Analysing 'cultural safety' in mental health policy reform: lessons from British Columbia, Canada

In response to the mental health disparities experienced by Aboriginal peoples, and related inequities regarding the accessibility to appropriate mental health care, there has been a shift in health policy to endorse 'By Indigenous for Indigenous' health care delivery models. In Canada, this has resulted in the creation of new mechanisms for Aboriginal participation in health care planning by health authorities with the goal of fostering culturally safe mental health and addictions care. Yet, there is a growing concern about the effects of neo-liberal cost concerns in health policy on the effective implementation of such progressive reform ideas. Drawing on a critical policy review and ethnographic interviews with four community-based Aboriginal organisations and one health authority, this article uses 'cultural safety' as a critical lens to discuss emerging tensions within the context of regional Aboriginal mental health care reform in British Columbia. The findings of this study draw attention to the intersecting ways that dominant socio-historical and political ideologies undermine cultural safety in decision-making and funding practices, thereby creating situations of cultural risk for both Aboriginal people working within the area of Aboriginal mental health and by extension for Aboriginal people who are seeking mental health and addictions care. The insights gained from this research contribute to the ongoing dialogue regarding how to foster culturally safe mental health policy and practice, and for action in the political realm.