Let’s Talk About Children: Dissemination of a family focused intervention

Improved outcome for children of parents with mental illness has been demonstrated through family focused interventions. Despite this, there are many barriers to family focused intervention in mental health service delivery.

Let’s Talk about Children was developed for use with families in which a parent has a mental illness. It focuses on improving communication surrounding mental illness, identifying children’s needs and linking the family with additional support or interventions. It has been used with parents with a range of diagnoses. It involves two to three sessions with parents. Let's Talk was developed in Finland by Prof Tytti Solantaus and was disseminated throughout the Adult Mental Health Service.

Through collaboration between the adult and child and youth mental health service, training in Let’s Talk has been offered. The feasibility of dissemination of an intervention such as this in the local context needed to be established.

Mary will focus on the response to offering training in the intervention to clinicians from a range of services. The results of a focus group discussion of barriers and enablers to a family focused intervention will be explored. Initial feedback with regard to the training offered and applicability to practice was positive.

There are particular issues related to the local context which need to be understood to assist in dissemination of a family focused intervention such as Let’s Talk.

Dr Mary Jessop, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Children's Health Services, Royal Children's Hospital will present at the:

13th International Mental Health Conference, "Positive Change -- Investing in Mental Health"  6th to the 8th of August 2012, on the Gold Coast.  

Web: http://anzmh.asn.au/conference Email: conference@anzmh.asn.au

Government announces initiatives for people with dementia

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age welcomes the Australian government's announcement of initiatives for people with dementia and services to support aged care, but says more is need for the mental health needs of people in old age.

'Investment in dementia care and diagnosis and improved aged care services are essential and will go some way to improving the lives of older people with mental illness, and those of their families and carers. Improved access to services that support the person in their own home is particularly welcome,' said Dr Roderick McKay, Chair of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age.

'In the next 20 years the number of Australians over 65 will double, therefore the mental health care of older people is an important part of in the mental health reform agenda. Planning for the mental health needs of older people and access to mental health care is critical to mitigate against poor mental health outcomes,' said Dr McKay

'Focus on this important area is welcomed, and needs to be built upon so that there is comprehensive support for the mental health of older people. As Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, as well as Social Inclusion, Minister Butler would appear to have an almost unique opportunity to achieve this,' said Dr McKay.

'Older people need to be included in all mental health planning to improve their quality of care, remove discrimination and obtain better understanding of the mental health needs of older Australians. It is vital these issues be considered in the government's Ten Year Roadmap for Mental Health Reform,' said Dr McKay.

'Untreated mental illness robs older Australians of their quality of life, physical health and independence at significant cost to individuals, family and community. While there are effective mental health treatments for older people, limited resources can deny them equitable access. Australia owes its older citizens and their families adequate support, respect, and dignity,' said Dr McKay.

'To improve the quality of mental health care for older people we require national benchmarks for the availability and quality of mental health services for older people, and need national principles for providing coordinated care across different services for older Australians with mental illness. Basic mental health training for people working with older Australian is also essential,' said Dr McKay.

For further information Kirrily Johns +61 3 9601 4940 at the  The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

Positive Change – Investing in Mental Health

Mental health awareness and well being strategies are urgent public concerns. Mental illness has the third highest burden of disease in Australia with approximately 45% of adults experiencing a mental illness at some stage of their lives, including alcohol or substance abuse disorders.

The 13th International Mental Health Conference will focus on the complex mental issues affecting the elderly including depression, dementia, delirium, paranoid disorders and anxiety. It will also explore the mental health issues of young Australians (aged 18 – 24 years) struggling with schizophrenia, depression, suicidal thoughts, bipolar, anxiety disorders and drug use and drug induced psychosis. With 7% of Australian children and adolescents (aged 0 – 17 years) experiencing mental health problems and only one in four receiving professional health care, a positive change is long overdue.

The conference will examine state, federal, international and COAG initiatives, early intervention strategies, validated treatments, suicide prevention and the effectiveness of mental health preventive measures.

Featuring Australia and New Zealand's finest clinical practitioners, academics, and mental health experts the conference will motivate and inspire professionals (and future professionals) by sharing information about

• on-going research and findings, policies and organisational models
• development of new knowledge and the implementation of programs and strategies
• effective use of scarce resources

The conference will focus on:
• State, Federal and International initiatives addressing mental health needs.
• Planning and initiatives of the COAG task force.
• Research validation of early intervention strategies and treatments for drug induced psychosis, trauma and depression.
• Research validated treatments designed to facilitate recovery, particularly in the areas of depression and trauma.
• Initiatives and best practice in suicide prevention
• Examine and critically review the effectiveness of preventive approaches used in the field of mental health
Keynote addresses, submitted papers, workshops and case studies will examine how approaches and techniques can be incorporated into daily practise.

The conference streams will include:
• Multi-level Government initiatives and policies
• Early interventions
• Recovery treatments
• Prevention treatments (including suicide)
• Workforce re-integration – best practice? What treatments are most efficacious

Visit the conference website
The 13th International Mental Health Conference
6th to the 8th of August 2012
Outrigger Inn (formerly Holiday Inn) Gold Coast, Qld

Community mental health services and Non-Government Organisations

With the advent of community mental health services now being provided by Non-Government Organisations, it is becoming evident that we are catching many people with personality disorders. I work for a PHaMS program and previously was with a HASI program in NSW, and we receive many referrals from our local Mental Health Services.

I would estimate at least a third of these have PD’s, and what generally happens when we accept these referrals is the local MHS then discharges them from their case management and we are left to try and work with them.

This concerns me on several levels:

• MHS view that PDs problems are behavioural not mental illness, therefore they do not meet the criteria for services;  
• MHS inability to deal with this diagnosis so they just refer them onto Welfare organisations; 
• Lack of support from MHS to NGOs to deal with the very difficult spectrum of PDs (ie extreme borderline personality disorders); 
• Lack of training in the NGO sector to work with people with PDs, yet we have so many on our books;
• Lack of knowledge by workers in the Welfare sector on how to identify PD traits and therefore being twisted in knots by the demands of this cohort;
• No groups to send people to; 

Welfare workers having to cope with the stress that inevitably follows the breakdown in the relationship with the person with PD when we challenge their behaviours.

This is something we do successfully with others but has disastrous outcomes with people with PDs.

CINDI REES | Community Support Worker

PHaMS Hasting/Macleay
New Horizons Enterprises Limited
PO Box 5420 Port Macquarie NSW 2444