A life without stigma

Stigma stops people asking for help and getting the treatment and support they need. It makes it more difficult to find somewhere decent to live, a job, a mortgage, or insurance. It can make it more difficult to get help to look after children, make friends, feel good about yourself, or even to feel that life is worth living. Stigma is a major barrier to recovery. If people with mental illness are to be included as equal members of our society, then stigma and its associated discrimination must be eliminated.This report examines the impact stigma has on the lives of people affected by mental illness, including an overview of associated issues from the growing body of research in this area. It describes some of the major stigma-reduction initiatives carried out in Australia and overseas, looks at the evidence base to identify what works, and makes recommendations for future action in Australia to create a life without stigma

Quality Assurance for KidsMatter Primary: a scoping paper

This Scoping Paper reviews and details options for the ongoing quality assurance of KidsMatter PrimaryThis scoping paper was commissioned and funded by beyondblue, the national depression initiative. The Flinders team wishes to thank and acknowledge beyondblue for their ongoing support throughout the development of this report

Strategies and practices for promoting the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

This resource sheet reviews programs that aim to promote social and emotional wellbeing and identifies those that have been evaluated and shown to be effective in relation to Indigenous people. Social and emotional wellbeing is a term that is synonymous with mental health and wellbeing, and is widely used in policy and program documentation related to Indigenous people, as well as in the literature. The definition of social and emotional wellbeing used in this resource sheet is articulated in the National strategic framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and social and emotional well being 2004–2009: A positive state of wellbeing in which the individual can cope with the normal stress of life and reach his or her potential in work and community life in the context of family, community, culture and broader society. A range of programs, including education, housing and employment programs, that do not have specific objectives related to promoting mental health, have the potential to positively affect social and emotional wellbeing. These programs are covered in other resource sheets published by the Clearinghouse. A link to these resource sheets is in Table A2 on page 11. The focus of this resource sheet is on the promotion of social and emotional wellbeing and the prevention of mental illness. Treatment services specifically for people with a drug addiction and/or established mental illness are not considered in detail. Strategies to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harm are also not included as they are the subject of the resource sheet Reducing alcohol and other drug related harm. The association between mental illness and suicide is well established. A separate resource sheet Strategies to minimise the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour has been prepared, therefore programs whose primary purpose is suicide prevention are not considered in this resource sheet. This resource sheet assesses the effectiveness of Australian and international programs whose primary purpose is to promote the mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in urban and remote locations

The Sleep Or Mood Novel Adjunctive therapy (SOMNA) trial: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating an internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy program for insomnia on outcomes of standard treatment for depression in men

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is a significant risk factor for depression onset, can result in more disabling depressive illness, and is a common residual symptom following treatment cessation that can increase the risk of relapse. Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia has demonstrated efficacy and acceptability to men who are less likely than women to seek help in standard care. We aim to evaluate whether internet delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia as an adjunct to a standard depression therapeutic plan can lead to improved mood outcomes.METHODS/DESIGN: Male participants aged 50 years or more, meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for current Major Depressive Episode and/or Dysthymia and self-reported insomnia symptoms, will be screened to participate in a single-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups involving adjunctive internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and an internet-based control program. The trial will consist of a nine-week insomnia intervention period with a six-month follow-up period. During the insomnia intervention period participants will have their depression management coordinated by a psychiatrist using standard guideline-based depression treatments. The study will be conducted in urban New South Wales, Australia, where 80 participants from primary and secondary care and direct from the local community will be recruited. The primary outcome is change in the severity of depressive symptoms from baseline to week 12. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence on whether a widely accessible, evidence-based, internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia intervention can lead to greater improvements than standard treatment for depression alone, in a group who traditionally do not readily access psychotherapy. The study is designed to establish effect size, feasibility and processes associated with implementing e-health solutions alongside standard clinical care, to warrant undertaking a larger more definitive clinical trial.Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12612000985886.The study is supported by beyondblue: the national depression and anxiety initiative National Priority Driven Research Program and funded through a donation from the Movember Foundation

e-Mental health for mood and anxiety disorders in general practice

Familiarises general practitioners (GPs) with the range of online programs in Australia that have demonstrated efficacy and are currently available for use by patients with mental health problems. Background Australia is a world leader in the development of internetdelivered programs for the prevention and management of mood and anxiety disorders. Despite a strong evidence base of time- and cost-effectiveness, as well as clinical efficacy, the uptake of these programs in general practice remains low. Objective To familiarise general practitioners (GPs) with the range of online programs in Australia that have demonstrated efficacy and are currently available for use by patients with mental health problems. Discussion E-mental health programs provide an efficacious and accessible form of mental healthcare and have the potential to fill the gap for those for whom such care is inaccessible, unaffordable or unacceptable. Clinicians can also use it in a stepped-care manner to augment existing healthcare services. There are a number of online resources currently available to Australians who have mood or anxiety disorders. These resources have strong evidence to support their effectiveness. Online portals facilitate access to these programs. Recently the Australian Federal Government has funded an education program (eMHPrac) for GPs and mental health professionals, to outline what is available, indicate situations where recommending such resources is appropriate, and suggest ways in which they can be incorporated into general practice

Improving e-therapy for mood disorders among lesbians and gay men

Introduction This toolkit provides the first comprehensive set of guidelines for tailoring mood-disorder e-therapies to the needs of same-sex attracted people. It gives developers of e-therapies a set of practical recommendations for adjusting e-therapies to more effectively accommodate lesbians and gay men. These recommendations are supported by in-depth research that was designed specifically to inform this toolkit. Summaries of this research are provided in the toolkit and detailed findings are available in published research articles. This toolkit also provides information on the mental health-related challenges that are often faced by same-sex attracted people and links readers to key resources and organisations for further information. Checklists and other tools are included as aids for developers to assess the inclusiveness and relevance of e-therapies to lesbians and gay men. In short, this toolkit contains an extensive set of tools and explains why and how they could be implemented

A closer look at private lives 2: addressing the mental health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Australians

Based on a national survey of almost 4000 people, the report reveals strong links between psychological distress and drug use among LGBT Australians. Executive Summary A Closer Look at Private Lives 2 is a companion to the second Private Lives report released in 2012. The research and writing of both reports were funded by beyondblue and the Movember Foundation. The project was jointly managed by GLHV and ARCSHS, La Trobe University. Background The first Private Lives was released in 2006 and at the time was one of the largest reports on LGBT health and wellbeing anywhere in the world. Both the first and second reports provided a snapshot of LGBT Australian’s everyday lives. They included demographic data on diversity within LGBT communities and data on LGBT Australian’s physical and mental health, health service use, relationships, experiences of discrimination and community connections. This companion report, in contrast, focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of LGBT Australians. It relies on the mental health data from Private Lives 2 and looks, in detail, at variations in psychological distress and resilience between LGBT and mainstream communities and variations within LGBT communities according to gender identity, sexual identity, age and socio-economic status. It also looks at the relationships between LGBT Australians mental wellbeing and their experiences of heterosexist discrimination, drug use, LGBT and mainstream community engagement, and health service use. The report concludes with an evidence-based LGBT mental health policy and program framework to guide the development of policies, programs and services aimed at promoting LGBT Australians’ positive mental health and their access to quality care. Methodology Private Lives 2 reported on the findings of a national, online survey of the lives of 3,835 LGBT Australians. Respondents came from all states and territories and from rural, regional and remote areas. The companion report used two of the validated scales from Private Lives 2 as measures of mental health outcomes: the K10 Psychological Distress Scale; and the Brief Resilience Scale. The development of the LGBT mental health policy and program framework involved a review of recent Australian population and health promotion strategies and a separate review of the research and grey literature on LGBT-inclusive service provision in Australia and overseas. Related identifer: ISBN 978192191569

Identifying depressed fathers during a home visit: why and how.

The knowledge and expertise required for child and family health nursing practice has continued to evolve as a consequence of research-based interventions and policy changes affecting families. The benefits of sustained home visiting on family health and wellbeing are now accepted and Australian trials have demonstrated improvements in maternal–infant attachment and mothers’ relationship with their child. At the level of clinical practice, best practice approaches for nurses visiting new mothers have moved away from delivering specific clinical procedures to focusing on the particular needs and circumstances of the parent and family, emphasising psychological support and health promotion in partnership and collaboration with parents. A particular focus on detecting postnatal maternal depression has arisen due to the development of the National Perinatal Depression Initiative. Child and family health nurses now regularly screen mothers using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Recent evidence of the impact of fathers’ depression on children and mothers has drawn attention to fathers’ mental health in the perinatal period. Fathers’ postnatal depression has been shown to impact on children’s development at similar levels to mothers’ and while children are most affected by two depressed parents, the effect of fathers’ depression is independent of mood disorder in the mother. Nurses making home visits have an opportunity to engage with fathers and many do so when the father is available. In this paper we present the evidence and rationale for assessing fathers’ depression or anxiety at the postnatal home visit

KidsMatter Early Childhood Evaluation Report

KidsMatter Early Childhood is the Australian national early childhood mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative specifically developed for early childhood services. It was trialled in 111 long day care services and preschools during 2010 and 2011. KMEC involves the people who have a significant influence on young children’s lives – parents, carers, families and early childhood educators, along with a range of community and health professionals – in making a positive difference to young children’s mental health and wellbeing during this important developmental period. The KMEC initiative provides a framework to enable services to plan and implement evidencebased mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention strategies. These strategies aim to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children from birth to school age, reduce mental health difficulties among children, and achieve greater support for children experiencing mental health difficulties and their families.KidsMatter Australian Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative was developed through collaboration between beyondblue, the Australian Psychological Society and Early Childhood Australia, and with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and beyondblue