perspectives

Welcome to the August/September edition of Perspectives, an online magazine where we present ideas, essays, and articles about what is happening in the mental health space.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. Business owners and leaders need to take mental health in the workplace just as seriously as they do the physical health and safety of their employees. To do this, beyondblue recently launched Heads Up, a joint initiative with the Mentally Health Workplace Alliance, to encourage Australian businesses to invest in and focus on promoting good mental health practices and policies in their workplaces.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. The introduction of the NDIS will transform the way the community managed mental health sector delivers services to people with a mental illness. These changes will challenge the capacity of agencies to deliver against their vision and mission, cause us to rethink our role in facilitating recovery, and threaten our alignment with evidence based practice.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. Discussions about a common national mental health research agenda in Australia have been an important topic for key mental health scientists. As part of this discussion the Psychosis Australia Trust completed a study to investigate research priorities in psychosis from the perspective of people directly affected by mental illness.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. It is often said it takes a village to raise a child. This sentiment that a community collectively provides the supports individuals need to live a meaningful and healthy life exists too for those living with mental illness. Knowing where to start, however, can be a sizeable stumbling block.

Welcome to the first edition of Perspectives! In this first edition, our feature article focuses on the NDIS and how critical it is to get the design of the scheme right in order to support those with a psychosocial disability. Our members have also contributed articles discussing a range of issues including suicide prevention in the LGBTIQ community, trauma informed care, the role of pharmacists in mental health, a ‘whole of community’ response to mental health, employment and education opportunities for young people and research priorities in psychosis.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. Navigating the transition to adult life, establishing an independent identity and secure lifestyle is a major challenge for all of us. An essential element of this pathway is the scaffolding that education and work provide. Completing education and getting a job is made much harder if mental ill-health emerges and particularly if more persistent and disabling forms of mental illness become entrenched.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. Pharmacists meet and talk to people with mental health issues on a regular basis. To highlight the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists in mental health, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has released a Mental Health Framework which highlights and promotes the expertise of pharmacists and the roles they undertake as partners in mental health care.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. The National Disability Insurance Scheme has a lot of potential to help all Australians with disabilities, creating support to allow them fully participate in Australian life as best they can. However, it is absolutely crucial we get the design of the scheme right the first time and ensure no one is left beyond.

Perspectives Newsletter - June 2014. LGBTIQ people have amongst the highest experiences of suicidality of any population in Australia. Same-gender attracted Australians are estimated to experience up to 14 times higher rates of attempted suicide than their heterosexual peers. The exact rates of deaths by suicide amongst LGBTIQ people are difficult to determine from conventional data sets.