Media Reports
Links to transcripts of relevant print, television and radio reports (mainly Australian based). Where full text transcripts are not available a summary may be provided.
Holistic healing touch works best
Date Published: Saturday, 20th June 2009
Source: The Australian
Full story: online here
Aboriginal communities are shaping their own path to mental health, building on traditional cultural values. The Indigenous community of Yarrabah in far north Queensland hit crisis mode and residents decided to take matters into their own hands. A community meeting resulted in a number of initiatives to curb suicide and improve the general wellbeing of residents.
Poor diet may lead to mental problems
Date Published: Tuesday, 9th June 2009
Source: The Age
Full story: online here
Children with poor diets are more likely to have mental health problems as adolescents. Dr Wendy Oddy, from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Western Australia, found that a typical Western diet increased a child's chance of developing emotional and behavioural problems.
Online therapy helps beat the blues
Date Published: Friday, 5th June 2009
Source: ABC - Science
Full story: online here
Internet-based therapies are as successful as face-to-face treatments at combating depression, says an Australian researcher.
Mulling It Over: Cannabis Intervention in Primary Health Care
Date Published: Tuesday, 26th May 2009
Source: Rural Health Education Foundation
Full story: online here
'There is growing evidence that cannabis use and particularly heavy regular or dependent use is associated with mental health problems, respiratory disorders and road accidents, as well as tobacco and other illicit drug use. It is also related to educational and occupational difficulties resulting from the adverse motivational and cognitive impact... The program aims to improve the knowledge, skills and capacity of health professionals to detect and treat cannabis use problems and associated harms.'
Bow Wow Theatre - meet the director
Date Published: Tuesday, 26th May 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
'Theatre for people of all abilities is the mantra of Leesa Nash, the director of the Melbourne based Family Dog Circus. Next week Leesa will oversee the second Bow Wow youth theatre festival. We also meet Ryan New, a young man living with autism, who has really found his feet in the theatre.'
Antidepressants, placebo and medicalising mood
Date Published: Saturday, 23rd May 2009
Source: ABC - All in the mind
Full story: online here
'When Professor Irving Kirsch (University of Hull) and colleagues got hold of the unpublished data from drug company trials of antidepressants, it hit the headlines. But their analysis, that antidepressants and placebo pills have about the same clinical impact, was widely misreported. Hear it from the horse's mouth, from the stage of the 2009 Happiness and Its Causes Conference.'
Talkback - Taking the Mickey, laughing at ourselves
Date Published: Friday, 22nd May 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
'If you want to hear Richard Aedy laugh at his own foibles and talk about his white man overbite have a listen to this Friday talkback. We all know that saying about laughter being a universal language but, more importantly, it can reveal uncomfortable truths about ourselves. How important is it to take the mickey, lighten up, take a good look at ourselves and laugh?' Guests include Christian Lander, author of 'Stuff White People Like', and Comedians, Nazeem Hussain and Catherine Deveny.
Suicide prevention
Date Published: Monday, 18th May 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
When someone takes their own life the impact on those they leave behind is profound. Managing bereavement following suicide is a key topic to be discussed at the 2nd Australian Postvention conference later this week. The Director of the Salvation Army's 'Hope for Life' program, Alan Staines, and visiting US expert Dr Scott Poland talk about the latest in suicide prevention.
Mental Health
Date Published: Monday, 18th May 2009
Source: ABC - The Health Report
Full story: online here
Today Norman Swan talks with Associate Professor Leanne Rowe, one of the authors of a new book about teenage depression. We also hear how a nation has tried to develop a plan for mental wellbeing. And there'll be a discussion about the effectiveness of Mindfulness Meditation.' Guests include Associate Professor Leanne Rowe, Professor Mark Williams and Professor Felicia Huppert.
Elisabeth Wynhausen on resilience
Date Published: Monday, 18th May 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Resilience is one of those qualities that pretty much all of us admire and we celebrate it in cliches: 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going', 'Tough times never last but tough people do' or this one, from Japan: 'Fall seven times, stand up eight'. The writer and journalist Elisabeth Wynhausen has managed to avoid all the cliches in her short book, On Resilience.
Hearts and minds
Date Published: Thursday, 14th May 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
'New research into the link between heart disease and depression has found that carers of patients with both those conditions often experience depression themselves. Andrew Stewart, PhD candidate, Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, and David Clarke, Professor of psychological medicine, Monash University provide an update on the sometimes controversial science that links hearts and minds.'
Positive psychology at school
Date Published: Tuesday, 12th May 2009
Source: ABC Life Matters
Full story: online here
Suzy Green, Consultant Clinical Coaching psychologist and Judy King, Principal, Riverside Girls High School, NSW discuss positive psychology in schools. Positive psychology, which emphasises positive behaviour and emotion, can help reduce bullying and low self esteem in students.
The silent disability: Acquired Brain Injury and the justice system
Date Published: Saturday, 9th May 2009
Source: ABC - All in the mind
Full story: online here
'Impulsive behaviour, anger, mood swings, poor concentration, memory loss. A knock to the head that qualifies as a brain injury can transform your behaviour in unexpected ways. Confronting research suggests acquired or traumatic brain injuries, past and recent, are rife in prison populations, with little to no screening or targeted interventions in place.'
Parliamentary Inquiry into Carers
Date Published: Monday, 4th May 2009
Source: ABC Radio National
Full story: online here
An Inquiry into better support for Australian carers has found the system is in crisis and needs an urgent increase in government funding. Recommendations include a new office for carers within the Prime Minister's department, more resources for counselling services and flexible industrial relations laws. Inquiry Chairperson Annette Ellis explains the thinking behind the Who Cares? Report.
National Health Reforms - Mental Health
Date Published: Tuesday, 28th April 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
This program is one of a series on national health reform proposals being considered by the Australian government, and it looks at mental health care. The reform agenda is laid out in the interim report of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission and includes 116 proposals covering the funding, delivery and quality of health care in Australia. The speaker is Professor Patrick McGorry, Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne.
Mental health problems more common in kids who feel racial discrimination
Date Published: Monday, 27th April 2009
Source: Media release - Mental Health Foundation, UK
Full story: online here
A new multicenter study involving UCLA and the RAND Corp. has found that perceived racial or ethnic discrimination is not an uncommon experience among fifth-grade students and that it may have a negative effect on their mental health.
Health in a recession
Date Published: Friday, 17th April 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Poverty and stress can make you sick, but one economist says living through a recession might actually make us healthier. What is the collective economic anxiety doing to our mental health?
Laughter remains good medicine
Date Published: Friday, 17th April 2009
Source: Eurekalert via Mental Health Foundation UK
Full story: online here
The connection between the body, mind and spirit has been the subject of conventional scientific inquiry for some 20 years. Lee Berk, DrPH, MPH, has paired with Stanley Tan, MD, PhD to examine the effect of 'mirthful laughter'. Dr. Berk says 'the best clinicians understand that there is an intrinsic physiological intervention brought about by positive emotions such as mirthful laughter, optimism and hope'.
Respite care for families
Date Published: Tuesday, 14th April 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Respite care for families should be a much more extensively used form of social intervention, according to welfare workers. A group of Victorian childrens' services and researchers have combined to conduct research into this under-studied area, and to call on governments to fund regular, temporary care of children from stressed families.
The bullies' playground
Date Published: Monday, 6th April 2009
Source: ABC - Four Corners
Full story: online here
Children across Australia talk about the alarming impact of bullying on their lives. Despite major efforts from governments, schools and teachers, bullying remains an intractable problem made worse by modern technology. Once it was fists, rocks and personal abuse - now bullies have the net, mobile phones and Facebook as their playgrounds for brutality. This isn't just concerning - it can be lethal, as reporter Quentin McDermott reveals.
Peer counselling for postnatal depression
Date Published: Monday, 6th April 2009
Source: ABC - Health Minutes
Full story: online here
Telephone counselling can reduce women's risk of developing postnatal depression, say Canadian researchers. A trial in Canada has tested providing support from a mother - a volunteer - who'd experienced postnatal depression herself and recovered.
Depression in the workplace
Date Published: Tuesday, 31st March 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
It's estimated that depression costs the Australian economy 6.3 billion dollars. But what about the personal cost? If you're working, it can be incredibly hard to confide in your boss, especially if the culture of the workplace doesn't allow you to speak openly about your troubles. Graeme Cowan fell into a black hole in 2001 and describes the next five years as a nightmare. He's now recovered and is working towards furthering workplace understanding of the illness.
The war within
Date Published: Monday, 30th March 2009
Source: ABC - Four Corners
Full story: online here
With the Australian Defence Force being stretched to the limit in combat zones across the globe, the number of troops arriving home with post traumatic stress has risen alarmingly.
Is the Defence Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs doing enough to help these people deal with the horror of war? No is the answer from a top secret government report that estimates a majority of veterans are receiving sub-standard treatment.
Sickness certificates more harm than good
Date Published: Friday, 27th March 2009
Source: ABC - News in Science
Full story: online here
Dr Debra Dunstan of the University of New England in Armidale says an incorrectly issued sickness certificate can be the catalyst for a relatively well person ending up in long-term unemployment. Dunstan is concerned that people with common ailments, such as musculoskeletal problems and mild to moderate mental health issues, are receiving extended certified absences from work. People on certified sick leave will 'commonly start down a slippery slope that leads to long-term worklessness'. When people become long-term unemployed they experience a general deterioration in their quality of life and physical and mental health. They are also at an increased risk of suicide.
Shiftwork and kids
Date Published: Thursday, 19th March 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
The non-standard working hours of parents can have a negative effect on the mental health of their adolescent children, new research has found. Previous research has looked at the impact of shiftwork on health, relationships and family dynamics. This is the first Australian research to look at children.
Violent computer games
Date Published: Monday, 16th March 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Research continues to link exposure to media violence with aggressive behaviour in children and young people. So what is the best way for parents and carers to manage the media diet?
Craig Anderson is a leading researcher at Iowa State University, where he heads up the Centre for the Study of Violence. He's in Australia to share his expertise.
Web therapy
Date Published: Thursday, 12th March 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Evolving web-based approaches are supporting, and even treating, people with mental health problems - to the extent that many now do not need to visit a clinician.
The Lifeline National Conference was told yesterday of the myriad ways that consumers can now seek help, beyond the telephone helpline. Professor Helen Christensen argues that these new approaches are in many ways preferable to face-to-face treatment, particularly as traditional health services cannot meet patient demand.
Cannabis and psychosis
Date Published: Tuesday, 17th February 2009
Source: ABC - Health Minutes
Full story: online here
A review of the medical literature shows cannabis use is linked to psychotic illness and the more cannabis, the higher the risk.
Drug dependence
Date Published: Monday, 16th February 2009
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
There's no doubt that dependence on any drug can devastate people's lives - and Australia has one of the highest rates of illicit drug use in the world, in fact we are leaders in both cannabis and amphetamine use. In part one of this feature Lynne Malcolm explores the effects and latest treatments of addiction to these drugs and some encouraging results from a study on the treatment of drug dependence and post traumatic stress disorder simultaneously.
Social inclusion in a recession
Date Published: Friday, 13th February 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Social inclusion was one of the Rudd government's clearly stated goals. Since then, the economic crisis has meant a rethink of many of the government's plans.
You would imagine that any idealistic notion of bridging gaps might bite the dust when everyone is scrambling for survival. But surprisingly, social inclusion may not be one of the casualties. It may even be enhanced.
Bushfire coping and survival
Date Published: Friday, 13th February 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Australia has a long history of coping with and surviving natural disasters, bushfires included. But this time around the sheer scale of the situation in Victoria has knocked all Australians for six.
Once the immediate danger has been dealt with, attention turns to the psychological welfare of those who've been directly affected. There's also a ripple effect through entire communities and families as well
Dr Bob Montgomery is the President of the Australian Psychological Society and he's worked with bushfire survivors in the past, most recently those affected by the ACT bushfires a few years back. He offers advice on the best way to help at this early stage.
Midlife matters part 3: relationships
Date Published: Monday, 9th February 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
This series examines why there should be a greater focus on the transition to midlife in our society. Psychologist Robyn Vickers-Willis discusses the impact on relationships and why others are often threatened by the changes midlife can bring.
TV and games increase teen depression risk
Date Published: Tuesday, 3rd February 2009
Source: ABC - News in Science
Full story: online here
Spending more hours watching television or playing video games as a teenager may lead to depression in young adults, according to a new study.
Researchers looked at the exposure to electronic media of 4142 adolescents who were not depressed when the study began in 1995, before DVDs and the internet were widely used.
When MySpace ends in tears
Date Published: Sunday, 1st February 2009
Source: The Age
Full story: online here
Australian teachers are failing to effectively intervene in school cyber bullying, with "significant progress" needed to help bring them up to speed with interactive internet tools.
A report published by the federally funded Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies found the internet plays a critical role in the lives of primary school-aged children. The latest research suggests as many as one in three students aged 10 to 14 experience forms of cyber bullying, typified by harassment through email, text messaging and online chats.
Your health in the economic downturn
Date Published: Friday, 30th January 2009
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
The economic downturn spells bad news for our mental and physical health, but there are measures people can take to keep on top of it.
Unemployment sets up a vicious cycle of hopelessness and despair, contributing to more unemployment, causing more despair, and so on. (Problems that flow on from job losses are one of the reason governments will do almost anything they can to stop unemployment rising.) But there are measures you can take to keep you from going over the edge.
Indigenous carers
Date Published: Tuesday, 27th January 2009
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Indigenous carers are under-acknowledged and remain largely ignored by the health and social service sectors, according to Professor Bettina Cass.
The University of NSW researcher says that, in particular, a high proportion of young Indigenous women in the Northern Territory are carers.
Psychological support 'can cut mothers' depression'
Date Published: Friday, 16th January 2009
Source: Press Association via Mental Health Foundation UK
Full story: online here
Providing new mothers with psychological support can cut their risk of developing postnatal depression, according to research published today. Mothers who received help from health visitors or other mothers who had experienced the condition were far less likely to develop symptoms, or saw their early symptoms improve.
Concerns for young carers despite funding boost
Date Published: Friday, 2nd January 2009
Source: ABC - 7.30 Report
Full story: online here
It is estimated that more than two and a half million Australians care for a family member or friend, while there's no question many of them are doing it tough, for young carers the burden weighs even more heavily. The federal government has agreed to commit almost $16 million to fund the national young carer program for a further two years. However, experts fear many young carers will continue to fall through the cracks.
Do children have more problems than 20 years ago?
Date Published: Wednesday, 24th December 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Some people say that kids today aren't as happy and healthy as 'when we were growing up.' That perception has now been countered by research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies that has compared today's children with children born twenty years ago.
Differences in reported behaviour have been compared between the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and the Australian Temperament Project that began in the 1980s.
Good things happen to good people
Date Published: Monday, 22nd December 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Giving makes us feel good, but there are unexpected benefits of giving through volunteering or helping others. Now there's scientific evidence that giving really does make you feel good, it even makes you healthier both mentally and physically.
Research highlights suicide risk of abused men
Date Published: Friday, 19th December 2008
Source: Press Association via Mental Health Foundation UK
Full story: online here
Men who are sexually abused as boys are up to ten times more likely to contemplate suicide, new research showed today. A study of Australian men by the University of Bath showed childhood abuse was a 'significant risk factor' in driving to them take their own lives.
Greater awareness in the healthcare and criminal justice systems will help identify those who are at risk and give them treatment before it is too late.
Happy Christmas
Date Published: Thursday, 18th December 2008
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
Christmas is a joyous occasion, for some - a chance to catch up with the family and friends; enjoy good food, wine and conversation; and celebrate the year just past.
Certain key individuals who are happy can lift the spirits of the whole group, say researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego. They did a study of happiness in social networks and published it in the latest British Medical Journal.
Some of my best friends have a mental illness
Date Published: Wednesday, 17th December 2008
Source: ABC - Perspective
Full story: online here
Films and literature have gotten much milage over the years with their portrayals of people living with a mental illness. Indeed, it's almost obligatory to recieve an academy award nomination by playing soemone with any kind of meatal illness. But does this help or hinder the real people who are actually living with a real mental illness?
Pregnancy loss affects young women: study
Date Published: Monday, 15th December 2008
Source: ABC - News in Science
Full story: online here
Young women who have lost a pregnancy through abortion or miscarriage have an increased risk for substance abuse or developing a mood disorder in later life, according to an Australian study.
The greatest injustice: 2008 Hawke Lecture
Date Published: Sunday, 14th December 2008
Source: ABC - Big Ideas
Full story: online here
Royal Commissions, research papers and government reports have told us for over twenty years what we need to do to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Australians. Yet by any measure we have failed miserably. Former Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley presents her manifesto to defeat what she sees as our greatest injustice.
Depression, she wrote
Date Published: Thursday, 11th December 2008
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
If you suffer from mild depression, writing about your experiences can help lift your mood, psychologists say.
Many people find writing is a good way to help overcome depression, especially following a traumatic event in the past, says Karen Baikie, a clinical psychologist and post-doctoral research fellow at the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales. She says psychologists and psychiatrists often recommend it to patients suffering from mild depression.
Exercise helps overweight children reduce anger expression
Date Published: Monday, 24th November 2008
Source: Eurekalert (via Mental Health Foundation Media)
Full story: online here
Regular exercise seems to reduce anger expression in overweight but otherwise healthy children. "Exercise had a significant impact on anger expression in children," said Dr. Catherine Davis, clinical health psychologist in the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine. "This finding indicates that aerobic exercise may be an effective strategy to help overweight kids reduce anger expression and aggressive behavior."
The finding fits with evidence that exercise reduces depression and anxiety in children and with what's considered common knowledge that exercise helps adults manage anger, she said. Dr. Davis, noted that other studies suggests overweight children are more likely to be bullies and to be bullied. High levels of anger and hostility have been associated with delinquency in children, cardiovascular disease in adults and metabolic syndrome - which can lead to heart attack, stroke and diabetes - in adolescents.
The new finding is published in the November issue of Pediatric Exercise Science. For resources on the topic of anger go to Auseinet Search by Topic: Anger.
Hitting girls, forcing sex 'not a big deal': boys survey
Date Published: Monday, 17th November 2008
Source: ABC - News
Full story: online here
A new report has found that nearly one in seven teenage boys think it is OK to make a girl have sex with them, if she has been flirting with them. The report's co-author, Dr Michael Flood, says among the most worrying findings was that one in three young people had witnessed their fathers being violent towards their mothers and one in every three boys believe it is not a 'big deal to hit a girl'.
The study into the impact of violence on young people has prompted calls for violence prevention programs in schools.
Midwife project aims to tackle post-natal depression
Date Published: Friday, 14th November 2008
Source: ABC - News
Full story: online here
A research project involving midwives is aiming to reduce the incidence of post-natal depression. Most new mothers experience short periods of the baby blues, but if it lingers and goes untreated it can develop into full-blown post natal depression.
Four public and private hospitals in Queensland and Western Australia are taking part in the study. If it is successful, midwife-led intervention may become a part of normal pregnancy and post birth care.
Health improved 'by living near parks'
Date Published: Monday, 10th November 2008
Source: Press Association via Mental Health Foundation UK
Full story: online here
Living near parks and forests improves people's health regardless of their social class, a new study suggests today. Researchers say that the health gap between rich and poor is significantly reduced in areas with lots of green spaces.
The findings by scientists at the University of Glasgow is linked to people's use of the recreational areas. According to Dr Richard Mitchell "Obviously, resources must still be ploughed into trying to narrow the inequality gap between rich and poor, and with that will come advances in the population's general health. However, we would encourage the Government to consider carefully what their policy on green spaces is and to bear this research in mind when planning urban areas for the future."
The voices within
Date Published: Saturday, 8th November 2008
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Many people hear voices inside their head - some are diagnosed with schizophrenia, others live privately with the experience. International leaders in the Hearing Voices Network are challenging the belief that voices are a pathological symptom without psychological meaning. They argue people can find it therapeutic to 'dialogue' with the voices. Meet three clinicians pushing the boundaries.
Steve Biddulph: boys need mentors
Date Published: Wednesday, 29th October 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Wanted: good men who want to spend time with teenage boys. The need has never been more urgent and could actually save lives, says psychologist Steve Biddulph.
He says these days we get mothering and fathering pretty right but finding good mentors in the community is the next big hurdle. And he has some bold ideas on changing schools - so the teachers are more like uncles and aunts who build a relationship with their students over several years.
Teens and risk: too safe for their own good
Date Published: Tuesday, 28th October 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Dr Michael Ungar is a Canadian family therapist and social worker who thinks that teenagers are too safe for their own good. He argues that young adults need to manage their own risk and responsibility in order to become effective adults.
Carers do it tough
Date Published: Tuesday, 21st October 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Carers over 65 with adult children with disabilities are among the most marginalised in the community. They're known as 'the hidden carers'. Also discusses whether carers who have to give up work should get superannuation contributions from the government.
Navigating Midlife - with Robyn Vickers-Willis
Date Published: Tuesday, 14th October 2008
Source: ABC Radio National
Full story: online here
Midlife is often a time of profound change as we start to look within to determine how we wish to live the second half of our life. This website invites you to share with others your own questions, experiences and observations of midlife.
Social mobility
Date Published: Wednesday, 24th September 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
The barriers to social inclusion or fully participating in society are complex and often multi-layered. For Professor Alan Hayes it's all about social mobility, or being able to move up and out of circumstances that may limit your potential.
Survival: Melissa Lucashenko
Date Published: Tuesday, 23rd September 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
If you were told you were a 'great survivor', would you see that as a compliment? But what if you told someone you were 'just surviving'? That's something different.
The idea of survival is explored in a lecture being given this week by writer Melissa Lucashenko, the author of the novel Steam Pigs, about urban Aboriginal Australia. She has also written award-winning books for young people. She says 'survivalist thinking' is a scourge.
The guards' story
Date Published: Monday, 15th September 2008
Source: ABC - Four Corners
Full story: online here
Woomera and Baxter detention centres, pitched in desert to confine thousands of people from across the seas, have outlived their idea. But the tragic accounts of severely damaged asylum-seekers were widely reported in the media. Not so those of the men and women who ran the centres, whose job was to keep order in tense, often overcrowded conditions among traumatised people from alien cultures.
The detention centre guards, frequently ill-fitted to the task and tormented by a past they cannot escape, are forgotten casualties.
Workplace incivility
Date Published: Thursday, 11th September 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Do you work with nice people? Christine Pearson, from the Thunderbird School Of Global Management in Arizona, has been researching the effects of the opposite of 'good' behaviour at work - incivility.
Workplace incivility is 'lower key' than bullying or harrassment but its cost - both personal and business - are significant.
Helping your loved one overcome depression: Lucy Brogden and Graeme Cowan
Date Published: Tuesday, 9th September 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
When someone you're close to is suffering from depression or another mental illness, they can be hard to love. Graeme Cowan, a depression sufferer, has written a new book for carers of people with depression based on surveys and hundreds of interviews.
Richard Aedy speaks with Graeme and someone who knows about the importance of a partner's role, Lucy Brogden, the wife of John Brogden, former NSW Liberal Opposition leader. She speaks about the changes she noticed in her husband, what she learned about depression and how she tried to help him.
Daughters and their Dads
Date Published: Tuesday, 2nd September 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Dr Bruce Robinson is co-leader of the Fathering Project team at the University of Western Australia. He says fathers can do a great deal to develop their daughters' confidence, career choices and successful relationships with men. And he says fathers need to learn to listen to their daughters.
Let's get to work
Date Published: Thursday, 21st August 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
The latest research on helping people with mental illness to get a job shows there are specific strategies that really work. The Mental Health Council of Australia believes this is a group of people in the community whose skills are simply being wasted by current employment policies.
When the gambling bug done gotcha
Date Published: Thursday, 21st August 2008
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
Professor Alun Jackson, co-director of the Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre at the University of Melbourne, says some studies suggest that over the last five years the percentage of 'problem' and 'at risk' gamblers has doubled. It might be because many of the psychological problems associated with gambling: alcohol problems, anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, are on the increase.
The wealthy healthy: wellbeing's social determinants
Date Published: Friday, 15th August 2008
Source: ABC - The National Interest
Full story: online here
What makes us healthy, and what keeps us well? And can societies be made healthier? In this special broadcast from the 2008 Fulbright Symposium in Adelaide, the National Interest explores the social factors underpinning health. So, we're examining how things like public transport or housing policy, the tax system or education spending, can all add up to improve our health.
Prolonged grief disorder
Date Published: Tuesday, 12th August 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
When someone we love dies, words often can't express the sadness and loss we feel, sometimes for a long time afterwards. There are now studies showing that 10 to 15 per cent of people who experience prolonged grief suffer from it in a way that makes them withdraw socially and become depressed or even suicidal. It's called prolonged grief disorder.
A team of researchers at the University of NSW in Sydney believe there's evidence to show that cognitive behavioural therapy can help people recover.
Post traumatic stress disorder
Date Published: Monday, 11th August 2008
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
A special feature about post traumatic stress disorder, which is very timely after the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader. It's an extraordinary story of the lessons learned from the war in Bosnia, treating the psychological trauma in adolescence.
Being your own therapist - Buddhist style
Date Published: Saturday, 9th August 2008
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Venerable Robina Courtin, acclaimed Australian Tibetan Buddhist nun, has excavated the suffering mind at its greatest depths of despair. Founder of the Liberation Prison Project, she's helped thousands of inmates release themselves from the prison within (their mind) using Buddhist techniques. We can all be our own therapist is their powerful claim.
Coping with chronic disease
Date Published: Thursday, 31st July 2008
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
Half of all Australians over 65 have a chronic illness. What makes some succumb to despair, and others adjust and even improve their lives?
Work life balance still elusive
Date Published: Tuesday, 29th July 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
A report released today shows that work life balance still eludes most of us. In a survey of nearly three thousand people, more than half felt rushed for time, and a quarter felt they didn't have enough time for family and friends.
Holding men
Date Published: Wednesday, 23rd July 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Brian McCoy is a a Jesuit priest who's worked in indigenous communities for many decades. He believe that the indigenous concept of 'holding men' or Kanyirninpa - supporting and nurturing them through childhood and adolescence - is vital in improving health outcomes and 'closing the gap'.
Attachment and childcare
Date Published: Tuesday, 22nd July 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
A pilot project aimed at enhancing the relationship between at risk parents and their young children is claiming major success. 'Through the Looking Glass', a Commonwealth funded project, operated through five childcare centres across Australia. Its evaluation found that as well as enhancing the attachment between parent and child, it also improved both the mothers' and children's wellbeing.
Michael Marmot: health inequities.
Date Published: Saturday, 12th July 2008
Source: ABC - Radio National Saturday Extra
Full story: online here
Professor Marmot is a leading international researcher on health inequities. Poor health outcomes are 'not confined to people in poverty'; many factors like chances in early life, levels of education and housing, and quality of work also play a part.
When grief goes beyond the blues
Date Published: Thursday, 10th July 2008
Source: ABC - News in Science
Full story: online here
For most people the passage of time helps rebuild lives after losing a loved one, but for others it may takeover their lives and need specific treatment, say Australian researchers. Researchers from the Traumatic Stress Clinic at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Westmead Hospital are testing a new way to deliver cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy known to be effective for depression and anxiety.
Being bipolar
Date Published: Tuesday, 8th July 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Louise O'Connor has gone from a position of helping other people get their lives back on track to desperately needing help herself. Louise talks about the experience of having bipolar disorder, how it was first diagnosed, how it affects her daily life and the importance of support from family and friends, exercise, routine and minimising stress.
Tackling stress in the workplace brings rewards
Date Published: Monday, 7th July 2008
Source: Press Association (via Mental Health Foundation)
Full story: online here
Work-related stress is a major cause of occupational ill health and businesses which do not tackle this serious health and safety issue are likely to see a high level of sickness absence and staff turnover and a poor performance level. The UK Health and Safety Executive says that research carried out in this area suggests that work-related stress accounts for more than one third of all new incidences of ill health and that each such case of stress, depression or anxiety leads to an average loss of 30.2 working days.
NAIDOC Week and the health of Aboriginal men
Date Published: Sunday, 6th July 2008
Source: ABC - Speaking Out
Full story: online here
The program features Ben Mitchell, (interim co-Chairman of the National Committee) talking about this year's theme and what to expect in Canberra. Jesuit Priest and medical anthropologist, Brian McCoy discusses his book "Holding Men -Kanyirninpa and the health of Aboriginal Men" which explores how Aboriginal men of the Kimberley Western Desert understand their lives, health and culture. And George Lee, the Director of the Balgo Men's Health Project talks about the challenges facing Aboriginal men's health in the region and why Indigenous men want to be listened to when it comes to their well-being.
What's happening to our girls?
Date Published: Thursday, 3rd July 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
There's a very hot debate these days about sexualisation and the targeting of young women by popular culture and marketing. Writer Maggie Hamilton spent two years talking to experts and has done interviews with more than a hundred young girls about the pressures facing them. She believes this generation is being 'overstimulated, oversold and oversexed'.
Mobile monitoring: am I depressed?
Date Published: Wednesday, 2nd July 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
When you've been through one -- or more -- episodes of debilitating depression, the possibility of relapse can be a niggling (even frightening) fact of life. But what if help, through constant monitoring of your wellbeing, was available...compliments of your mobile phone? A system under development at the Black Dog Institute aims to make this form of early intervention possible.
Children of depressive mothers suffer development delays
Date Published: Friday, 27th June 2008
Source: Press Association (via Mental Health Foundation)
Full story: online here
Research from the UK suggests that children whose mothers suffer depression in pregnancy are 34% more likely to experience delays to their development. The authors (from the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health at the University of the West of England) said they found an association between "persistent depression during pregnancy and developmental delay, with a 50% increase in the odds of developmental delay associated with persistent antenatal depression". The findings could better inform health workers treating pregnant women.
Confident kids, healthy adults
Date Published: Thursday, 26th June 2008
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
Kids with high levels of confidence and self-control are more likely to be healthy in adulthood, say UK researchers.
Do you get annoyed when your child refuses a goodnight kiss, claiming they're too old? When they say it's their room, and you're trespassing? A child like this, who oozes self-confidence and self-control, is more likely to be fit and well in middle age - the time when he or she begins to realise just what a good parent you actually were all those years ago.
Working
Date Published: Monday, 23rd June 2008
Source: ABC - Perspective
Full story: online here
Whilst Australia's unemployment levels are at an almost record low, there remains one group of people in the community for whom the rate of unemployment stands at a staggering 75%. They are people who suffer from a mental illness.
Social investment: Robert Salter
Date Published: Tuesday, 10th June 2008
Source: ABC - Perspective
Full story: online here
People are disadvantaged by a host of factors - mental illness, disability, childhood neglect, domestic violence, addiction to substances, failure at school, long-term unemployment, homelessness, involvement in crime, or just plain poverty. The list is familiar. But in every one of these categories there are proven solutions that enable people affected by these circumstances to turn their lives around. And if they do, we all benefit.
This interview with Robert Salter, social policy researcher working in conjunction with the Salvation Army and the University of Melbourne's McCaughey Centre, shows how social investment pays off for all of us.
Separated men and 'presenteeism'
Date Published: Tuesday, 10th June 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
The impact of relationships breaking down isn't often measured in terms of the impact on business bottom-line.
Dr Nick Foster from Mensline, a specialist men's telephone counselling service, wants to raise awareness of absenteeism and 'presenteeism' in the male workforce, caused directly by the depression that many men develop when their relationships end.
Depression a serious contributing factor to problem gambling
Date Published: Thursday, 29th May 2008
Source: Media release - Uni. of Melbourne
Full story: online here
University experts have called on state governments and the gaming industry to recognise the seriousness of conditions such as depression and social isolation as contributing factors among people potentially at risk of developing gambling problems.
Speaking yesterday at a 'New Initiatives Forum' to mark Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, Professor Alun Jackson, Co-Director of the Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre, announced a new study, authored jointly with the Centre’s co-director Professor Shane Thomas, of over 2,000 Victorian adults, which showed that problem gamblers were:
-18.8 times more likely than non problem gamblers to display severe psychological distress
- 4.3 times more likely to show hazardous alcohol use than non problem gamblers, and
- 2.4 times more likely to be depressed than non problem gamblers.
Under pressure: Carl Honore on hyper-parenting
Date Published: Wednesday, 21st May 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
We've had slow food and slow living and now there's a call for "slow parenting".
Carl Honore, author of "In Praise of Slow" has now written "Under Pressure" to highlight the culture of hyper-parenting.
He's challenging the pressure of modern parenting, it's a pressure he's all too familiar with himself.
The science of happiness
Date Published: Saturday, 17th May 2008
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
The pursuit of happiness is a global obsession. But can science investigate its slippery, subjective nature? Five world leaders in the field join Natasha Mitchell in conversation: neuroscientist Richard Davidson, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace, psychologist Daniel Gilbert and philosopher David Chalmers.
To be or not to be (Part 1)
Date Published: Saturday, 17th May 2008
Source: ABC - Philosophers Zone
Full story: online here
Suicide has been a focus of philosophical examination in the West since at least the time of Plato, and for good reason. It raises a lot of difficult questions. What makes behaviour suicidal? Is suicidal behaviour rational and - the question that has obsessed philosophers down the ages - is it morally permissible? This week, the first part of a two-part investigation of this enigmatic and disconcerting phenomenon.
Faith and depression
Date Published: Sunday, 11th May 2008
Source: ABC - Encounter
Full story: online here
Are you allowed to be depressed while you're sitting in church? What might happen to someone's depression as they sit in church? Is there a possibility that religious faith could help people who are depressed, or does religion only make people more depressed? Sharmini Kumar presents an Encounter exploring themes of faith, depression, and the interaction between the two.
Daniel Fisher: recovery through uniting voices
Date Published: Wednesday, 7th May 2008
Source: ABC - Perspective
Full story: online here
Recovery faces a crisis in its transition from philosophy to reality. It runs the risk of being redefined by those who seek to maintain the status quo as mere remission and rehabilitation. From Daniel Fisher, Executive Director of USA's National Empowerment Centre.
Calls for better eating disorder prevention programs in schools
Date Published: Saturday, 3rd May 2008
Source: ABC - AM
Full story: online here
There are calls for high schools to run better programs to prevent girls developing eating disorders. A survey of Australian girls found that that 10 per cent of those aged between 15 and 17 show symptoms of a serious eating disorder.
The genetically modified smile
Date Published: Thursday, 1st May 2008
Source: ABC- The Pulse
Full story: online here
Half all happiness is in the genes, say psychologists. But genes are only half of the story. People with negative personality characteristics who are naturally unhappy can improve their levels of happiness by actively adopting the positive traits: by making an effort to be sociable and conscientious.
Studies show, for example, that when people set themselves goals and work towards achieving them, their happiness levels quickly rise.
2020 Summit - health strategies
Date Published: Monday, 21st April 2008
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
Norman Swan talks with Professor Michael Good, Head of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council. Professor Good was the co-chair of the 2020 Summit health section.
Prognosis: consensus for health forum
Date Published: Saturday, 19th April 2008
Source: ABC - AM
Full story: online here
What the priorities are for health and where the money should be spent is the focus of this group at the 2020 Summit...some opinions aired included:
"There's no health without mental health. We've got to get the health idea and debate right"..."We have to remember that health is about wellness as well illness. And we need to ensure that people remain well. But also need to treat those people that are ill, which is the main function of the health system. That means looking after the people who need the help but also the people that do the caring".
Youth homelessness prevention
Date Published: Wednesday, 9th April 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
A key recommendation of 'Australia's Homeless Youth', the major report released yesterday, is that an early intervention program called Reconnect be trebled.
Reconnect works with young people and their families when the young person is thinking of leaving home, or has recently done so.
Angels and demons
Date Published: Monday, 7th April 2008
Source: ABC - Enough Rope
Full story: online here
Andrew Denton visits the TheMHS Conference and interviews participants about their experiences with mental illness. Full transcripts, videos and forums available online.
Eat healthy, walk more: the difference between knowing and doing
Date Published: Thursday, 3rd April 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
"If governments spent more on preventative medicine, future health costs will be reduced". How many times have you heard this argued?
Jeremy Sammut from the Centre For Independent Studies disagrees. He's been studying reports of the outcomes of public health campaigns and has concluded that there's a big difference between knowing what to do and doing it.
Cyber-bullying project
Date Published: Wednesday, 2nd April 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Most schools now have anti-bullying programs. But are they effective against cyber-bullying? According to the Western Australian Education Minister, up to 15% of students have been harassed over the Internet or by mobile phone.
The government is funding a five-year study to find out how to reduce cyber-bullying.
Don't stress
Date Published: Tuesday, 1st April 2008
Source: ABC - Health and Wellbeing
Full story: online here
Impossible work deadlines, a sick child, rising interest rates, traffic gridlock - it's all enough to make you sick. And it often does, unless you know how to manage the tension.
Ethics at work
Date Published: Tuesday, 1st April 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
How hard is it to be ethical at work? And is it a valuable workplace skill anyway? Philosophy Professor Jeff Malpas argues that skills associated with making ethical decisions will be at a premium in the workforce of the future.
Don't stress
Date Published: Tuesday, 1st April 2008
Source: ABC - Health and Wellbeing
Full story: online here
Impossible work deadlines, a sick child, rising interest rates, traffic gridlock - it's all enough to make you sick. And it often does, unless you know how to manage the tension.
Living with a black dog: Matthew and Ainsley Johnstone
Date Published: Monday, 31st March 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
The dog we're talking about represents depression for Matthew and Ainsley. It's very much a beast, but one that can be brought to heel.
Matthew and Ainsley Johnstone have combined to write an illustrated guide to living with the black dog.
Teens and lying
Date Published: Monday, 31st March 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Most children lie and they learn it from their parents. But what about teenagers? It turns out that having more arguments about rules and boundaries may lead to less deceit.
And mothers can detect a lie around sixty per cent of the time.
Your irrational mind
Date Published: Saturday, 29th March 2008
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Like it or not, you're not the beast of reason you think you are. Dan Ariely, a behavioural economist at MIT, argues that we're surprisingly and predictably irrational. Sex, freebies, expectations, placebos, price: they all cloud our better judgment in rather sobering ways.
Sick notes should be replaced with 'fit notes' (UK)
Date Published: Monday, 17th March 2008
Source: BBC - News
Full story: online here
Dame Carol Black, the national director for health and work (UK), said ill-health was costing the economy 100 billion pounds a year.
A new report from the director called for a new fit-note system as well as fit for work schemes embedded in the health system to help people back to work. She said '100 billion sounds a large figure. But I think the cost to human life is much larger. For most people their work is a key factor in their self-worth, family esteem and identity. We must do more to help people, because if you intervene at an early stage you can stop the longer-term problems emerging.'
Male-specific counselling
Date Published: Monday, 17th March 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Men have never used counselling and other relationship services as much as women. With separated men now required by law to draw up parenting plans, the imperative for men to be engaged in such services is stronger than ever.
Prevention of early childhood behavioural problems
Date Published: Monday, 3rd March 2008
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
A study from Melbourne investigated whether a parenting program, offered universally in primary care, can prevent behavioural problems in children and also improve parenting and maternal mental health.
Aggressive teens have mismatched brains
Date Published: Tuesday, 26th February 2008
Source: ABC - Science Online
Full story: online here
Angst-ridden teens really do have something wrong with their heads. Their emotions seem to be developing much faster than the parts of the brain that manage those emotions. The findings should offer some comfort to parents trying to understand why their once-cheerful children are suddenly transformed into sulky, over-sensitive strangers, especially since this mismatch is usually resolved by the time the brain finishes developing in the mid-20s.
Teen angst linked to brain development
Date Published: Tuesday, 26th February 2008
Source: ABC - News Online
Full story: online here
If you are dealing with a moody, whingeing teenager today - take heart. New research has found there is a physical reason for it. Better yet, it is just a phase that they are likely to grow out of.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne, working with American colleagues, scanned the brains of nearly 140 11 to 14-year olds, catching them just before the age when true teenage angst tends to emerge. They also monitored them as they tried to resolve a conflict with their parents.
Step families
Date Published: Monday, 25th February 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
More people will experience life in a step family, either as a parent or as a child and it's a special challenge to make them work. Step families are at a greater risk of relationship breakdown yet they're less likely to seek professional help. But why should that be so and what's the new thinking on what works best for step families?
Changing men
Date Published: Monday, 25th February 2008
Source: ABC - Four Corners
Full story: online here
One in five Australian women - perhaps your workmate, or your neighbour or your friend - knows the humiliation and terror of domestic violence. And every five days, on average, a woman is killed by her partner.
Across Australia hundreds of men are now fronting new voluntary programs which are claiming modest success in changing their ways. The men are challenged to own up to their abuse and its dire impact on their families, then to find better ways to communicate and modify their controlling behaviour.
Greening the psyche
Date Published: Saturday, 16th February 2008
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Intuitively we sense that nature relaxes us - even small pockets of green in the concrete urban jungle seem to make a difference. But finding good scientific evidence for how and why has been more difficult - until now. Crime rates, academic performance, aggression and even ADHD: could a bit of greening make all the difference?
Apology to help ease Indigenous hurt
Date Published: Tuesday, 12th February 2008
Source: ABC - News in Science
Full story: online here
An apology from the Australian federal government to Indigenous Australians affected by the forced removal of children from their families will be a starting point for improving Indigenous mental health, experts say.
Professor of population mental health and disasters at the University of Western Sydney, Beverley Raphael, says apologies are an important part of the healing process for victims of trauma.
Doing anger differently: adolescent boys
Date Published: Tuesday, 5th February 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Learning to handle anger is part of growing up, especially in adolescence. But at worst, anger combined with aggression can wreck educational opportunities and life chances. Michael Currie has been working with adolescent boys and schools for more than 20 years and he argues there is a different way of 'doing' anger.
Suicide risk factors consistent across nations
Date Published: Thursday, 31st January 2008
Source: Harvard University Press Release (via Mental Health Foundaton)
Full story: online here
Risk factors for suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts are consistent across countries, and include having a mental disorder and being female, younger, less educated, and unmarried. So says new research from a Harvard University professor and the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Survey Initiative. The study examined both the prevalence and the risk factors for suicide across 17 countries, and is the largest, most representative examination of suicidal behavior ever conducted.
Helping children cope with stress
Date Published: Monday, 28th January 2008
Source: ABC - Health and Wellbeing
Full story: online here
When schools and parents work together, even sensitive kids can be taught to deal with life's ups and downs. Fifty years ago psychologists believed resilience was somehow inborn, when they noticed a proportion of children who grew up in stressful environments developed well despite adversity. But there is evidence that resilience can be taught, enabling even the most vulnerable children to learn how to ride the waves of life.
Don't worry, be (moderately) happy, research suggests
Date Published: Thursday, 24th January 2008
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - News Release
Full story: online here
Could the pursuit of happiness go too far? Most self-help books on the subject offer tips on how to maximize one's bliss, but a new study suggests that moderate happiness may be preferable to full-fledged elation. The researchers, from the University of Virginia, the University of Illinois and Michigan State University, looked at data from the World Values Survey, a large-scale analysis of economic, social, political and religious influences around the world.
Value of supporting people confirmed (UK)
Date Published: Wednesday, 16th January 2008
Source: Press Association (via Mental Health Foundation UK)
Full story: online here
The Supporting People programme is more than paying for itself through the positive impact it is having on the lives of the most vulnerable people in society, a new independent report has found. The government funded programme helps over a million people live independently in their homes at any one time including 800,000 older people, 40,000 single homeless people, 36,000 people with mental health problems and 8,000 women at risk of domestic violence.
The study found that an investment of £1.55bn in the programme delivers £2.77bn net financial benefits - through reduced costs in health services, tenancy failure, crime and residential care.
Back from the brink: recovering from depression
Date Published: Monday, 14th January 2008
Source: ABC - Life Matters
Full story: online here
Graeme Cowan has spoken with 12 Australians who have suffered from depression about their experiences of the illness and their recovery.
Disordered eating less common among teen girls who regularly eat family meals
Date Published: Monday, 7th January 2008
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - News Release
Full story: online here
Adolescent girls who frequently eat meals with their families appear less likely to use diet pills, laxatives or other extreme measures to control their weight five years later, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Given the findings of this and other studies and the prevalence of disordered eating among teen girls, it is important to find ways to help families eat meals together, the authors note.
Walk away menopausal anxiety, stress and depression
Date Published: Thursday, 3rd January 2008
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - News Release
Full story: online here
With more menopausal women seeking natural therapies to ease symptoms, a new study has found that simply adding a brisk walking routine can reduce a variety of psychological symptoms such as anxiety, stress and depression. The research is published in the January issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Sounds of Summer: Youth mental health
Date Published: Wednesday, 2nd January 2008
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
In Australia, hundreds of thousands will suffer some sort of mental health problem before they reach the age of 25, with the problems ranging from temporary depression right through to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Unlike physical ailments, mental illness isn't always obvious at first and many people have trouble accepting the symptoms.
Deep listening: working with Indigenous mental distress
Date Published: Saturday, 22nd December 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
'How do I get them to talk?' Hinted-at events, listening to the silence, roundabout stories. Mental health and other professionals inexperienced at working with Indigenous clients struggle with the limits of their cultural awareness, with language barriers and with the historical legacies of mistrust and misunderstanding. Cultural competency is more than sharing a joke. So what is it? And how can psychologists, doctors and others acquire it?
Mental health problems and substance abuse
Date Published: Monday, 10th December 2007
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
A Co-morbidity Co-ordinated Forum, organised by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, ACT, was held in Canberra last week. It brought together experts and practitioners from Australia and overseas to discuss initiatives of caring for people with psychiatric illnesses who also have a substance abuse problem.
One of the things that's incredibly common in people with mental illness and reduces the chances of recovery is alcohol and other drug use. And one of the things that's commonly associated with the abuse of alcohol and other drugs is mental illness which, in turn, makes it harder to give up the substances.
Youth mental health a hidden danger sign
Date Published: Friday, 30th November 2007
Source: ABC - Opinion
Full story: online here
The orthodox, or official, view of the health and wellbeing of young Australians is of continuing improvement. The official view draws largely on a continuing decline in mortality which underestimates the major contributions that non-fatal, chronic health problems now make to the burden of disease among young people. In important instances (such as depression, anxiety, diabetes), these problems are worsening.
Drinking away anxiety: a new program finds safer ways for college students to cope
Date Published: Monday, 26th November 2007
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - News Release
Full story: online here
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati are reporting on a pilot program aimed at curbing alcohol abuse among college students. While prior studies have shown that a brief intervention using motivational interviewing helps reduce alcohol consumption or alcohol-related problems among college students, this study is the first to add strategies for coping with social anxiety in relation to alcohol intervention for college students.
Blood and popcorn
Date Published: Thursday, 22nd November 2007
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
Gory films and TV programs are pulling in audiences. But violence on the screen can have lasting effects, especially on kids and adolescents. There's a growing body of literature demonstrating that exposure to frightening content on television and in the movies is associated with intense emotional reactions that extend well beyond the time of viewing.
Self-esteem and our perception of the world around us
Date Published: Monday, 19th November 2007
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
Research at Rutgers University in New Jersey has investigated how our self-esteem influences the way we perceive our environment. They also looked at self worth and the perceived closeness of threatening objects.
Attachment theory
Date Published: Monday, 19th November 2007
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey have investigated adult attachment and attitudes toward the mother. How we are brought up plays a significant role in how secure we feel and influences our attachment behaviour.
Archbishop raises childhood depression concerns
Date Published: Wednesday, 14th November 2007
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne believes depression among young people is now so bad that many have effectively had their childhood stolen from them. Dr Philip Freier says society is making children stressed, forcing them to grow up too early and sexualising them. He's now calling for a national inquiry into the state of childhood in Australia.
Dr Mindfulness: science and the meditation boom
Date Published: Saturday, 10th November 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Quiten your mind. Attend to the moment. Mindfulness based meditation is being touted as beneficial for any number of afflictions - from anxiety to asthma; social phobia to psoriasis. But what is it, and how can science scrutinize subjective states of mind? Three scientists at high powered institutions discuss how they've turned a personal passion into a professional investigation.
Mental health and young people
Date Published: Saturday, 10th November 2007
Source: ABC - Hack (Triple J)
Full story: online here
1 in 4 young people are likely to suffer from a a mental health problem and 3/4 of people with a mental health problem show the signs before they're 24. Which means tackling mental health is all about early intervention.
This program is available as an MP3 file.
Mind meets matter: stress, schizophrenia, immunity and heart disease
Date Published: Saturday, 3rd November 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Are we really more vulnerable to colds when we're stressed? Does depression increase your risk of heart disease? Could a bad bout of the flu during pregnancy cause schizophrenia in your child? Science has long struggled with the question of whether states of mind influence the body, and vice versa. But the historic mind-body divide is being challenged as cardiologists, immunologists and neuroscientists meet across the lab bench.
Teenage binge drinking
Date Published: Wednesday, 31st October 2007
Source: ABC - Health Minutes
Full story: online here
Drinking in adolescence is not a harmless rite of passage. A UK study has found that binge drinking at 16 has long-term consequences.
Two out of three adolescents aged between 14 and 17 are drinking regularly and many of them are bingeing - meaning four or five drinks in the one sitting. Binge drinking, amongst other things, is associated with injury, violence, suicide and sexual risk.
Paternity blues: Adelaide research examines depression in dads
Date Published: Friday, 19th October 2007
Source: ABC - The World Today
Full story: online here
New research on the rate of postnatal depression among men shows that up to 10 per cent of first-time dads may experience depression. It's hoped that the findings will lead to greater awareness and better ways of diagnosing and treating depressed dads.
Primary school kids stressed out
Date Published: Wednesday, 17th October 2007
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
This is the season when parents around the country are trying to help their teenagers through the stress of the last set of exams of their high school years. But a new study has revealed that today's school kids start worrying much earlier, many as young as seven and eight. The study says 40 per cent of students worry too much, and one in five has had a bout of depression.
Joblessness bad for health of parents and children
Date Published: Tuesday, 16th October 2007
Source: UK Press Assoc (via Mental Health Foundation)
Full story: online here
The UK Government's crusade for full employment has been strengthened by "shocking" statistics about the impact on people's health of being out of work. A recent study showed that the death rate for children of parents who had never worked or were long-term unemployed was 13 times that for the children of professional employees, according to Mr Hain (Work and Pensions Secretary).
Also the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children in families whose parents have never worked is around five times greater than those with parents in professional occupations.
Carers more depressed than general population: study
Date Published: Monday, 15th October 2007
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
A new study has shown that more than a third of Australia's full-time carers are suffering from severe depression. The survey by Deakin University of more than 4,000 carers around the country was released to coincide with National Carers Week.
Buddhism and happiness
Date Published: Thursday, 11th October 2007
Source: ABC - Health and Wellbeing
Full story: online here
Even scientists agree: Buddhists are on to something when it comes to boosting wellbeing. According to Buddhist thinking, happiness and sorrow are our own responsibility - and completely within our control. It seems like quite a claim - that mental training can make you happy, no matter what happens to you. But it's a claim that's backed up, not only by two and a half thousand years of religious tradition, but a growing body of research.
Stress contributes to range of chronic diseases
Date Published: Tuesday, 9th October 2007
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - News Release
Full story: online here
In a review of the scientific literature on the relationship between stress and disease, Carnegie Mellon University psychologist Sheldon Cohen has found that stress is a contributing factor in human disease, and in particular depression, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS.
The strongest evidence that stress contributes to disease comes from research on depression, which shows that stress is associated with the onset of depression as well as relapse in people who have recovered from it. Cohen said that particular types of stress are the biggest culprits in depression, namely 'social stressors' such as divorce and the death of a loved one.
(Cohen's findings will be published in the Oct. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association)
Drugs and the teenage brain
Date Published: Monday, 8th October 2007
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
A look at the effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on teenage brains. How nicotine may harm young brains and not adult ones, and how alcohol is truly poisonous.
Ecstasy and psychological problems
Date Published: Tuesday, 2nd October 2007
Source: ABC - Health Minutes
Full story: online here
Ecstasy users are likely to have psychological problems: is it ecstasy-induced brain damage, or do users have pre-existing problems? Probably both, but a Dutch study suggests that pre-existing issues do matter.
Mental health issues affect one in four young Australians
Date Published: Monday, 1st October 2007
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
Psychiatric researchers say mental health problems now affect one in four young Australians. In a 70-page supplement in this week's edition of the Australian Medical Journal, they call it the key issue facing young people across the country.
The researchers argue for a major re-think on the way young people are treated. And that includes what they say is a 'revolutionary' way of treating youth mental illness, which could become a template for treatment around the world.
Sex sells: but at what cost to our kids?
Date Published: Thursday, 27th September 2007
Source: ABC - Difference of Opinion
Full story: online here
There is growing concern that ads, magazines and music video clips have become much more sexualised. And many of these images are targeting kids, tweens, teens and young women. The American Psychological Association published a landmark report in February 2007 on the effects on young women, from long-term exposure to sexualised ads. The report says there has been a proliferation of sexualised images of girls that are teaching girls to be sexually desirable which has led to eating disorders, poor body image, depression and anxiety.
In Australia, parents and child psychologists are echoing the same concerns.
Program gives apprentices life skills to help combat suicides
Date Published: Wednesday, 26th September 2007
Source: ABC - News Online
Full story: online here
Hundreds of young Tasmanian building apprentices are taking part in a program aimed at combating youth suicide. Building and construction industry statistics reveal that between 1998 and 2003, ten people each year either committed suicide, or died of a drug overdose or other unknown causes. The Chairman of the Ozhelp Foundation, Royce Fairbrother, says the program teaches apprentices life skills.
Discrimination linked to mental heath: study
Date Published: Monday, 17th September 2007
Source: ABC - News Online
Full story: online here
A new report says there is a strong link between cultural discrimination and poor mental health. The VicHealth study says more than two million Victorians are at risk of the health impacts of discrimination.
See also VicHealth media release: New Report finds Discrimination is bad for health
Carer Couples: when a partner has a mental illness
Date Published: Saturday, 15th September 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Lover or carer? Partner or dependant? When a partner is afflicted with a severe mental illness, how is the relationship redefined? Do they feel like the body and soul you first fell in love with? Two couples share the trials and triumphs of confronting illness and prejudice together.
Depression 'worse for health than physical illnesses'
Date Published: Friday, 7th September 2007
Source: Worldwide Press Assoc. via Mental Health Foundation UK.
Full story: online here
Scientific research from the World Health Organisation has revealed that depression does greater damage to a person's overall health than long-term physical diseases. In 2000 scientists rated depression as the disease which had the fourth greatest public health impact globally. By 2020 it is predicted to have jumped to second place.
Alcohol: Our Favourite Drug
Date Published: Thursday, 6th September 2007
Source: ABC - Difference of Opinion
Full story: online here
Alcohol is deeply embedded in Australian culture. It's perfectly legal but it causes more death and injury than all illicit drugs together. So do we have a national drinking problem, or is it just a case of a troublesome few too many?
Drugs and mental illness 'go hand in hand'
Date Published: Monday, 3rd September 2007
Source: The Australian
Full story: online here
Substance abuse and mental illness go hand-in-hand for hundreds of thousands of people and more options are needed to treat the problems together. The Anex Illegal Drugs and Mental Health Conference in Melbourne was told that separating drug use and mental health treatment put lives at risk.
Cannabis and psychosis
Date Published: Tuesday, 21st August 2007
Source: ABC - Health Minutes
Full story: online here
The doubts about whether cannabis use really does increase the risk of psychotic illness have probably been laid to rest by an international review of the available evidence.
A review and analysis of 35 studies which have followed groups of young people for several years or studied whole populations has tried to eliminate alternative explanations for the link between psychosis and cannabis use. They found that the evidence does indeed support the assertion that cannabis use is linked to psychotic illness directly and the more cannabis, the higher the risk.
Happiness and its causes
Date Published: Sunday, 19th August 2007
Source: ABC - Compass
Full story: online here
Everyone wants to be happy. So why is there is such little understanding of what causes us to be happy? The Dalai Lama and a group of eminent Australians discuss key issues that are impacting on the happiness of individuals and society as a whole.
Addiction: Dis-ease over diseased brains
Date Published: Saturday, 18th August 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Your brain hijacked - possessed by a chronic, relapsing brain disease. Scientists now view addiction as a disease, not a behavioural problem. Brain circuits involved in reward and pleasure, planning and control are dramatically changed. The priority is medical treatment, not shame and blame. But others challenge what they dub the 'disease rhetoric', arguing it's fatalistic and reductionist. Do we treat the brain, or the person? And, should we surrender control to the addicted brain?
Is feeling blue the new black?
Date Published: Friday, 17th August 2007
Source: ABC - Science News: Health and Medical
Full story: online here
Many people could be diagnosed with clinical depression who are just feeling a bit blue, says one Australian psychiatrist. But there's an argument that such people should be treated anyway because they are at risk and could go on to develop major depression.
Teen alcohol
Date Published: Thursday, 9th August 2007
Source: ABC - Catalyst
Full story: online here
Should we be rethinking underage drinking? That's the question experts around Australia are asking as new evidence mounts of the long term damage to vulnerable brains and lives.
UK scientists reiterate cannabis link to psychosis
Date Published: Friday, 27th July 2007
Source: ABC - News Online
Full story: online here
Scientists in Britain have produced further evidence linking cannabis use to the possible development of psychosis later in life. The research, published in the medical journal The Lancet, indicates that although the risk remains low, users of cannabis are 40 per cent more likely to develop conditions such as schizophrenia.
This review of existing data found what the researchers say is a consistent association between cannabis use and psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.
Fighting fear
Date Published: Thursday, 26th July 2007
Source: ABC - Health Matters
Full story: online here
Don't let fear get in the way of your life, fight back by recognising the signs of a serious phobia or anxiety disorder and seek help. This Health Matters feature describes different types of fears and phobias and the techniques that may help to deal with them.
At-risk children to benefit from inter-agency work (UK)
Date Published: Monday, 23rd July 2007
Source: Press Association (via Mental Health Foundation UK)
Full story: online here
Children at risk in the UK will benefit from the launch of a new body focusing on inter-agency work. The Children Acts Advisory Board (CAAB) will enhance the delivery of services for youngsters through research and the sharing of information. The Board will advise Children's Minister Brendan Smith on policy issues relating to the effective delivery of services to children. Its functions will also include consulting the government in relation to the co-ordinated delivery and effectiveness of services to children and young people at risk, specifically under the child care acts.
For the children's sake
Date Published: Monday, 23rd July 2007
Source: ABC - Four Corners
Full story: online here
How do we deal with parents who are drug or alcohol dependent? Do we just accept the dangers they pose? Is it enough to rely on rehabilitation services and monitoring? Or as a last resort should the authorities step in? How many chances should they get before they forfeit their rights to be parents? There are no easy answers. Four Corners meets drug users and alcoholics who explain their struggle to get clean and prove themselves fit to be parents.
Study shows increase in teenage eating disorders
Date Published: Friday, 20th July 2007
Source: ABC - The World Today
Full story: online here
A study on the eating habits of children and teenagers has shown that campaigns to reduce childhood obesity are only having an effect on children from wealthier families. The study of about 9,000 young Australians showed that while obesity levels are still increasing among poorer children, the fear of obesity is having a damaging effect on teenage girls. Over the last six years the number of teenage girls with eating disorder behaviours almost doubled to 18 per cent.
Deep listening: working with Indigenous mental distress
Date Published: Saturday, 7th July 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Hinted-at events, listening to the silence, roundabout stories. Mental health and other professionals inexperienced at working with Indigenous clients struggle with the limits of their cultural awareness, with language barriers and with the historical legacies of mistrust and misunderstanding. Cultural competency is more than sharing a joke. So what is it? And how can psychologists, doctors and others acquire it?
Coping with trauma
Date Published: Thursday, 21st June 2007
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
'Gunman at large after Melbourne shooting'; 'Kerang Train Crash tears families apart'; 'NSW Flood death toll reaches nine'.
Just some of the headlines over the last few weeks. Most of us have become conditioned and immune to headlines like these; yes it's tragic, but we're bombarded with so many images of carnage and disaster, that, if only to protect ourselves from thinking about it, we'll turn instead to a story on interest rates or a celebrity wedding.
But for survivors and witnesses to traumatic events, it's not so easy. Commonly they'll suffer mental and physical symptoms that can last weeks - even years - after the event. Mental health experts have a name for it: acute stress disorder (ASD).
Teaching your brain to be happy
Date Published: Saturday, 16th June 2007
Source: ABC - All in the Mind
Full story: online here
Happiness is paradoxical. What we think will give it to us - invariably doesn't. When we think we've got it - we invariably haven't. We're not even good at predicting what will make us happy people. From languishing to flourishing - can even the most troubled mind be primed for happiness? A panel of international trailblazers in the study of emotion, positive psychology and Buddhism get earnest about pleasure.
Humour as medicine
Date Published: Sunday, 10th June 2007
Source: ABC - Ockhams's Razor
Full story: online here
Emeritus Professor Roger Rees from Disability and Research at Flinders University discusses the importance of humour for people with disabilities and illnesses. There is compelling evidence of the role of humour in coping, decision-making, and mental health.
All Australian boys need a shed
Date Published: Wednesday, 6th June 2007
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
The backyard shed has a treasured, almost sacred place in the hearts of many Australian men, it can be a place of solace. Community men's sheds are spreading all over the country, as a place where men can gather and not only use the equipment, but also mingle and socialise. And a national study has found that the sheds are proving vital to sustaining older men's health as well.
Can God make you better?
Date Published: Thursday, 31st May 2007
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
Is religion good for your health? It's a question that researchers looked at in the latest Medical Journal of Australia. Doctors and other health workers need to recognise the importance of religion and spirituality, the researchers concluded. They shouldn't offer religion as a treatment (it should be left to the individual) but they should accept it as a factor in a person's well being.
When work is stressing you out
Date Published: Monday, 28th May 2007
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
There's a growing number of Australians who suffer more than just Mondayitis. Work stresses them to the point where their health suffers. That's the conclusion of research from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University (ANU). The researchers say that changes in the workplace are taking their toll on workers, and are causing anxiety, depression and stress.
Bullying in schools
Date Published: Thursday, 17th May 2007
Source: ABC - The Pulse
Full story: online here
One kid in six in Australia's schools is regularly bullied. And the consequences can be devastating. There are plenty of studies that show that kids who are bullied have low self esteem and are prone to depression. There's also evidence that bullies also suffer depression and are more likely themselves to be the victims of violence and aggression.
Some schools are doing something about it. They are teaching cooperation, problem solving and respect for others as part of the school curriculum
Mindfulness
Date Published: Sunday, 13th May 2007
Source: ABC - The Spirit of Things
Full story: online here
The 'holy grail' of meditation techniques is mindfulness. But what is it, exactly, and why has the medical profession suddenly appropriated this age-old technique devised by yogis and Buddhist monks?
Frequent TV viewing during adolescence linked with risk of attention and learning difficulties
Date Published: Monday, 7th May 2007
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - news release
Full story: online here
Teenagers who watch television for three or more hours per day may have a higher risk of attention and learning difficulties in their adolescent and early adult years, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Overall, the findings have important preventive implications: the authors state "they suggest that by encouraging youths to spend less than three hours per day watching television, parents, teachers and health care professionals may be able to help reduce the likelihood that at-risk adolescents will develop persistent attention and learning difficulties".
Stress Disorder
Date Published: Friday, 4th May 2007
Source: ABC - Stateline Queensland
Full story: online here
The physical devastation caused by Cyclone Larry was easy to see and mend but the unseen damage is still taking a toll and is much harder to quantify. Researchers say many children suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after their city, schools and in some cases their homes were levelled by the wild weather of just over a year ago.
Breastfeeding and good fats help new mothers fight depression
Date Published: Wednesday, 2nd May 2007
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - news release
Full story: online here
Breastfeeding and the good fats in Omega-3 fatty acids help new mothers fight depression, according to a new article published in the most recent issue of the International Breastfeeding Journal by a University of New Hampshire researcher. The review was authored by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, a health psychologist and researcher at UNH's Crimes against Children Research Center.
"Depression in new mothers is common in many cultures, and since depression has devastating effects on both mother and baby, it's vital that it be identified and treated promptly. Depressed mothers are also more likely to stop breastfeeding with negative health effects for each," Kendall-Tackett said.
Mental health costing business: study
Date Published: Monday, 30th April 2007
Source: ABC - PM
Full story: online here
A major study of some of Australia's biggest companies has found that one worker in 20 has a mental health problem and that's costing business about $9,000 a year for every one of those employees. The Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research conducted the study in collaboration with Harvard University and the University of Queensland.
The WORC Project is a major national study involving 90,000 employees from 58 Australian companies. It aims to identify workers with symptoms of depression or anxiety and then encourage them to seek help.
Places of healing
Date Published: Monday, 9th April 2007
Source: ABC - Health Report
Full story: online here
No matter what the advances in modern medicine are, there are still too many times when a patient's sickness is cured but the patient doesn't feel better. The body is fixed but the spirit is languishing. It's a challenge without a solution - so far. A small experiment taking place in Arnhem Land might just provide some answers for all of us.
Psychologists publish 3 new studies on violent video game effects on youths
Date Published: Wednesday, 4th April 2007
Source: Mental Health Foundation UK - news release
Full story: