A new chapterThis week I had the privilege of commencing as the CEO of Mental Health Australia. I join at a time when the mental health needs of the community have never been greater. We know that many of the long-term mental health impacts of the pandemic are still to come, and we’re living through a period of continual uncertainty, increasing costs of living and ongoing climate crises. As a sector, we’re facing the difficulties of increased service demand, workforce challenges, and financial pressures. But with challenging times, there are also opportunities. One of the positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been our increased willingness to talk about mental health. There is now a greater acceptance and appreciation of the importance of all of us looking after our own mental health and wellbeing. We also now have a greater collective understanding of the importance of addressing social determinants of mental health. Many of the best mental health interventions are not within the health system, but instead are policies, systems, and infrastructure that support people to be safe, stable and secure. The pandemic also taught us that we can act quickly, putting aside long-term barriers to change. To capitalise on these opportunities and to overcome the challenges we’re facing, we know that we need a long-term funded roadmap for mental health reform. One that is underpinned by the needs and experiences of people with lived experience. One that transparently tracks our progress, and collectively holds us all to account for improving mental health. And one that includes a focus on building a comprehensive community mental health system, along with a focus on prevention and early intervention. I believe that we can’t wait for desperately needed changes in mental health. There are incredible ideas, expertise and capability in the sector, on how the system needs to change to improve mental health. Together, I believe that we can articulate what a good system looks like, and start to demonstrate some of those changes, while we also inform a much-needed long-term roadmap for change. I’m looking forward to working with you, learning from you, and together, improving the mental health of Australia. Carolyn Nikoloski CEO, Mental Health Australia |