Forum Archives

2023: From the Margins to the Mainstream: How to Harness Innovation to Create Best-Practice Responses to Crisis and Adversity?

Preventing suicide is an agreed national policy priority in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, yet strategies differ across and within both countries. Supporting people in crisis and adversity is a focus of mental health, drug and alcohol and trauma services, in a constellation of prevention approaches. While whole of government approaches bring cohesion and direction, it is often the innovation bubbling up from the grass roots that replenishes the mainstream with fresh ideas.

In this Forum we will hear State of the Nation Suicide Prevention updates from both countries and take stock of where they are leading us.

We will also go under the radar to explore the rich territory of Alternatives to Suicide and Early Intervention Programs. What is working on the ground across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and what have been the challenges and learnings?

You will be equipped with the latest bi-national policy contexts and real-world program examples delivered by clinicians and peer workers, to help you in establishing and developing innovative programs that are responsive to people who are experiencing distress, suicidality and bereavement.

2022: Recovery, Rehabilitation and Psychosocial Disability in a Persistently Complex System

For people with psychosocial disability, the mental health system and NDIS are complex and often unwieldy.  There is a labyrinth of services, programs and providers from the public, private, and NGO sectors.

In this forum we will unravel concepts of recovery, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and psychosocial disability.

Together we will identify the challenges and barriers for people to achieve good outcomes in this increasingly complex system.  We will also consider whether it has even been possible to adapt a recovery orientation to psychosocial disability services and the NDIS. It is unclear how rehabilitation services fit within the system. Some organisations are now exiting as NDIS providers while some are remaining within the funding model of the NDIS. Others are finding new models, perspectives and ways of supporting people’s psychosocial needs.

  • How can the mental health system best support a person with psychosocial needs to move forward through their recovery journey?
  • How meaningful are the terms recovery, psychosocial disability support and rehabilitation?
  • Have we created an unhelpful distinction between those deemed to have ‘psychosocial disability’ and those who don’t?
  • Are we really listening to people about what needs to change?
  • What steps are required to achieve an integrated and responsive system that works?

Speakers will bring their expertise to provide insights into the challenges, current perspectives, lived experience, innovative models, recent research and future directions.

View the Autumn Forum Program

2020: Homelessness, Housing and Mental Health: Crises and Opportunities

Access to affordable housing is in crisis. Safe, appropriate and stable housing is a basic human right and one of the key foundations that are central to recovery from experiences of mental health issues. For those on low incomes or with complex needs there are few housing options, and sometimes none at all. Once housed, people with mental illness experience difficulty in accessing either mental health care or residential support that is flexible and responsive.

The fragmentation between Housing, Homelessness and Mental Health Services across government and community sectors create obstacles and hinder services from working in a truly integrated way. Constant reforms to health and housing systems have broken existing partnerships, generated new gaps and destabilised an already unsettled workforce.

The increasing complexity and vulnerabilities of people seeking housing, including substance misuse, domestic violence, rough sleeping, trauma, disability, poverty and hoarding and squalor each act as barriers to service and require solutions that are near-impossible to achieve by a single service. Decreasing continuity of services and relationships also add obstacles to an already complex and confusing housing system. Demographic changes in the homeless population, such as the increasing numbers of Aboriginal people and women, require greater attention.

The good news is that a range of effective service models and integrated approaches have emerged, locally and internationally.

New commissioning and investment methods are funding programs with combined housing and mental health indicators. The Housing First model is one example of a successful paradigm shift for addressing homelessness.

One-stop-shop services such as Headspace and the Foyer model provide more coordinated support for people with mental illness seeking appropriate housing. Local partnerships and shared service agreements have provided new learning on what it takes to break the cycle.

This two day forum will bring together experts, clinicians, consumers, support workers and service managers from across sectors. They will be provided with up-to-date evidence on what works, learn about international best practice approaches, meet specialised practitioners and engage with innovators in collaborative service provision. Delegates will leave with new knowledge and new perspectives on the potential for services to better configure themselves to best achieve shared goals.

2019: Community Mental Health Systems: Human Rights and Services

Community Mental Health Systems: Human Rights and Services 

After 50 years of de-institutionalisation most of the large psychiatric hospitals have either been closed or substantially downsized. It is 40 years since the first Australian research project showed that community-based care was effective and preferred by people and their families.  But are we now in danger of re-creating those institutions in the community? People with lived experience of mental health disorders, have the right to live in the community in freedom, among family and friends, with dignity, respect and ability to exercise their human rights.

In this year’s Forum we will examine international, national and local policies, research and practice to build a picture of what is needed to enable a person with lived experience of mental health issues to attain or retain their full citizenship in society. We are pleased to welcome Peter Hawkins, Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School, as the keynote speaker and facilitator for this two day forum. You can expect to be part of a thought-provoking, challenging and respectful learning experience. Experts from Australia and New Zealand will present mental health research, policy and programs so that we can answer these questions

  • How can mental health services better engage with people in the community?
  • What role is there for consumer run services and peer support?
  • How can evidence and research inform implementation and practice?
  • What is the emerging evidence and growing points in the community mental health system?
  • How do clinical services, support and mental health promotion fit together to provide “no gap” services?
  • What are the most effective ways to gain support for a more community oriented service system?

2018: Trauma Matters

Trauma leaves an indelible impression in the lives of survivors. Trauma is associated with the development in a person’s life of mental health problems and substance use, as well as major impacts on social, emotional and physical health. When trauma is unacknowledged and unrecognised, the effects can be magnified.

People using mental health services have very high incidence of trauma including interpersonal abuse and further betrayal by systems and services. Services are increasingly aware of the incidence and effects of trauma.

Even if trauma occurred many years ago – it matters. It matters for the person, their family and the services and institutions they contact.

One of the many lessons from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is the powerful role that institutions and systems can have in recognising, responding and resisting the re-traumatisation of survivors.

TheMHS Summer Forum 2018 explores how mental health services can recognise and respond to trauma and shows the way forward with trauma-informed care and effective, evidence-based responses that promote healing and recovery.

TheMHS Summer Forum will feature examples of good practice and explore the questions:

  • What is the prevalence of trauma amongst people using mental health services?
  • How is the experience of trauma related to the development and exacerbation of mental health problems?
  • How can services recognise the effects of trauma and provide environments that facilitate safe disclosure and establish trauma-informed responses that are accountable to trauma survivors?
  • Can mental health services go beyond being trauma-informed to provide effective, evidence-based treatments?
  • What is the best available evidence to avoid traumatising and re-traumatising all people who have contact with mental health services?

 

Guest speakers include:

Helen Milroy

Helen is currently a Commissioner with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.  She is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Winthrop Professor at the University of Western Australia

Indigo Daya

Indigo is a Senior Consumer Advisor at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, an Adjunct Research Fellow at Swinburne University, and author of a popular online blog about trauma, madness and recovery. She has worked in leadership roles across the mental health sector for more than a decade, with a particular focus on trauma-informed practice.

2017: Choice and Control: Personalising the Mental Health System

23 – 24 February 2017

TheMHS Summer Forum will investigate the impact of our evolving mental health system on people and services, and ask how citizenship for consumers can be achieved.

As we enter an era of flexible funding, self-directed support and personalised packages in mental health, are we encountering new concepts or simply perpetuating an old model dressed up in new clothing?

For a person to have informed choice and control over their lives and the services and programs they need, there must be real choices available.  While funding mechanisms and system structures have a major impact on the individual, citizenship must be the ultimate outcome. What works to achieve citizenship and how can we provide it?

Multiple reforms to mental health service delivery and funding mechanisms have resulted in a complex and often bewildering system in Australia and New Zealand. Has this led to better outcomes for people living with mental health problems and their families?  How can people (including professionals, managers, families/carers and consumers) successfully navigate these systems and structures?

TheMHS Summer Forum asks how mental health systems can deliver authentic person-centred care in mental health.  Questions to be explored include:

  • How does our changing system enable personal choice and control?
  • How can people and organisations thrive in our changing system?
  • How do people navigate through Primary Health Networks, and the NDIS?
  • How do mental health managers prepare for new workforce issues, like continuity of service provision?
  • What works for consumers to achieve citizenship?

The 2017 TheMHS Summer Forum is complemented by the 2017 International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) exchange program which commences on Monday 27 February.  We welcome IIMHL delegates to register and attend TheMHS Summer Forum.

Speakers

Julie Anderson

Biography

Julie Anderson is an expert by experience in mental health and has an acclaimed career in the not-for-profit Mental Health sector for 20 years. Julie is an experienced consumer leader with lived experience of recovery, expertise in clinical audits and organisational systems. Currently she holds the role of Executive Officer of the Women’s Mental Health Network Victoria as well as undertaking consultancy work. Julie has a strong track record in internal and external advocacy and is highly skilled in developing strong relationships to influence systems change. Julie has provided advice to Federal and State governments from a lived experience perspective. Recently she sat on the expert reference group for the Federal Government’s response to the National Mental Health Commission’s review of mental health services and on the writers group for the 5th National Mental Health Plan. In 2015 Julie completed the National Mental Health Commissions Future Leaders in Mental Health program and is a member of MHA National Register of consumer advocates. Julie has completed the Australian Company Directors course and is a previous president of Neami National and currently sits on the Board of directors for Forensicare in Victoria. Julie states the best part of her job is the privilege of meeting and working with consumers and supporting their voice and influence.

Eddie Bartnik

Biography

Eddie Bartnik, Independent Consultant and Strategic Adviser to the National Disability Insurance Agency.  Eddie was the inaugural Mental Health Commissioner for Western Australia and, prior to this, had an extensive public service career, particularly in disability services.  Eddie has also worked and published extensively across Australia and overseas in areas of human services reform and individualised funding/personalised support, with 25 years’ direct experience of this approach. He also has extensive experience at a state and national level in disability and mental health policy development, services planning and implementation.  Eddie is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, a Fellow of the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He holds master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Western Australia and Educational Studies from the University of Tasmania.

Peggy Brown

Biography

Dr Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Mental Health Commission and also works part-time as a Consultant Psychiatrist at Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Service in Queensland. She also is a Member of the Agency Management Committee of AHPRA and a Member of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. Dr Brown has held clinical and administrative positions in psychiatry, including the roles of Chief Psychiatrist and Director of Mental Health in Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, and as an NHS International Fellow in the United Kingdom. She has been a leading participant in national mental health policy and planning in Australia for almost two decades. Dr Brown has also held multiple roles within the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and in 2013, she was presented with the Margaret Tobin Award by the RANZCP, recognising her significant contribution to administrative psychiatry. From January 2010 to May 2015, Dr Brown was the Director-General of ACT Health, responsible for supporting the ACT Minister for Health and the administration of health services in the ACT, including oversight of the policy, planning, funding and service delivery of all public sector health services in the ACT. She also served as the Chair of the Australian Health Minister’s Advisory Council from 2013-2015, and is a past Director of the National E-Health Transition Authority and the Health Workforce Australia Board.

Jeff Cheverton

Biography

Executive Director, Commissioning, North Western Melbourne PHN.

Jeff has more than twenty-five years’ experience in health and human services, working in government and non-government agencies with diverse populations such as homeless young people, people with disability, public housing tenants, and people with mental illness.

He was previously Deputy CEO of North Brisbane PHN and, prior to this, served eight years as the CEO of Queensland Alliance for Mental Health. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Jeff is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has served on many boards including Mental Health Australia and Queensland Council of Social Service. Jeff has a Masters in Social Administration, a Diploma in Social Planning, a Certificate in Business (Nonprofit Studies) and a Bachelor of Arts with double majors in law and French. He is currently completing a Diploma in Health Economics at Monash University.

Kathy Eagar

Biography

Professor and Director of the Australian Health Services Research Institute, University of Wollongong

Kathy has over thirty five years’ experience in the health and community care systems, during which she has divided her time between being a clinician, a senior manager and a health academic.  She has authored over 450 papers on management, quality, outcomes, information systems and funding of the Australia and New Zealand health and community care systems.  Kathy has an established track record of undertaking large and complex health service research projects. She has significant expertise in the design and management of large multidisciplinary research and evaluation projects and a well-established track record in research translation. She has a strong record of achievement in undertaking policy-relevant research projects in partnership with the health system.

Catherine Goodwin

Biography

Catherine Goodwin is the Drug and Mental Health Manger at Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (CESPHN). Her role focuses on the regional planning, integration and commissioning of mental health and drug and alcohol services, working with the broader service system to assess regional needs and address service gaps. This work seeks to ensure vulnerable communities have access to quality health services that will meet their needs.  As a psychologist and clinical supervisor, Catherine’s work has been focused in the adult community mental health and homelessness sectors. She has a passion for facilitating equity of access to services, driving service innovation and collaborative approaches to service design and evaluation.

Peter Gianfrancesco

Biography

Peter has worked in the mental health field for 34 years in Australia, the UK and the USA. He is a qualified mental health nurse and holds degrees in Mental Health and Psychotherapy. His roles have included numerous clinical, team leadership and senior management roles within the Australian public mental health system and in the charitable sector in the UK. He has worked at a policy level for NSW Health and led the development of the National Standards for Mental Health Services for the Commonwealth Government. He has also had a Chief Executive role in the NGO sector in the UK and led the transformation of that organisation into the individually purchased care market. Since returning to Australia from the UK in 2014, and prior to commencing his role with Neami, Peter has undertaken numerous consultancy roles assisting the NGO mental health sector in Australia prepare for the NDIS.

Helen Glover 

Biography

Consultant  and trainer, with professional background in social work and education, as well as lived experience of her own recovery from mental illness

Helen uses her professional background in social work and education, as well as her lived experience of her own recovery from mental illness, to expand and challenge the concepts of recovery-oriented practice within the mental health sector. She provides consultancy and training services nationally and internationally on the opportunities, challenges and tensions of creating recovery-oriented practice within services.

Helen is passionate about the reality of recovery from mental illness/distress.

Sarah Hughes

Biography

CEO of Centre for Mental Health, UK

Sarah has worked in mental health services for more than 25 years. Originally qualifying as a social worker Sarah has continued her professional development and holds a Masters with the Tavistock Centre having studied organisational dynamics and is currently half way through a professional doctorate exploring the resilience of the leaders of mental health organisations. Sarah is a passionate advocate for recovery and values led services and has over the last decade revolutionised the way in which the voluntary sector provides services locally leading providers to develop more personalised and dynamic opportunities for people needing help. Sarah also writes an ironically titled blog called Don’t Educate the Women and owns a tortoise called Elvis.

Sarah Johnson

Biography

Sarah Johnson is the scheme actuary of the NDIS. Prior to being appointed the Scheme Actuary of the NDIS, she was a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Sarah has worked within the disability sector and broader health and human services sector for the last ten years. She assisted the Disability Investment Group in costing an NDIS in the Way Forward report, and worked with the Productivity Commission on the Disability Care and Support Inquiry. She has also undertaken a lot of actuarial work in accident compensation, housing, child protection, health and aged care.

In 2016 Sarah was awarded Actuary of the Year by the Actuaries Institute in recognition for her significant contributions to the success of the NDIS and the introduction of actuarial techniques into new areas of social policy.

Helen Killaspy

Biography

Professor and honorary consultant in rehabilitation psychiatry at University College London and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.

Helen is the immediate past Chair of the Faculty of Rehabilitation and Social Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  She leads national and international programmes of research that focus on the assessment of quality of care for people with complex mental health needs and the evaluation of complex interventions for this group. She is the National Professional Adviser for mental health rehabilitation services for the hospital registration authority in England and Wales, the Care Quality Commission.

Ed Mantler

Biography
A highly motivated visionary and an expert at building partnerships, fostering stakeholder engagement and aligning strategic objectives, Ed has led innovation and improvement in health care for over two decades.As Vice President of Programs and Priorities at the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Ed is dedicated to promoting mental health in Canada and changing the attitudes of Canadians toward mental health problems and illnesses. By collaborating with stakeholders to improve mental health services and supports, he leads the way to change. Ed pays particular attention to reducing stigmas and increasing mental resiliency through innovative measures like Mental Health First Aid, the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, Suicide Prevention, and the Mental Health Strategy for Canada.Ed is also a Registered Psychiatric Nurse, holds a Master’s of Science Administration, and is a Certified Health Executive.

Karen Mellanby

Biography

Director of Networks and Communities at Mind, UK

Karen is responsible for the direction, management and development of the Networks and Communities Department at Mind. This includes undertaking work with the nationally affiliated network of 140 local Mind organisations across England and Wales and overseeing a range of programmes that promote good mental health services in communities. This includes programmes supporting leadership and social participation of people with lived experience of mental health problems and the design and development of personalised services and support.

Karen holds an Master Degree in Applied Social Studies and Diploma’s in Social Work and Management, and with over 25 years’ experience working in the voluntary sector, has direct experience of providing services and support for older and disabled people and users of mental health services. Prior to joining Mind in 2013, Karen managed a range of high profile national programmes in England supporting effective community led development and enterprise. Before that she was actively involved in promoting and supporting the provision of independent advocacy for users of health and social care services.

Frank Quinlan

Biography

Public policy advocate, father of 3, husband of 1.

Frank Quinlan is the CEO of Mental Health Australia, the peak body representing mental health organisations in Australia. Frank is responsible for implementing Mental Health Australia’s vision of “better mental health for all Australians”.

Frank was previously the Executive Director of Catholic Social Services Australia, a peak national body for social services organisations providing social and community services to over a million people each year. Frank has a long history of working in the not-for-profit sector, having previously worked at Grassmere Youth Services, Tranmere Street Youth Refuge and the Australian Drug Foundation. He has also held senior positions with the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia and the Australian Medical Association.

Frank is an energetic advocate for disadvantaged Australians and for the community and not-for-profit sector, and has represented the interests of both his members and the sector on numerous government consultative panels and committees. Frank completed tertiary studies at both Monash University and Melbourne University and has been a guest lecturer in public policy programs at the Australian National University. Frank is the father of three daughters and is a recently qualified recreational pilot.

Kim Ryan

Biography

Kim is CEO of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) and Adjunct Associate Professor (USyd School of Nursing).

Kim is a strong advocate for mental health and the role mental health nurses, Kim represents mental health nursing across a range of government and non-government reference groups. Kim is a mental health nurse and has worked in a range of clinical and managerial nursing roles.She was appointed the first paid employee of the ACMHN in 2004 and was the inaugural Chair of the Mental Health Professionals’ Association.

Ken Thompson

Biography

Public service psychiatrist from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, USA

Ken is a public service psychiatrist from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania who has focused his career on community/population health and improving psychiatric services. He has worked in a clinical and leadership capacity across the spectrum of community behavioral health and primary care settings and has an extensive background in behavioral health services research, psychiatric pedagogy, psychiatric administration and health policy advocacy. Currently he is the Chief Medical Officer for Recovery Innovations, a US organization that is leading efforts internationally to put recovery into practice. Prior to this he served as the Medical Director of the Center for Mental Health Services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he provided expert psychiatric consultation to public policy formation and implementation.

 

Venue: Mercure Hotel, Sydney

Title: Choice and Control: Personalising the Mental Health System

Files

Program_Booklet

2016: Cracks in the ice? Illicit drugs and the mental health impact on our communities

18 – 19 February 2016

One of the most pressing issues in mental health is the impact of illicit drugs such as crystal methamphetamine (ice in Australia; P in New Zealand), ecstasy, cannabis, chemical highs and other new psychoactive substances on our communities. The mental health consequences of these drugs present new challenges for consumers, families and carers, governments and mental health services.

  • Cracks are emerging as families and communities struggle to respond to the harms and negative consequences of illicit drug use.
  • Cracks are emerging in our mental health and addiction services as they endeavour to manage and support consumers who are using illicit drugs.
  • Cracks are emerging as consumers try to maintain family and social relationships, independence and employment.
  • Cracks are emerging as the criminal justice system is used as a solution.

TheMHS Summer Forum 2016 will bring together experts over two days to restore hope for communities.

We will address the questions of:

  • What is Government Policy doing to improve the ice/P situation?
  • What are the latest trends in illicit drug use in Australia and New Zealand?
  • What are the mental health consequences of illicit drug use?
  • What are the experiences of consumers, their families/carers, and their communities?
  • Is the impact different in rural areas and other communities at risk, and why?
  • How can we develop positive community, service and government responses?
  • Where are the new treatments and innovative solutions?
  • What is seen as “best practice” in terms of treatment of methamphetamine addiction?

Resources from the 2016 Summer Forum can be found on the Resource Library.

Files

Program_-_2016_TheMHS_Summer_Forum
Brochure_-_2016_TheMHS_Summer_Forum

2015: Men's Mental Health: Building a Healthier Future

19 – 20 February 2015

TheMHS Summer Forum 2015 will bring together men and women from all walks of life to discuss new thinking, latest research, and innovative programs for improving men’s mental health. It will ask us to reflect, to listen and to work together for a healthier future for men. Improving men’s mental health is everyone’s business.

Mental health problems affect more than 1.3 million men in Australia every year.

Suicide rates among men, particularly in rural and remote areas are still high. Physical disorders among men with psychosis often go unrecognised and untreated. Co-occurring drug and alcohol problems cause significant damage to the lives of our young men and to the lives of those who love them. And despite some advances in public awareness and understanding, men still experience significant stigma associated with recognising and talking about mental illness and mental health problems with friends, family, and health professionals.

But there is momentum for change.

There is an increasing awareness in the health and education sectors and among the public that we need to better understand and address the unique and diverse mental health needs of boys, youth and men of all ages.

Over two days this Summer Forum will feature experts (by experience and by profession) speaking about some of the latest research and innovative programs for improving men’s mental health. Come along to listen, reflect, challenge and discuss!

Venue: Northside Conference Centre, Crows Nest NSW

Title: Men’s Mental Health: Building a Healthier Future

Featured Speakers:

    • Max Birchwood: Professor of Youth Mental Health Clinical Director, YouthSpace Mental Health Service, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust
    • Richie Poulton: Director, Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit; Co-Director, National Centre for Lifecourse Research
    • Sebastian Robertson: Founder of Batyr, a not-for-profit organisation that supports university and school students struggling with mental health challenges
    • Jane Pirkis: Director of the Centre for Mental Health in the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne
    • Beaver Hudson: Service Manager, St Vincent’s Mental Health Service
    • Mick Adams: Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Health at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Director of Fineline Consultancy Pty Lt.
    • Bradley Foxlewin: Deputy Commissioner, Mental Health Commission, NSW.
    • Helen Christensen: Director of the Black Dog Institute, Professor of Mental Health UNSW Australia, Emeritus Professor ANU with Andrea Fogarty: Research Officer at Black Dog Institute
    • Anton Isaacs: public health physician, Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, School of Rural Health, Monash University
    • Chris Laming: honorary senior research fellow , Federation University, Gippsland. Founding coordinator of the SHED (Self-Help Ending Domestics) Project
    • Cathrine Fowler: Professor for the Tresillian Chair in Child and Family Health at University of Technology Sydney.
    • Tass Mousaferiadis: Men’s Program Leader at Beyondblue

Highlights:

PowerPoint Presentations

Click on the links below to open the PowerPoint Presentations for each speaker:

Max Birchwood – Day 1 – Being young, male and experiencing first psychosis.

Max Birchwood – Day 2 – Being young, male and experiencing first psychosis – what do we know works?

Richie Poulton – Men and mental health: What has longitudinal research taught us?

Jane Pirkis – Depression and suicidality in males 

Chris Laming – Constructing hope beyond despair

Mick Adams – Defining mental wellbeing within an Aboriginal male concept

 

Blog Posts – Session Summaries

Thanks to our team of volunteer student bloggers, you can now read about each session.

Max Birchwood: Being young, male and experiencing first psychosis

Richie Poulton: Men and mental health – What has the longitudinal research taught us?

Sebastian Robertson: Why we should leave the toilet seat up

Jane Pirkis: Depression and suicidality in males

Beaver Hudson: Last orders – young men, drunk and disturbed

Mick Adams: Defining mental wellbeing within an Aboriginal male concept

Max Birchwood: Being young, male and experiencing first psychosis. What do we know works?

Bradley Foxlewin: Rethinking boys’ and men’s mental health: trauma informed, recovery-based approaches in the community

Anton Isaacs: The Koorie Men’s Health Day – A community mental health service model for Aboriginal men

Chris Laming: Constructing hope beyond despair in a men’s behaviour change program to challenge violence against women and children

Tass Mousaferiadis: What works? Improving Men’s Mental Health.

2014: Trauma and the Mental Health Workforce: A safe place to work. A safe place to recover

20 – 21 February 2014

Workplace trauma is a reality in health care and a reality in mental health care. The mental health system continues to experience environments and practices that are traumatising for consumers, families and staff. Added to this, high staff turnover, inadequate training and support, and limited time for collaboration and supervision can lead to increased stress, burnout and trauma. However, in order to provide truly collaborative care that supports recovery, those working in mental health services need to understand and address the impact of trauma in their own lives and in the systems in which they work.

Last year’s forum focussed on the physical health of people with a mental illness and how our services must improve. This year we turn our focus to the workforce. At the 2014 Summer Forum we will work together to understand the experience of trauma, workplace culture and systems of care that traumatise. We will discuss workplace health and safety issues. We will address psychological as well as physical safety for people working in mental health services. We will focus on creating healthy organisations, building trust and using a trauma-informed framework to create workplaces which value mutual respect, creativity and good practice.

Solutions will require a paradigm shift in mental health care and we have a collective responsibility to work towards this change.

Over two days in Sydney TheMHS Summer Forum will bring together experts from across the mental health system to seek solutions this complex issue.

Venue: Aerial UTS Function Centre

Title: Trauma and the Mental Health Workforce: A safe place to work. A safe place to recover

Featured Speakers:

    • Professor Patrick (Pat) McGorry AO , Australian of the Year 2010, Executive Director, Orygen Youth Health

 

    • Emeritus Professor Kevin Gournay Professor of Psychiatric Nursing, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

 

    • Professor Steven Segal, Milton and Florence Krenz Mack Distinguished Professor in Mental Health and Social Conflict and director of the Mack Center On Mental Health and Social Conflict and the Mental Health and Social Welfare Research Group, University of California, Berkeley

 

    • Commissioner John Feneley, Mental Health Commission of NSW

 

    • Commissioner Helen Milroy, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

 

    • Dr Cathy Kezelman, President, Adults Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA)

 

    • Dr Bridget Hamilton, Clinical Nurse Consultant at St Vincent’s Mental Health, Melbourne, Senior Lecturer at University of Melbourne

 

    • Cath Roper, Consumer Academic Centre for Psychiatric Nursing, The University of Melbourne

 

    • Nichole Sullivan, Clinical Practice Leader, Mission Australia, NSW Youth Alcohol and Other Drugs Services

 

    • Corinne Henderson, Senior Policy Officer, Mental Health Co-ordinating Council, NSW

Highlights:

 

Summer Forum Blog

Read all about the 2014 Summer Forum as it happened – TheMHS Blog team has summarised and referenced all presentations of the Summer Forum.  Read the blog here.

 

Program

Over the course of two days, the Summer Forum held 8 sessions and featured 12 speakers who discussed on the topic “Trauma and the Mental Health Workforce”.

2014_Summer_Forum_Program 

Session Resources

Kevin Gournay – Trauma and the mental health workforce (Powerpoint Slides)

Cath Roper – Harbouring Doubts: Creating safe spaces to sit with uncertainty (Powerpoint Slides).

Bridget Hamilton: “Nurses supporting nurses” or Nurses’ own health: a problem? (Powerpoint Slides)

John Feneley – Mental Health Reform Requires Resilient Workforces (Powerpoint Slides)

Cathy Kezelman – Recovery and wellbeing: trauma informed practice benefits us all (Powerpoint Slides)

Corinne Henderson – Your Trauma, My Trauma – creating trauma-informed working environments (Powerpoint Slides)

Harry Lovelock & Jan Louise Godfrey – Team based approaches to supporting the psychological health of the workforce  (Powerpoint Slides)

Associated Workshops

Jaakko Seikkula – Open Dialogue Workshop (Powerpoint Slides)

 

E-Posters.

e-Poster 1: Caregiving and Secondary Trauma

Author: Cindy Eggington

Contact Details: cindy.eggington@flinders.edu.au

Authors: Suzanne Turner, MPH, A/Prof Carol Harvey, MD, Louise Keogh, PhD, Matthew Spittal, PhD, Laura Hayes, BA (Hons), B Comm, MAPS.

Click here for e-Poster Abstract

Contact details: Suzanne.turner@mh.org.au

Workshops

    • Open Dialogue Workshop with Jaako Seikkula
    • HealthWorkforce Australia Consultation Workshop

2013: Mental Disorders and Physical Health: Linking Body and Mind

21-22 February

The 2013 Summer Forum will bring together leading experts – clinicians, researchers, those with lived experience and their families to address the crisis of poor physical health among people living with psychosis and other enduring mental illness.

It will call for an evidence-based holistic approach to prevention and treatment that links body and mind and will address crucial questions including:

How do physical health issues affect quality of life for consumers and their families? What role does a healthy lifestyle play in recovery from mental illness? What is the latest evidence on how medications and their side-effects contribute to poor physical health and what can be done to minimise this impact? What does the recent Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis tell us about the physical health of those living with psychotic disorders, and what are the implications for service delivery and policy development?

How can we address smoking and mental health? How can we improve co-ordination of care across the physical and mental health care sectors? And what new and innovative interventions are available to prevent and manage chronic physical conditions and promote good physical health?

Experience of poor physical health and inadequate access to care is a significant problem for people living with mental illness. We would like to raise the profile of this issue, deepen our collective understandings, and highlight some innovative service responses that aim to link body and mind and promote a holistic approach to recovery.

Venue: University of Technology, Sydney (Ultimo Campus)

Title: Mental Disorders and Physical Health: Linking Body and Mind

Featured Speakers: David Shiers, David Hare, Janelle Abbott

Support Speakers: John Alan, Ken Jue, Jackie Curtis, Patricia Davidson, Katherine Sumaris, Paula Hanlon, Sharon Lawn, Andrew Watkins, Frances Kay-Lambkin, Vera Morgan, Stephanie Webster

Workshops

  • The Science of Suicide Prevention
  • Putting Families and Children at the Centre of Recovery
  • What’s new in the treatment of comorbidity between mental health and substance use ?

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2012: Confronting Self-Harm: from understanding to responding

23 – 24 February 2012

The 2012 TheMHS Summer Forum will confront the important issue of self-harm in our society. It will focus on understanding the issues, translating research into innovative practice, and moving towards hope, healing and recovery.

How do we address the crisis of self-harm among young people?

  • How should we confront the neglected issue of self-harm in the elderly?
  • What is the relationship between self-harm and suicide?
  • What are the issues for Indigenous communities, refugees and asylum seekers?
  • Are suicide and self-harm issues affecting these population groups in similar or different ways and how can we best learn from each other to build a better understanding?
  • How do we incorporate the wisdom that comes from personal and family stories of self-harm?
  • How do we engage frontline services such as Emergency Departments, Police, NGO’s, GP’s and private practitioners?
  • And – what policy developments in Australia and New Zealand might enable services to respond better to self-harm?

Venue: University of Technology, Sydney (Ultimo Campus)

Title: Confronting Self-Harm: from understanding to responding

Featured Speakers: Graham Martin, Katharine Saunders,

Support Speakers: Patrick McGorry, Merinda Epstein, Brian Draper, Maggie MacKellar, Geraldine White, Najeeba Wazefadost, Nicholas Allen, Michael Dudley, Nellie Worringham

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2011: Tackling Aggression: Let’s understand, respond, prevent

24-25 February 2011


Aggression and violence is common within our general health care system, in emergency departments, in hospitals and in community care. It is also common in mental health care settings. It is an issue that is difficult to tackle.

This Forum will examine the issues from the perspectives of both the individual and the system. Individually both clients and staff can experience violence. Systemically policy and procedures can either inhibit or promote the occurrence of aggression and violence. This Forum will focus on what is happening in the mental health system, what research is available and what can be done to improve the system. It will explore the latest research findings on the relationship between mental health and aggression and violence, substance use and aggression and violence, the role of medication, the role of seclusion and restraint and how our workforce education system should respond. Aggression and violence can often be predicted and are often preventable. With adequate training and good work practices, mental health services can facilitate the recognition, management and prevention of aggression.

Come to this Forum to learn how to understand, prevent and manage aggression and violence in mental health services. It is a unique opportunity to share your experiences and learn from international and national experts; to hear about the latest research evidence; to participate in stimulating debates on the best ways of de-escalating, preventing and managing aggression and violence.

Venue: Park Royal, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Title: Tackling Aggression: Let’s understand, respond, prevent

Featured Speakers: Ronald J Diamond

Support Speakers: Kevin Gournay, Kathleen Brady, Debra Wells, John Allan, Douglas Holmes, Mary McLeod, Penny Coombes, Gavin Adams, Rosemary Purcell, Kathleen Thorburn and Michelle Everett

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2010: The RIGHT to CARE that Works

18 & 19 February 2010

This year’s Forum brings together three essential strands for people with mental illness or mental health problems and their families:

  1. human rights and social justice
  2. good services with equity of access
  3. good outcomes based on good evidence, wherever possible

Everyone has the right to timely, effective, best-practice mental health care. This Summer Forum will focus on the RIGHT to CARE that WORKS.

People with mental illness need access to a comprehensive system of care that offers high quality care that works. But how do we ensure that this system of care respects human rights and drives forward to social justice? How do we balance the delivery of effective care against an individual’s right to choose their own treatment? How do we ensure equity of access to care that works regardless of age, gender or location? We need a system which recognises the magnitude of the problems inherent in providing this system and commits resources to delivering care properly. Right Care Works!

Speakers will examine the evidence and address the challenge of delivering care that works within the broader context of respecting the rights of those who experience mental illness. Some of the specific topics to be examined are: balancing human rights, mental health and social inclusion; coercive treatment and mental health, equity of access across gender, age and rural and remote areas, clinical and human rights issues in prisons; and homelessness and the right to housing and employment.

Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Sydney NSW Australia

Title: The RIGHT to CARE that Works

Featured Speakers: Patrick McGorry

Support Speakers: Cheryl Kernot, Steven P. Segal, Mary O’Hagan, Graham Meadows, Henry Brodaty, Tony Jorm, Laura Collister, Jim Coombs, John Basson

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2009: Leadership for Mental Health Services of the Future

It is time to re-view, re-assess, re-invent and re-invigorate leadership in mental health services. This year”s summer forum takes up the challenge of leadership in mental health.

Leadership and vision is crucial for the future of mental health services in Australia. The forum brings together past and future leaders to discuss what has made the difference and what needs to happen in the future. The forum will examine what has worked in the past, what is proposed for the future and what skills are required to get there.

Strong leadership is about systems and the people who work in these systems. Leadership at all levels is needed to drive the changes necessary to promote reform and culture change in mental health services.

Venue: Citigate Central Hotel, Sydney

Title: Leadership for Mental Health Services of the Future

Featured Speakers: Harvey Whiteford, Harold Pincus, David Goldbloom,

Support Speakers: Mike Kirby, Jenny Alexander, Peggy Brown, Michael Burge, Tom Callaly, Kathy Eagar, Margaret Goding, Douglas Holmes, Leonie Manns, John Mendoza, Peter McGeorge, Nathan Smyth, Ken Thompson, Janice Wilson, George Witte

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2008: Time to listen, time to act

 21-22 February 2008


The Forum on the social & emotional well-being of Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples.Social and emotional well-being is central to the health of a nation. It is one of the biggest challenges in mental health in Australia today. Aboriginal people deserve excellent services whether they live in big cities or in remote communities. So in this forum we will begin by asking these questions:

  • How do we listen?
  • How do we learn?
  • How do we change?
  • How do we act?

“The principles and strategies for effective action are known and the evidence for what will work is available. In the present rhetoric, it is the absence of responsibility, not the absence of evidence that impedes us now. All of us have responsibilities.” – Professor Fiona Stanley, paediatrician and former Australian of the Year (Sydney Morning Herald, 31/7/07, p11)

After a decade of Summer Forums, TheMHS continues its mission to focus on the big issues and challenges in mental health in Australia and New Zealand. These forums aim to raise issues, highlight problems, focus on future directions and examples of good practice and good research, by inviting speakers with expertise and/or a story to tell.

Venue: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

Title: Time to listen, time to act

Featured Speakers: Helen Milroy, Tom Calma , Coralie Ober, Ernest Hunter, Tom Brideson , Alan Rosen, Evan Lewis , Lesley Podesta, Len Kanowski , Russell Roberts, Tuana Sanders, Verina Crawford, Neil Phillips

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2007: The Mental Health Workforce of the Future

15 and 16 February 2007

This 2-day Summer Forum will highlight presentations from a number of experts in the field of mental health. Each will focus on a specific aspect of service provision with a focus on the current and future mental health workforce.

Leading mental health and workforce development experts will challenge our current thinking on mental health interventions, training and the workforce.

Mental health is one of the most rapidly developing areas of health. New interventions and approaches have grown exponentially over the past decade. New treatments, developments in prevention and new methods and systems for the delivery of interventions are developing at a rapid pace. It is truly an exciting time in mental health.

This year’s Summer Forum will focus on several questions including:

  • What are the new and innovative mental health interventions and treatments?
  • How do we build a system which will support innovative interventions?
  • How will the workforce get the required training and ongoing supervision?
  • How do we attract, retain and sustain staff in the workforce?
  • How will we inspire them to learn from the emerging evidence-base and from each other?

Venue: Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi Conference Venue

Title: The Mental Health Workforce of the Future

Featured Speakers: Harvey Whiteford , Louise Newman, Paul Nestor, Ian Hickie, Pat McGorry, Peter McGeorge, Robyn Shearer, Evan Lewis, Paul O’Halloran, Leanne Wells, Gavin Andrews, Nick Titov, Sudie Bach , Kate Gilbert , Julia Hennessy, Garth Healey, Janice Crawford, Craig Moffitt

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2006: Tackling Violence: Understanding, Preventing and Managing Aggression and Violence in Mental Health Services

23-24 February 2006

For staff and clients violence and aggression is an all too frequent an occurrence in mental health settings.

Why is this the case and what can we do about it? was the focus of the 2006 two day Summer Forum.

Delegates learnt about the most up-to-date evidence on understanding, preventing and managing aggression and violence in mental health services. It was a unique opportunity to share experiences and learn from international and national experts.

Venue: Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi

Title: Tackling Violence: Understanding, Preventing and Managing Aggression and Violence in Mental Health Services

Featured Speakers: Professor Paul E Mullen, Professor Kevin Gournay

Support Speakers: Joanne Baker, Wanda Bennetts, David Chaplow, Sharon Casey, Duncan Chappell, Jeffery Daniels, Andrew Day, Max Tan, Anna Saminsky

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2005: Double Trouble II: Comorbidity Issues for Young People

24-25 February 2005

Following the sold out success of last year’s Summer Forum, we will be continuing the theme of comorbidity. With such a high demand for more information about comorbidity (drug & alcohol and mental health), this Summer Forum will shift the focus to young people. Comorbidity between mental disorders, and drug and alcohol use disorders is an increasing problem for many young people. Mental health services are struggling to find adequate resources and effective treatments.

This two-day forum brings together several experts to interactively discuss the latest challenges and responses to these issues. The speakers will focus on the latest research, updates on best practice in service provision, perspectives on how national and local policies and strategies can make a difference, and personal perspectives on comorbidity. The program will be of particular interest to mental health directors, team leaders, clinicians, and consumer and carer advocates. You will receive many useful ideas to improve your service for this target group, and again, places are limited!

On the first day we will focus on:

  • The relationship between drugs and psychosis
  • The effects of the increased use of party drugs and the emerging new patterns of drug availability
  • The latest evidence on treating young people with comorbid mental health and drug and alcohol use

The focus on the second day will be:

  • Treating borderline personality disorder
  • Treating substance use problems comorbid with psychosis
  • What are some effective responses and effective treatments?
  • Internet-based interventions

The second day includes concurrent workshops to increase your opportunities for in-depth discussion and exchange of experiences.

Venue: Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi

Title: Double Trouble II: Comorbidity Issues for Young People

Featured Speakers: Ian Hickie & Pat McGorry, Richie Poulton, Jane Tucker, Rebecca Mcketin, Iain McGregor, Matt Sanders, Basia Arnold, Harvey Whiteford, Dan Lubman & Leanne Hides, Chris Gore, Paul Hantz, Toni van Hamond, Helen Christianson, Cathy Griffiths, Andrew Chanen, Sven Silburn

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2004: Co-morbidity: drugs, alcohol, mental health

19-20 February 2004

Comorbidity between mental disorders, and drug and alcohol use disorders, is well recognised. Yet we have few effective responses. This two-day forum brings together experts from home and abroad to discuss the latest challenges and responses in this area. The speakers will talk on the latest research, updates on best practice in service provision, perspectives on how national and local policies and strategies can make a difference, and personal perspectives on comorbidity. The program will be of particular interest to mental health managers, service directors, team leaders, clinicians, and consumer and carer advocates.

The focus on the first day will include: recent drug use trends; the increasing use of amphetamines; latest research on cannabis and psychosis; personality disorders and illicit drug use; comorbidity in young people.

The focus on the second day will shift to look at how mental health services respond to the challenges and give some pointers towards possible solutions. This day will include both plenary presentations and concurrent workshops to increase conference delegates’ opportunities for discussion.

Comorbidity must be taken into account when working with people with mental disorders. The Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being (NSMH) (1997) showed that there is “a considerable degree of comorbidity in substance use disorders and other mental health disorders”. One in four persons with anxiety, affective or substance use disorder also have at least one of the other disorders. One in three of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder have a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol use disorder, while 25% have a cannabis use disorder. The prevalence of comorbidity problems in young people have increased dramatically over recent years. The National Burden of Disease Study showed that the leading causes of disease burden for nine out of ten young males, and eight out of ten young females, were substance use disorders or mental disorders.

Comorbidity dramatically increases the complexities and costs of assessment and care. The disorders are more acute and severe. There are much greater risks of physical illness, delirium, intoxication, overdose and withdrawal, violence, self-harm and inappropriate sexual behaviours. People with more than one mental disorder often have a poorer treatment response and a worse course of illness over time. One disorder may worsen the symptoms and course of the other, or may reduce the effectiveness of treatment. These factors are having a major effect on the style of service provision in Australia and New Zealand, with more disturbed emergency departments and psychiatric admission wards. Staff do not like the atmosphere, pressures and risks, leading to problems of recruitment, retention and the training of the next generation. Our buildings for providing services have not been designed to cope with these changes.

The Summer Forum seeks to address this issue by asking:

  • What are the causes?
  • Have mental health services simply been dumped with a wider society problem?
  • Is there hope of prevention?
  • Are there examples of successful programs to help people with comorbidity problems?
  • What skills and knowledge do staff in in-patient psychiatric units need to acquire in order to provide the best care for people with co-morbidity problems?
  • Are there increasing levels of violence and what are the best ways of dealing with this problem?

Venue: Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi

Title: Co-morbidity: drugs, alcohol, mental health

Featured Speakers: George Patton, Paul Dillon, Ron Diamond, Paul Mullen, Mark Dadds, Janice Wilson, Leonie Manns, Amanda Baker, Doug Holmes & Paula Hanlon, Roger Gurr & Adam Winstock

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2003: Mind the Gap: the challenges of building better mental health services

23-24 January 2003

Mental health strategies have been in place in both Australia and New Zealand for a decade. What have we achieved so far? Services have become more consumer-focused, more community-based, more evidence-based and more integrated within the mental health service and with other health and welfare sectors. We have made the shift to low inpatient bed numbers, but do we now have the effective, well-resourced mental health care that was promised? What works, who for and what should mental health services look like in 2003 and beyond?

Venue: Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi

Title: Mind the Gap: the challenges of building better mental health services

Featured Speakers: Richard Warner, Roberto Mezzina

Support Speakers: Gavin Andrews, Dermot Casey, Jan Dowland, Merinda Epstein, Roger Gurr, Leonie Manns, Alan Rosen, Harvey Whiteford, Janice Wilson

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2002: Who should deliver services?

24-25 January 2002

Changing views of the mental health workforce now include not only the five core professional groups of nursing, occupational therapy, psychiatry, psychology, and social work, but also consumers as service providers, families, general practitioners, youth workers, and other health and welfare groups. Such diversity is a strength of the mental health field.

Effective treatments for mental disorders are available and do show improvements in symptoms and functioning in controlled research studies. How do we ensure that these effective treatments are effectively delivered by the workforce?

What training is required for the workforce; are some aspects of care better delivered by one of the professional groups than another? What are the deficits in current levels of clinical skills of the workforce and how do we address these?

This two day forum will address these challenging issues. Experts in anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, comorbidity and consumer care will outline and argue for the clinical skills required to deliver the best care in their area. The latest research on innovations in service delivery will be presented.

Venue: The Millenium Hotel, Kings Cross, Sydney

Title: Who should deliver services?

Featured Speakers: Kevin Gournay, Tony Koop

Support Speakers: Dermot Casey, Mark Dadds, Paula Hanlon, Caroline Hunt, Jayashri Kulkarni, Leonie Manns, Mary O’Hagan, Harvey Whiteford, Janice Wilson

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2001: ``What Works?``

24-25 January 2001

More than half the population with a mental disorder do not seek help for their mental health problems. Why? Because many people believe that mental health professionals will not be able to help them.

This forum will debate:

  • What are effective interventions?
  • What service systems are effective?
  • What is the evidence?
  • What are the resource implications?
  • How do we ensure good practice/systems?
  • What is needed for sustainability?
  • Where are the gaps and what is needed for the future?

What works? What doesn’t? and What do we do about it?

Venue: Carlton Crest Hotel, Haymarket, Sydney.

Title: “What Works?”

Featured Speakers: Anthony Lehman

Support Speakers: Phil Mitchell, Gavin Andrews , Michael Sawyer, Barbara Disley, Janice Wilson, Dermot Casey, Phillip Burgess, Kevin Kellehear , Sadie Robertson, Vivienne Miller , Douglas Holmes , Alan Rosen, Merinda Epstein , Leonie Manns, Roger Gurr, Maree Teesson, Robert Bland

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2000: Prevention, Promotion, Politics: A Mental Health Forum

 24-25 January 2000

National policies tell us that mental health promotion and mental illness prevention are major strategies into the next decade. Is there real evidence for prevention and promotion, or are they political fads?

Mental health problems affect 1 in 5 Australians – yet over 60% don’t seek help. In the year 2020, mental health problems will account for 17% of the burden of disease in developed countries. How do we improve the mental health of Australians? Strategies must include efforts at both treating those who currently have mental health problems and preventing mental health problems in those who don’t. Efforts to improve the understanding of the causes and effective treatments of mental health problems remain vitally important, however, much greater effort needs to be directed to prevention and promotion.

The Summer Forum will address a number of questions including:

  • How should we respond?
  • Is prevention possible?
  • Is prevention a myth
  • If we decide prevention and promotion are worthwhile, should we redistribute our resources away from current treatment services?
  • Even if we put all of our resources into prevention of mental illness and the promotion of mental health over the next 20 years, would we end up with a community free of mental health problems in the year 2020?

Venue: Dockside, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Park

Title: Prevention, Promotion, Politics: A Mental Health Forum

Featured Speakers: Patricia Mrazek

Support Speakers: Vivienne Miller, Maree Teesson, Roger Gurr, Patrick McGorry, Assen Jablensky, Andy Campbell, Dermot Casey , Judy Glacken , Kath Fox and Elizabeth Cunningham, Maree Teesson, Helen Herrman, Beverley Raphael, Ron Rapee, Alan Rosen, Assen Jablensky, Alison Taylor , Peter McGeorge, Nick Kowalenko, Andrew Baillie, Cathy Holland , Graham Martin, Deb Howe, Roger Gurr, Janet Maegher, Barbara Disley, Arana Pearson,

Sponsors: Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd.

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1999: Who Gets Services? Clinical and Funding Perspectives

21-22 January 1999

In these times of great ideas and strategies, but of limited resources, how do we decide Who Gets Services? Is it decided on an historical basis, or on outcome measures, or by consumer and carer satisfaction, or according to predetermined indicators and standards, or is it purely on the basis of need?

Venue: Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi

Title: Who Gets Services? Clinical and Funding Perspectives

Featured Speakers: Ron Mandersheid, Ron Diamond

Support Speakers: Harvey Whiteford, Roger Gurr, Merinda Epstein , Paula Hanlon , Maree Teesson , Alan Rosen, Leonie Manns, Jonathon Phillips, Graham Meadows, Kevin Kellehear, Sadie Robertson, Andrew Stripp, John Farhall

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