CEO Update: Turning awareness into action...

Speaking frankly...

Turning awareness into action...

There is a popular belief that goldfish only have a three-second memory span and every lap of their fishbowl is like seeing the world for the first time.

Have we just completed another lap of the fishbowl?

Another Mental Health Month where we raise awareness, advocate, and advance the cause and achieve great things.

More exposure, more campaigns, more events, more discussions about mental health, more employers looking at their own actions, and more people helping to reduce stigma… Has there ever been more awareness for mental health in our community? Genuine, positive awareness.

As year-on-year awareness grows, our fish bowl seems to get bigger and bigger, with more and more and fish, and many of us report this growth as part of funding agreements to governments, partners and stakeholders. Growth that we hope provides a platform for our advocacy work year-on-year.

Awareness is high, as high as it has ever been. But in spite of this awareness it seems the need for services is even higher, and the quality of services that the lucky few do receive is too often lacking.

So why can’t we convert this awareness into real reform?

Do we forget each year, just what we achieve during Mental Health Month and more?

Speaking at the World Health Organisation Western Pacific 68th Regional Committee Meeting on the eve of World Mental Health Day, Minister for Health, The Hon Greg Hunt MP, embraced the challenge to ‘elevate the importance of mental health’ in our community when he said:

“There are 4 million Australians who face mental health challenges each year, and it’s a condition which has been under-recognized, and it’s our time and our watch and our commitment to elevate the importance of mental health and its treatment and its recognition and the de-stigmatization, not just here in Australia, but cooperatively throughout the region.”

Is this the tipping point we have been looking for?

Recognising that it is time, and that we have to elevate the importance of mental health in our community, if we are to create real change. Recognising that mental health is a key pillar of the health system is an important first step. Building and coordinating supports across all the social determinants of health, is also a critical step to progress.

If it really is our time, then we must reignite our advocacy efforts. We must capitalise on the awareness raised. We must embrace co-design. We must collaborate. We must see action from state and federal governments. And we must remember what we have achieved over many years, not just this last month. What we have learned. And what we know.

The goldfish myth, is exactly that…a myth.

Of course we all remember what we’ve achieved during this past Mental Health Month and see how far we have come from years past.

We now need to act on those achievements.

Real action will save lives. Real action will provide services. Real action will build community supports and care for consumers and their carers. Real action will close gaps.

It’s our time, and it’s our watch.

Warm regards,

Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer

Mental Health Australia Gathering in Canberra -
November 28 and 29 - Tickets Selling Fast

You are invited to join us in Canberra this November 28 and 29, for a Mental Health Australia Gathering to celebrate a year of mental health reform and our annual Grace Groom Memorial Oration to be delivered by Minister for Health The Hon Greg Hunt MP.

The gathering will include the Mental Health Australia AGM and a Members & Friends Dinner on Tuesday 28 November at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, where we’ll hear from one of the gallery curators and have a VIP tour. The AGM will start at 5.30pm, with dinner from 6.30pm.

Then for breakfast on Wednesday 29 November from 7.30am, Minister Hunt will deliver the 2017 Grace Groom Memorial Oration at Old Parliament House, followed by our Members Policy Forum from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

To find out more and to purchase a combined ticket for all events, or individual event tickets as required, please click on the link below.

Find out more and Purchase Tickets Here

We look forward to seeing you at this important gathering for Mental Health Australia, and to celebrating another year for the mental health sector and community – with our Members and Friends.

Finalists announced for the Australian Mental Health Prize

Congratulations to Professor Gavin Andrews, Pam Brown, Professor Allan Fels, Mental Health Australia Board Member Patrick Hardwick, Janet Meagher and Professor Adam Scott who have all been named as finalists for the 2017 Australian Mental Health Prize.

The prize, in its second year, celebrates Australians who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion of mental health, or the prevention and treatment of mental illness. Six finalists have been selected from 56 entries across Australia this year, with the winner to be announced at a ceremony at UNSW on 20 November.

Next Week

On Monday I will be meeting as part of the My Health Record Expansion Steering Group.

On Wednesday I will be meeting with the Department of Social Services, and attending another Menslink Midweeker in Canberra.

On Thursday I will be taking part in a NDCAC Working Group teleconference.

Throughout the week I will also be involved in a number of meetings with advisors at Parliament House.

Parliamentary News

Boost for mental health services in the bush begins

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, says people living in rural and remote regions of Australia will get improved access to psychological services, under a new telehealth initiative. "A major barrier to rural residents accessing vital mental health treatment will be removed with the introduction of a new Medicare rebate for online videoconferencing mental health consultations with psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists. Under the new expanded arrangements of the Better Access program, up to seven of the ten sessions currently available through Medicare mental health plans will be available via telehealth."

NDIS provides $80 million for inclusion

More than $80 million worth of grants to help make communities more inclusive and supportive of people with disability in New South Wales (NSW), South Australia (SA) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) are now available. This latest round of funding is part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s (NDIS), Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Jurisdictional Based Grants. The Hon Jane Prentice, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services, said ILC grants will fund organisations to carry out activities that improve community inclusion; ensuring people with disability can use and benefit from the same services and community activities as everyone else.

Reminders

New Telehealth MBS items for psychological services

From 1 November 2017, Medicare rebates are available for up to seven of the 10 individual allied mental health services in a calendar year, may be provided via video conference to people living in rural and remote areas. More information can be found here.

Allied health providers can familiarise themselves with the new MBS items for these services and the requirements for providing the services at the link below.

Butterfly Research Institute survey

The Butterfly Research Institute (BRI) works together with those with a lived experience to advance the Australian knowledge base on eating disorders and body image. In order to further explore the actual experience of body esteem for Australians, the BRI is conducting research to investigate Australians over the age of 18 in relation to their body esteem, and the impact these feelings have on their day to day lives. This is a significant study for Australia, spanning gender identity, location and age, to focus on the experience of body esteem.

Butterfly would like to recruit a large number of participants to generate as diverse a sample as possible. Anyone over the age of 18, who is living in Australia, is encouraged to participate. The survey will be open for the month of November and you can access the through the following link. www.surveymonkey.com/r/TBFInsightsInBodyEsteem

ANU Research School of Psychology Annual Lecture - 30 November

The Research School of Psychology is holding their 2017 Annual Lecture in Canberra on 30 November, which will feature Professor Pat Dudgeon speaking on the topic of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health research in Australia. As a Mental Health Commissioner and the first Aboriginal psychologist to graduate in Australia, Professor Dudgeon has made outstanding contributions to Indigenous psychology, higher education and the emotional wellbeing of Indigenous communities.

The RSP Annual Lecture is a highlight of our year, showcasing the significant impact of Psychology on community and social issues.

Perinatal Depression & Anxiety Awareness Week - 12-18 November

During Perinatal Depression & Anxiety Awareness Week (12th – 18th November), PANDA is encouraging people everywhere to start open and honest conversations about perinatal anxiety and depression, a serious and common illness that can affect any expecting or new parent.

Becoming a new parent can be a wonderful, exciting time. However the reality of pregnancy and early parenthood can also be overwhelming, with up to one in five expecting or new mums and one in ten dads experiencing perinatal anxiety or depression. It’s an illness that can have devastating consequences if left untreated, and can even put lives at risk.

Mental health providers need to better engage men with depression

The approach to treating men with depression needs to change if their increased uptake of mental health services is to be successful, new research from the University of Sydney shows.

NDIS Mental Health Conference - Ticket Sales Close Monday 6 Nov

Held over two days 16 & 17 November 2017 in Sydney, the NDIS Mental Health Conference is an opportunity for the Mental Health sector to work together to make the most of this new scheme. With the conference theme ‘towards a good life’, there will be a focus on the transformational potential of the NDIS for people living with a psychosocial disability.

The conference is aimed at the broad range of NDIS mental health stakeholders, including community mental health workers, people with lived experience, public and private sector mental health workers and Government representatives. Up to 500 delegates are expected over two days, helping you to expand your professional network and fostering collaboration within the sector.