CEO Update from Mental Health Australia: “You don’t need to be amazing to start, but you need to start to be amazing…”

Picture of Paralympian swimmer

For those who watched the Paralympic Games from Tokyo over the last few weeks, you would have heard this quote a lot during the ads.  

And I’m sure it would have resonated for many, especially those watching on as the likes of Lakeisha Patterson, Dylan Alcott, Grant ‘Scooter’ Patterson, Madison de Rozario and hundreds more represented their countries with pride, passion and pure commitment.

Athletes who in many cases ‘started’ their pathway to Paralympic success to help with their own recovery, or as therapy. And Australians whose determination and drive helped inspire hundreds of thousands more in recent weeks, people watching on at home in need of inspiration, and uplift, as they battle through enduring lockdowns and the pressure and anxiety that ensues as a result.

Inspiring performances that also saw the announcement of equal pay to Olympic and Paralympic athletes by the Australian Government, which according to our Closing Ceremony flag bearer Ellie Cole is just another example of how the profile and place of the Paralympic Games continues to show Australia how #WeThe15 can contribute. 

Cole said:

Future Paralympic athletes won’t ever have to feel the way that our Paralympic athletes have felt in the past, they are just as equally important to our sporting landscape as any athlete from our country.

Feeling different from the person standing next to you is never a nice way to feel, so any way that we can bring inclusion and diversity into culture is such an important step forward for Australia.

Seeing how the profile of the Paralympics continues to grow, and constantly hearing those words about ‘starting’, it also reminded me of how the mental health and suicide prevention movement has grown over the last decade from something people didn’t talk about, to now something that they do.

When the late Gavin Larkin ‘started’ the idea of R U OK? Day in 2009 there’s no way he and his family could have envisaged just what would become of an idea to check in with friends and family, some twelve years later. 

And with this year’s campaign focusing on the idea of ‘Are they really OK? Ask them today’, its evolution is a tribute to the wider sector, and the many suicide prevention and awareness campaigns over the last decade just like World Suicide Prevention Day that have introduced the idea of talking about our mental health and wellbeing.

Campaigns that ‘started’ from nothing, just an idea to ‘start’ a conversation about suicide and mental health. And the lasting legacy… amazing.

Have a good weekend


Leanne Beagley
CEO



World Mental Health Day - Become a Partner and Healthcare Professionals Research

To become a partner for the upcoming World Mental Health Day campaign, and receive a FREE Partner Pack including the chance to record your own campaign video, please email nikki.hogan@mhaustralia.org or find out more on the World Mental Health Day website.

We are also conducting research into the mental health and wellbeing of Australian healthcare professionals, for public release on World Mental Health Day. Healthcare professionals are the most health-literate members of our society but are under significant pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In line with the campaign theme, we are seeking to understand how the pandemic has affected you personally, and what strategies you have used to maintain your mental health and wellbeing in 2021. Your behaviours, tips and advice may provide valuable insight to the rest of the community during this challenging time. Find the survey here.

 


Co-producing Lived Experience Leadership resources - a new partnership in mental health

The National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) and the National PHN Mental Health Lived Experience Engagement Network (MHLEEN) have established a formal partnership and MOU to co-contribute and co-produce mental health lived experience (consumers, carers and peer workers) leadership capacity resources.

The rationale for these projects is that an increasingly significant feature of the contemporary mental health policy environment is lived experience co-production and leadership.  The projects aim to consolidate and promote existing initiatives and resources to facilitate effective growth of mental health lived experience voices and leadership.

The three projects have NMHCCF and MHLEEN members on project steering groups. The projects are:

  1. The establishment a central national repository of mental health consumer and carer leadership-related knowledge and initiatives to be included on the NMHCCF website
  2. The co-design of a Mental Health Lived Experience Governance Framework and Toolkit to guide identified priority organisations and jurisdictions when engaging with people with lived experience, and
  3. Review of formal lived experience leadership education and training

The projects are due for completion in mid-2022. Further information on these projects can be obtained from the NMHCCF Secretariat at: nmhccf@mhaustralia.org

Further information about the NMHCCF can be found at: www.nmhccf.org.au and further information about MHLEEN can be found at: https://mymentalhealth.org.au/consumers-and-carers/mental-health-lived-experience-engagement-network-mhleen

NEXT WEEK

On Monday I am meeting with Jane Austin, CEO at TheMHS and on Tuesday I have the first CEO workshop of a co-design process with the NDIA, and later I will be providing a lecture to MBA students in Queensland on complex leadership issues. 
On Thursday Board Chair Robyn Kruk and I have a meeting with Department of Health Deputy Secretary Tania Rishniw.
On Friday I have a CALD Health Advisory Group Meeting at the Department of Health.

 

Member Benefits, Jobs and Profiles

Communicate your news, job vacancies, or upcoming events to more than 5,000 people in the mental health ecosystem weekly.

Mental Health Australia members are invited to send us news, announcements, job vacancies, events or other notices for inclusion in the Weekly CEO Update newsletter. To do so, simply fill out this form by COB each Wednesday for your notice to appear in the newsletter the following Friday.


Member Profiles

 

National Rural Health Alliance
National Rural Health Alliance represents 44 national organisations working to improve the health and wellbeing of 7 million people in rural and remote Australia.


 

Central Coast Family Support Service Inc
Central Coast Family Support Services Inc. was established in 1985 and is a not-for-profit community based service supporting families on the Central Coast of NSW

 

Embrace Multicultural Mental Health News

Translated resources for R U OK? Day

R U OK? has translated key resources you can use if you or someone you know would prefer to get information in a language other than English. 
Which resources have been translated?

  • A Conversation Guide

  • ‘How to Ask Tip Sheet’ outlining what you might say during an R U OK? conversation.

  • ‘4 Steps Poster’ outlining the 4 steps to an R U OK? conversation.

  • A4 Posters 

You can download these resources here:

Embrace Australia logo (a rectangle with a light and dark purple cultural stripe pattern with "embrace" and stylised outline of the Australian continent in the lower right corner).

 

Mental Health News

R U OK Day 2021

The Governor-General joined thousands of Australians for the national R U OK Day virtual event. Download video and audio of the Governor-General’s speech. “Ladies and gentlemen, Linda and I are delighted to join you for today’s webinar and to help recognise R U OK? Day. The day itself has become an important date on the national calendar. More important than a single day, R U OK? has become a national movement and empowered countless meaningful and genuine conversations about mental health. 

Read more


Consultation opens on National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) legislation reforms

Public feedback is now invited on draft legislation to deliver a better experience for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, said it was a major milestone in the Morrison Government’s 2019 promise to set up the scheme for the future, and embed an NDIS that works for everyone. 

Read more


Head to Health pop up clinics to open this week across Greater Sydney

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt and Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman say 10 Head to Health pop up clinics will open across Sydney and in the Central Coast and Illawarra providing additional mental health support for people living in New South Wales who have been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

Read more


New report tracks the ups and downs of the mental health of young Aussies in rural areas from 2017 to now

Mental health service ReachOut has released a new report which provides vital insights into the mental health of young people living in regional, rural and remote areas across Australia, tracked over a five year period. The report includes indications that the mental health of young people in these areas is worsening, alongside more positive findings such as that rural young peoples’ mental health literacy is improving.

Read more


Psychological Distress in Young People in Australia

Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute have released the Psychological Distress in Young People in Australia 2020, Fifth Biennial Youth Mental Health Report: 2012-2020. With over 25,000 responses to the question measuring psychological distress in 2020, the report gives a unique insight into how young people with mental health challenges think, feel and act. Importantly, we gain a better understanding of their help-seeking behaviours – pinpointing the important role that friends, parents, services, schools, and digital platforms play as sources of support. 

Read more 


Research aims to improve youth mental health services

New research will focus on designing more responsive service models to manage the demand for South Australia’s youth mental health services. The University of Adelaide and not-for-profit organisation Sonder, which provides support for people with mental health challenges, are working together to examine how the efficiency and effectiveness of primary youth mental health services can be enhanced to meet current demand for services. 

Read more


Massive boost for mental health in 2021-22 WA Budget

The WA Government has committed a record $495 million investment in the Mental Health Commission in the 2021-22 State Budget. The additional investment results in more than $1.114 billion allocated in 2021-22 to the Mental Health Commission to boost mental health, alcohol and other drug services - a massive 11 per cent increase from the previous year. This record investment contains an additional $311 million for community-supported accommodation and supports across Western Australia, including $135.7 million for delivering outpatient treatment services, to help people avoid hospitalisation and get the treatment and care they need in the community.

Read more


A New National Approach on Suicide Prevention

Today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, the federal Government is recognising this year’s theme of ‘Creating Hope Through Action’ by establishing the Australian National Suicide Prevention Office to lead a national mission to reduce the prevalence and impact of suicide in Australia. World Suicide Prevention Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of suicide and to promote action that will reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts. ‘Creating Hope Through Action’ is a reminder that there are actions that we can take that may provide hope to those who are feeling overwhelmed. 

Read more

 

Reminders 

AASW seeking Abstracts for Posters

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) is seeking Abstracts for Posters from social workers, students or other industry professionals for the 26th Asia-Pacific Regional Social Work Conference 2021.  The Conference will be delivered exclusively online and broadcast to a live audience. Abstracts for Poster Presentations close on Saturday, 25 September 2021. For successful submissions, the AASW will provide you with a one hour dedicated session on Thursday, 11 November (afternoon/evening) for presenting your Poster in a LIVE environment.  Read more

Release of exposure draft for NDIS legislative and rule changes

DSS has released the exposure draft for legislative and rule changes. The proposed changes include change to eligibility criteria to emphasise the episodic nature of psychosocial disability. Changes most relevant to psychosocial disability can be read here. Public feedback is now invited on the draft new NDIS legislation. You can have your say about the changes on the Engage website until midnight 7 October 2021.

GROW - Sock it to Stigma

GROW has teamed up with Upparel to provide sock subscriptions. All money raised from the sale of socks will be reinvested back into GROW so they can continue delivering much need support for mental ill-health.

Leadership development scholarships

This is the final call for women working in the health care sector to access leadership development scholarships in 2021The final date for expressions of interest has been extended to September 24. Partial scholarships of $1000-$5000 per person are available for women in the health care sector. The scholarships will be used to assist women to undertake a range of leadership development programs commencing in 2021 and 2022. 

Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness week 

During Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week (BIEDAW), Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ), a community organisation supporting individuals living with eating disorders and their families, will raise awareness around the theme #DietsAreBullSht. EDQ aims to change the dominant discourse that our bodies define our worth as humans and that dieting is a normal part of life.

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