Thank you for your thoughtful response @SOCRATES1
I have only left Australian shores, once, for a year in 1981. So thats when I was in Indonesia. I actually am saddened by too many plane trips being taken by people of all ethnicities, although I have often made the joke, that I dont have to travel any more cos the world is coming to me.
My first friend in the 3rd orphanage was indigenous. My father also had close ties to Kulin and Wiradjuri peoples, as living under the same roof generates a sense of kinship. I have paid a lot of rent, and appreciate Daddirri, deep listening, and Wayapa Wurrk challenges. I even did a cooee to get the audience attention when we had our performance today. I go "Waa" to the crows.
Blood cancer would be a difficult diagnosis to adjust to. How is it impacting your life at the moment?
Regarding responsibility for a child's mental health issues. It is complicated. They used to always blame the mother, the most and I am not seeing a lot of reasonable respect for parenting generally. There is a fellow called Winnicott, who came up with concept of Good Enough Parenting. I have done enuff stats, to know my circumstances were pretty unusual. I didnt really know how to laugh til about 5 years ago, so it took me 60 years. Slow learner. I can joke about stats, now and question the sample size of many mental health studies.
Boundaries for your only child may gently lay a path for more thriving. Only children have their own challenges. Him or Her finding the edges of her body, mind and soul, as they journey into their own future.
Online content, can easily be distorted when the mind is panicked and under threat, delusions can grow. Rational argument doesnt always help, but neither does enabling irrational thoughts. Holding or containing the space for inner growth and change may help ... They have to find their own sense of security and beliefs about what I call the spiritual or liminal. There are Hearing Voices networks and a group called Schizzyinc, which focusses on creative approaches. The variety in outcomes for people with the Schizophrenia label is massive. The Power Threat Meaning Framework may be useful. Also a homegrown therapy called Narrative therapy.
I have done postgrad in writing and an indigenous lecturer was crossing boundaries with me. He is published and famous since he met me. I recoiled and licked my wounds again. SO I have a LOT of experiences with a range of peoples on this soil. I know enough, to prefer nuanced and authentic conversation about all the issues, beyond limited bit or bytes on social media. Words were always my first love. I am planning to do more writing again next year. I have a good clinician, and hope they will walk with me for long enough to be useful, without being freaked out by my son's struggles. I am pretty polite and functional and its been hard for me to get good treatment. Hmmm.
Dont have excess faith in them unless they manage to actually develop a therapeutic relationship with your child, not just casually add pathologising labels, and pose like experts. Make sure they do some work for their pay. Private system is better if you can afford it. Where some therapy may actually unfold.
I am really upset this week from being confronted with the HARM my son's mental health care team, have done him. I did trust the services, but not anymore. I feel ethically obliged to urge caution to you. Its great you are not frightened of research. Yep. Look at symptomology, diagnosis and side effect of the meds. Hmmm. All of it. But honestly the science is a never-ending pool of possible speculations and generalisations. In my experience it's like they haven't got a clue, they seem to play drug experiments on clients and drop the ball, cos they got another job somewhere else [edited by moderator]. There are people better qualified than I who have opinions. Eg Niall MacLaren is an Australian psychiatrist:
https://www.madinamerica.com/author/nmclaren/
and Josef Witt Doerring
Respect and honour the relationship you have. Guilt can only do so much, if genuine reconciliation has been sought, you have to forgive yourself. At least you are alive and care. My dad died when I was 11.
The transmission of intergenerational trauma is not only for indigenous peoples. The death rate in my family is significant. I am CALD, but my father was Australian and introduced me to his indigenous friends.
Anyway, thats my 2 cents worth.
