship in community participatory research
The Looking Forward Project is the story of our work with the Nyoongar community working together with mental health and drug and alcohol service providers...
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & WellbeingJanuary 2011Research as intervention: Engaging silenced voices
The emergence of Indigenous researchers into the public health research sector presents a challenge to what have traditionally been Western-based research...
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & WellbeingJanuary 2010Talking It And Walking It: Cultural Competence
Cultural Competence
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & WellbeingAugust 2021Co-Designing Health Service Evaluation Tools That Foreground First Nation Worldviews for Better Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes
It is critical that health service evaluation frameworks include Aboriginal people and their cultural worldviews from design to implementation. During a large participatory action research study, Elders, service leaders and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers co-designed evaluation tools to test the efficacy of a previously co-designed engagement framework. Through a series of co-design workshops, tools were built using innovative collaborative processes that foregrounded Aboriginal worldviews.
Published research Aboriginal Health Group A Streptococcal & Rheumatic Heart Disease Youth Mental HealthJuly 2017Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and child sexual abuse in institutional settings
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse commissioned the Telethon Kids Institute to collaborate on a report
Published research Aboriginal Health & Wellbeing Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & WellbeingDecember 2017Making visible the invisible: Aboriginal forensic mental health
The health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia is crucial to address due to the burden of disease and injury in aboriginal population.
Published researchJuly 2016Humility, inquisitiveness, and openness: key attributes for meaningful engagement with Nyoongar people
The rebuilding of trust requires the development of meaningful relationships in order to break down the barriers so as to increase access and develop culturally secure responses by services
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & Wellbeing Youth Mental HealthJanuary 2016Djinangingy kaartdijin: Seeing and understanding our ways of working
This chapter describes the challenges experienced by Aboriginal people in their efforts to negotiate Australian society
Published research Aboriginal Health Aboriginal Mental Health & Wellbeing -
Education and Qualifications
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Awards/Honours
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Active Collaborations