A psychiatrist specialising in Aboriginal mental health says dance troupes are one way to help stop young Aboriginal people from having suicidal thoughts.

Neil Phillips was speaking at the Wollongong launch of an information brochure developed by Lifeline and local Aboriginal groups.

The brochure helps people recognise the warning signs of suicidal behaviour and provides information on how to seek support.

Dr Phillips welcomed the decision to launch the brochure with a local youth dance troupe trained by Sydney's Bangarra Dance Company.

"We actually ran a project like this in Lake Cargelligo, which is a town in the middle of New South Wales, several years ago as part of a mental health initiative and it worked very well to have a dance troupe," he said.

The brochure will be distributed to Aboriginal medical services around Australia.