Join us on Thursday 25 August 2016 as we continue to recognise and celebrate great work in mental health services. We are pleased to announce that the 2016 Awards will be presented by Kevin Allan, Mental Health Commissioner and Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner for New Zealand. Now in their 25th year, TheMHS Awards were first introduced at The Mental Health Services (TheMHS) Conference in Sydney in 1992. These Awards reward services and individuals who are changing the way services are delivered, in accord with the National Mental Health Strategy.
The Awards were established to provide a focus for “good news” stories about mental health, to increase the morale and quality of mental health services throughout both countries and to reward the dedication and commitment of mental health service staff and management.
Twenty-five years on, and TheMHS is proud to continue this strong tradition of recognising and rewarding best practice, excellence and innovation in mental health.
“TheMHS Awards have had a positive impact in the sector in terms of sharing and modelling successful services and acknowledging achievement,” says TheMHS Awards founding member Roger Gurr.
“Over the years, many services have said that their funding was close to running out but due to receiving these awards their funding was rolledover”
In 2016, the quality of the entrants were once again high and the judging panel is pleased to have received so many entries. The Awards judging panel has always been selected with a broad spectrum of professional, discipline and service backgrounds, including consumers and carers, across Australia and New Zealand.
More information about past award winners and award categories can be found on the website.
The 2016 TheMHS Award Presentation Ceremony will take place on Thursday 25 August at the Langham in Auckland, New Zealand. The new Award for Outstanding Achievement for Peer Work in New Zealand will be presented by Peter Dunne, Minister of Internal Affairs, Associate Minister of Conservation, Associate Minister of Health, MP for Ohariu on Friday 26 August at 10am.
Images: (1) 2015 TheMHS Awards Winners;
(2)Photo from left to right: TheMHS Medal 2015 winner – ABC Mental As.. Jack Heath, SANE, Richard Finlayson, ABC and Tegan Cotterill, Mindframe.
Award Categories
In 2016, there are a seven categories for Programs and Services. These programs demonstrate best practice models, innovation and genuine consumer participation.
The Outstanding Contribution Awards recogise Australians and New Zealand individuals who have had a outstanding impact on mental health service delivery and acknowledge a remarkable accomplishment and wide sphere of influence. The Oustanding Contribution Awards encompass the long running and prestigious Award for Exceptional Contribution by an Individual; the top award, the TheMHS Medal for Mental Health; and in 2016 the inaugural Award for Outstanding Achievement for Peer Work in New Zealand. This new award will be presented on Friday 26 August by Peter Dunne, Minister of Internal Affairs, Associate Minister of Conservation, Associate Minister of Health, MP for Ohariu.
TheMHS Media Awards recognise excellence and accuracy of media coverage about mental health and are awarded in three categories: Text Journalism, Sound/Vision Journalism, andSpecial Media Journalism.
TheMHS Awards program has further developed recently by introducing the Tom Trauer Evaluation and Research Award, the Early Career Researcher Awards for Innovation, Best Practice and Excellence,
