What's New??

A selection of the latest additions to the Auseinet site. If you would like to receive this information regularly via email, please email auseinet@flinders.edu.au.

Category

New @ Auseinet

Latest happenings at Auseinet. More details available here

Understanding mental health and wellbeing: training now underway
The inaugural Auseinet national train-the-trainer program is now underway, with the 30 successful applicants attending the first sessions in Adelaide (28th-30th May). These applicants represent a wide range of sectors from all states and territories.

This training is the first step in Auseinet's National Workforce Development Program, aimed at providing education for the wider workforce in the concepts and principles of mental health, mental health promotion, prevention of mental ill-health and early intervention.

Noticeboard

Latest news about activities related to Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention. More details for ppei and consumer/carers.

Cognitive therapy just a click away
The use of 'e-therapy' could become more widespread with the Federal Government's decision to fund a national e-therapy centre for Anxiety Disorders (NetCAD) at Swinburne University of Technology. Following a decade of research, Dr Klein and Dr Austin have demonstrated that e-therapy services can be as effective as face-to-face therapy: rigorous evaluation and randomised controlled clinical trials have shown that about 70 to 90 per cent of people who worked their way through the Panic Online program, for example, were alleviated of their clinical panic disorder.
For more information go to Swin-PsyCHE e Therapy Unit.
From Swinburne Magazine, September 08.

Mistakes, behaviour and ethics in clinical practice
Researchers at James Cook University (Townsville), Molde College (Norway) and Huddersfield University (England) are interested in understanding how mental health nurses and midwives in Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom think and feel about clinical errors and unethical behaviour. Dr Faye Thompson, midwife, and Dr Alistair Campbell, clinical psychologist, of James Cook University are the investigators in Australia.

This study seeks information about experiences of clinical errors and unethical behaviour. Was it reported? How did it affect you? What was the impact: as a witness or as the person responsible for the action/inaction? The information provided will assist better understanding of why people do and do not report incidents, and to identify which aspects of reporting need improving so that disclosure is easier.

To find out more about the study and/or to contribute: consult the website.

It takes a village: RHEF satellite broadcast
In the past 10 years the number of substantiated cases of abuse and neglect of children in this country has more than doubled. We need to find ways to reduce that incidence. Experts are now telling us that social isolation is a major risk factor for child abuse and neglect.

The RHEF will broadcast this documentary program on the 14th and 17th of October. It looks at the development of services that aim to reduce social isolation, and to support families and children before abuse or neglect occurs. The program illustrates the belief that strong communities and support networks are essential to the effective functioning of families, and help them to provide a safe and healthy environment for their children.

For more information go to: RHEF webpage.

Calendar

Next 3 events.

Carers Week
19 October 2008
Events around the country, AUSTRALIA

6th International Conference on Early Psychosis, Early Intervention: The next wave
20 October 2008
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

The 2nd Australasian Mental Health and Psychosocial Disasters Conference
21 October 2008
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

Latest additions to the calendar Full list.

Effective violence prevention with young people: What works? How do we do it?
5 November 2008
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

Our Mob, Our Minds, Our Spirit: Indigenous mental health conference
13 November 2008
Freemantle, AUSTRALIA

Strengthening Indigenous Communities 08: Creating partnerships to engage, empower and develop communities
9 December 2008
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

Factsheets

A range of factsheets and summary style information available on the internet. Check out the full list

Emotional intelligence (in the workplace)
(full details)
Summarises the literature of emotional intelligence and describes its relevance and value within the workplace.

Links

These lead to a range of reliable information available on the internet relating to the promotion, prevention and early intervention for mental health (PPEI) and suicide prevention. The full list is available here.

Partnership in Coping System of Recovery
(Go to website)
A structure for a working alliance in which people with mental health concerns are helped to use their own coping strategies to address their mental health concerns.

Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
(Go to website)
Peak body for youth affairs: aims to represent the rights and interests of young people and promote their wellbeing and participation.

Australian Youth Forum
(Go to website)
A communication channel between the Government, young people (aged 15-24) and the organisations that work with, for, and on behalf of, young people.

Media

Latest transcripts of Australian based print, television and radio media. Full list.

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.

What are you doing?

Details of relevant activities and programs from around Australia. Complete list.

Add details about your project by submitting this form.

Smiles Program: for children supporting family members with a mental illness
Centacare Tamworth will be running a Smiles Program commencing the 21st of October. This program will run every Tuesday for 6 weeks from 4pm to 6.30pm at the Centacare office at 125 Bridge Street.

The Smiles Program is for children aged between 8 and 12 years and is designed to address the needs of children who are supporting family members with a mental illness.

The Smiles Program aims to:
- Increase ability to cope effectively;
- Develop resilience;
- Provide opportunities for self expression;
- Increase self-esteem; and
- Reduce the feelings of isolation.

Resources Catalogue

The database provides details of a wide range of resources relating to mental health and wellbeing. The full database can be searched here.

For more details click on title.

How Well are Australian Infants and Children Aged 4 to 5 Years Doing?
2008, Australian Government Department of Families Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), Canberra, ACT.
This report presents an analysis of the data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC): it explores five specific aspects of infants' and children's experiences, exposures and environments.


Positive Behaviour in the Early Years: Perceptions of staff, service providers and parents in managing and promoting positive behaviour in early years and early primary settings
2008, Scottish Government, Edinburgh, UK.
Explores perceptions of staff, service providers and parents in managing and promoting positive behaviour in early years (o-6) and early primary settings in two local authorities.


Building the Evidence: A report on the status of policy and practice in responding to violence against women with disabilities in Victoria
2008, Victorian Women with Disabilities Network Advocacy
Information Service, Melbourne, Vic.
Analyses the extent to which current Victorian family violence policy and practice recognises and provides for women with disabilities who experience violence; and makes recommendations to improve responses, within a human rights framework.


Community Learning for Parenthood
2008, Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, Canberra, ACT.
Aims to support community-based service providers and organisations in building local capacity to improve early childhood health and development outcomes.


Never Better - or Getting Worse? The health and wellbeing of young Australians
2008, Australia 21 Ltd, Canberra, ACT.
This report is, in part, an examination of what has happened to the health of young Australians... but it also ranges far more widely over patterns and trends in health and wellbeing.


Social Evils and Social Good
2008, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, UK.
Continues the discussion about modern 'social evils' on the theme of 'a decline in values', deciding what we can do about them, individually and collectively.


Gross National Happiness and Material Welfare in Bhutan and Japan
2007, Centre for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu, Bhutan.
An analysis report of the pilot survey on psychological and subjective wellbeing (PWB/SWB) in Bhutan; and a report on the relationship between economic prosperity and peoples perceptions of their lives from Japan.


How to Look After Your Mental Health
2008, Mental Health Foundation, London, UK.
10 simple tips that anyone can use to help manage their mental health. If youre in good mental health, you can make the most of your potential, cope with life and play a full part in your family, workplace, community and among friends.


Unkind, Risk Averse and Untrusting: If this is todays society, can we change it?
2008, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, UK.
Discussion about how to change society for the better by deliberately rebuilding trust, opening up our institutions, and stopping the 'blame culture' from preventing simple acts of kindness and altruism.


The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): Development and UK validation
2007, BioMed Central, London, UK.
Describes the development and validation of a new scale, comprised only of positively worded items relating to different aspects of positive mental health.