AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022

News in Brief - Issue #4.03 (28/02/2004)

AICAFMHA News / What's On? / Mental Health News / Resources / Back to E-News index

AICAFMHA News

The 5th AICAFMHA/14th TheMHS Conference on the Gold Coast, Sept 2004 continues to generate significant interest. We remind you that abstracts are due by COB Friday 5th March 2004. The Call for Papers, sponsorship information, speaker details and pre-registration are available at our website.

The COPMI Project update for this fortnight is now online.

Recent ACER Press publications are featured below. AICAFMHA members are encouraged to utilise the opportunity to receive a 10% discount on the purchase of any ACER Press publications by quoting their membership number with their order. Order forms are available from the website.

Understanding Children: Foundations for Quality Jeannette Harrison ACER 2003 0 86431 6488     $34.95 Understanding Children: Foundations for Quality has been extensively expanded with an increased emphasis on providing a quality, nurturing environment for children while in care and outlines a new set of guidelines for adults interacting with young children.
This new edition uses recent research studies on children in care and the effects of childcare on young children's later emotional development and social behaviour. Using the ideas presented, parents and professionals will be assisted in developing a strong framework for successfully guiding and managing children's behaviour. Author Jeannette Harrison describes quality early childhood environments and identifies those aspects essential for the development of self-esteem and positive social behaviour. Understanding Children: Foundations for Quality is based on developmental and humanistic principles. Its strong theoretical foundation is balanced by a practical look at what a professional can do in a variety of everyday situations by applying concepts and strategies appropriate to children's different developmental levels.
Creative Therapy: Adolescents Overcoming Child Sexual Abuse Kate Ollier and Angela Hobday ACER Press 2003 0 86431 7441    $34.95 Adolescence is a difficult time but it is particularly difficult for those who have experienced sexual abuse. The consequences to mental health from such abuse are now widely recognised. In Creative Therapy: Adolescents Overcoming Child Sexual Abuse, authors Kate Ollier and Angela Hobday provide ways of working with teenagers to help them regain confidence and feel positive about their future, and to make their therapeutic journey a stimulating yet emotionally stabilising time.
As each person reacts differently, Creative Therapy: Adolescents Overcoming Child Sexual Abuse has a wide variety of activities and coping strategies that can be tailored to the individual. It offers over 100 activities, using a multi-modal approach designed to make therapy both effective and, as much as possible, fun. This practical therapy book is certain to appeal to all therapists working in the area of abuse. Even the most experienced professional is likely to be inspired by the range of lively ideas dealing with a very difficult subject.

What?s On?

Borderline personality disorder: Successes in treatment
28 July and 29 July 2004
This conference aims to bring together clinicians involved in providing services for people with Borderline Personality Disorder. It will take place in East Ringwood in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne at The Karralyka Centre.
Details at http://www.spectrum-bpd.com/conference/ .

The NSW Commission for Children and Young People is hosting a seminar on Fatal Neglect of Children and Young People, Thursday 22nd April 2004. The seminar is part of the Commission's professional development Seminar Series which aims to generate new knowledge about children and young people among workers in child-related sectors.
View flyer.

Events in London:
1. Quality Network for In-patient CAMHS Annual Forum 2004,
15th June, Commonwealth Institute, London.
2. Informing the Future of In-patient CAMHS - New Research: Implications for practice and service development,
16th June 2004, Commonwealth Institute, London.
3. FOCUS Spring CAMHS Conference
22nd and 23rd April.

Details of training offered by ORYGEN for March 2004 available here. ORYGEN Youth Health's full year training calendar will be out soon.

National Child and Family Services Conference
2nd to 4th August
2004 Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre
'Knowledge into Action!: Effective Practice for Child and Family Services'
Call for papers open - submissions welcome - closes 28 February 2004 Information for Presenters - Call for Papers brief available from www.acwa.asn.au/conf2004/

Mental Health News

Research to Inform the Development of a Capacity Building Program
The study was commissioned in 2001 by Australian Council for Children And Parenting, chaired at the time by Mrs Rosemary Sinclair AO. The findings of the study undertaken by June McLoughlin and colleagues from the Centre for Community Child Health provide a valuable insight into the knowledge and skills needed by the wide range of professionals who work and support children three years and under.
This year the Council will be advising the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Mr Larry Anthony MP, on the matters raised in this important report.
Full report now available on the web for viewing or downloading from the Department of Family and Community Services' website at www.facs.gov.au/accap or directly at http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/vIA/ACCAP
/$File/CapacityBuildingProgram_final.doc
(note: this is a large document and takes several minutes to download).

DFaCS - A Report on the Qualitative Research into Parents, Children and Early Childhood Services, September 2003 (published Feb 2004)
During August 2003, twenty focus groups were held with a range of parents across three states in recognition of the primary role of parents in the lives of young children. These focus groups were to gain a better understanding of parents' needs and experiences of early childhood services.
At http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/via/early_childhood/$File/early_child_research.pdf

Food for thought:
"By David Reid's estimate, Canadian taxpayers spend between $6 billion and $10 billion a year, fighting child poverty.
He doesn't think they're getting their money's worth.
It frustrates him, as director of education for the Toronto District School Board, to watch Ottawa and Queen's Park hatching programs and designing delivery systems, as if child welfare had nothing to do with public education.
Local schools, he contends, are the best place to help kids who need a decent meal, a safe place to play, a foothold in a new country or a bit of stability in their lives."?.
http://thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly
&c=Article&cid=1074813008207&call_pageid=971358637177

Resources

From BMJ Online:
Treating major depression in children and adolescents: Research is needed into safer and more effective drugs
Macey L Murray, Ian C K Wong, Corinne S de Vries
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7438/524-b?etoc

Treating major depression in children and adolescents: Depressed adolescents may lose out
Kenneth D Shenderey
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7438/525?etoc

Treating major depression in children and adolescents: Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors needs urgent clarification
Andrew Herxheimer
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7438/525-a?etoc

From ABC Health Updates:
CONSUMER GUIDE: PRIVACY AND YOUR HEALTH
Who has the right to access medical information about you? And what are they allowed to know? The latest Health Matters consumer guide looks at your rights to privacy when it comes to information about your treatment and diagnosis, and your medical records. We also look at the privacy implications of future trends in electronic record keeping.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/regions/cguides/healthpriv.htm

LEAVING YOU: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF SUICIDE (All In The Mind: 25/02/2004)
In 1938 historian Lisa Lieberman's grandfather killed himself. It's a mystery that's long haunted her and one which sent her rummaging into the historical archives of self-destruction. From Socrates to Sylvia Plath, post-revolutionary France to Auschwitz - suicide has been seen as both a personal and a political act. But Lieberman provocatively argues that modern medicine has stripped it bare of meaning and reason, and diminished individual responsibility for the decision to die.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/stories/s1046662.htm

ALL IN THE MIND: Nightmares - Scars of the Soul
Saturday 28 February, 1.30pm, Radio National Historian Joanna Bourke talks about the history of the nightmare. She argues that contemporary neurobiology has stripped dreams of their complex social meaning. Also, rewriting the horrifying combat nightmares soldiers with chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; an Australian pilot study with Vietnam veterans has had remarkable impact.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/

**** COMPASS: Resilience
Sunday 29 February, 9.45pm, ABC TV
How well do you cope with difficult events, the death of a loved one, loss of a job, or serious illness? Do you bounce back from life's trials and tribulations, or do they throw you for a six? Compass looks at the quality of resilience through the eyes of writer, filmmaker and broadcaster Anne Deveson.
http://www.abc.net.au/compass/default.htm

ONLINE FORUM: STRESS AND ANXIETY
If you missed Health Matters' expert forum on stress and anxiety, don't panic! Audience questions and the panel's responses are available for viewing. Your feedback and/or suggestions for the next forum topic are welcome. Email: health-matters@your.abc.net.au
http://www2b.abc.net.au/health/experts/forum/

Welcome to rtcUpdates for February 2004!
rtcUpdates are brought to you by the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health.
CONTENTS OF THIS UPDATE:
** 2004 BUILDING ON FAMILY STRENGTHS CONFERENCE--Registration
** FORUMS--Families as Evaluators
** RTC PUBLICATIONS & PRODUCTS--Recently Produced & Newly Available Downloads
** DATA TRENDS--Recent Research Summaries
** FROM THE WEB--Online Information and Sites of Interest
View here.
There is a range of information available in this issue including: release/resiliency of incarcerated youth, violence and youth, mental illness in children's media, school based mental health etc.

AICAFMHA News / What's On? / Mental Health News / Resources / Back to E-News index

Last Modified: 28-02-2004 15:00:44