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 #4.05 (27/03/2004)

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

AICAFMHA News

The COPMI Project update for this fortnight is now online and contains information relating to the launch of the project resources. We also have an update from our consumer/carer representative on the project team. View both updates here.

Over 200 abstracts have been received for the 5th AICAFMHA/14th TheMHS conference to be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, 1-3 Sept 2004. You can still pre-register your interest in this event and catch up on the latest news by visiting the conference site.

ACER Press publications are featured below and 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 here.

Crisis Management and the School Community Editor Mardie Whitla ACER Press 2003 0 86431 6240     $ 39.95 Crisis Management and the School Community offers practical response and recovery procedures for school leaders dealing with emergencies, both within the school and in the larger community.

This fully revised second edition takes a broad view of crisis and covers events such as a death in the family, a school fire, student casualties in car accidents, student suicide, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. B Crises may directly or indirectly affect students, teachers, administrators, principals and other members of the school community. How a school responds to the crisis will determine both the medium and longer-term psychological impact of the situation on members of the school community.
Crisis Management and the School Community is an essential guide designed to look at crisis management from a whole school approach. It will assist the school community to develop a well-prepared response and recovery plan for crisis management.
It combines theory and practice to provide guidelines for:
* managing response and recovery procedures
* understanding the grieving process
* developing people management and leadership skills
* communicating appropriately
* including staff and students in the recovery process
* coping better with future crises

Learning and Learning Difficulties A Handbook for Teachers Peter Westwood ACER Press 2004 0 86431 7697    $34.95 This outstanding new teacher resource from bestselling author Peter Westwood explores a variety of learning processes, theories and concepts in order to help educators better understand and distinguish between the causes and outcomes of student learning problems.

Understanding the way in which learning occurs is fundamental to understanding how and when problems in learning may arise. Westwood aims to show that problems in learning are not all due to weaknesses within students or their lack of motivation. Many learning difficulties are created or exacerbated by environmental, not personal, influences. Factors that have an impact on a student's learning environment can be readily modified or improved, whereas weaknesses or 'deficits' within students are not so easily changed.
Two of the most powerful influences in the learning environment are the school curriculum and approaches to teaching. Westwood argues that many learning problems can be prevented or minimised by matching teaching methods and lesson content to a learner's current aptitude and prior experience.
Key themes include:
* maintaining students' attention
* the importance of explicit teaching and guided practice
* the value of teaching effective task-approach strategies
* the importance of addressing personal and emotional needs while working toward cognitive and academic goals

What?s On?

Just a reminder that submission of abstracts need to be in by March 31st for the 3rd World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders - to be held in Auckland, NZ, 15-17 Sept 2004.
The Conference is organised by The World Federation for Mental Health, The Clifford Beers Foundation and the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand in collaboration with The Carter Center and is co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation. Auseinet is also a sponsor of the conference.
The theme of the conference is 'from research to effective practice'.
Key areas to be covered include - worldwide research, evidence-based programs, indigenous health, discrimination, advocacy, policy-making, workplace programs, training and workforce. Abstracts must fit into one of the 'life-span tracks' including: a) Prenatal and pre-school, including parenting; b) School setting and school-aged children; c) Working age; and d) Older people; or e) the 'open' track.
For more information and details about submitting abstracts, please go to the conference website at: http://www.charity.demon.co.uk/conference.htm

Internet, Media and Mental Health Conference, 21st - 24th April 2004. Carlton Crest Hotel, Brisbane, Australia.
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS CLOSE THIS WEEK.
Go to http://www.immh04.im.com.au for a registration form.

FOCUS Spring 2004 CAMHS Conference
Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd April 2004
Church House Conference Centre, London
Programme & Booking Form now available at www.focusproject.org.uk

National Parenting Conference.
6-8 Sept 2004, Adelaide
Call for papers and registration available online now. Regular updates to information on conference website www.cyh.com

31st Annual Meeting of the FETAL AND NEONATAL PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY
September 11-15, 2004
"Il Ciocco" International Centre - Castelvecchio Pascoli (Tuscany), ITALY
Visit the official web site: http://www.alfaservice.com/FNPS2004/index.htm

MELBOURNE AUGUST 31, - SEPTEMBER 2, 2004
STAND BY ME
The first ever national conference on mentoring
This is your chance for a rare opportunity to learn first hand about world-wide trends and best practice developments in mentoring within Australia and overseas. http://www.icms.com.au/standbyme/

Mental Health News

New SANE website for teens affected by mental illness
An exciting new youth website from SANE - itsallright.org - was launched on 16 March 2004 by Regina Bird, winner of Big Brother III. Meet Jenna, Brett, Rani and Sarah at this story-based website.
http://www.itsallright.org/

Please follow the link to view the latest edition of the MHCA Newsletter. http://www.mhca.com.au/Public/Newsletters/default.html

From Mental Health Council of Australia:
As you may be aware, the MHCA has commenced its second round of reviews of mental health care in Australia. As we do not have dedicated funding for this activity we are relying on the strong in-kind academic support of Professor Ian Hickie and his staff at the Brain Mind Research Institute University of Sydney. Moreover, without dedicated resources, we do not have the capacity to conduct face-to-face consultations as was done in the first round of "Out of Hospital, Out of Mind" reviews. However, we do have the capacity to collect substantial data on line.
The first on-line survey, which was posted on our website during December 2003, asks people about their knowledge of service developments at their local and state level. The majority of respondents completing the first survey are service providers. This survey is still live so please complete it if you haven't already done so.
Based on strong feedback from many of our members, we have now posted a second survey which is far more consumer and carer relevant. Our intention in this second survey is to evaluate the direct experience of mental health care by consumers, carers and family members.
The second survey is divided into two sections:
* The first asks consumers, carers and family members about their experiences with mental health services as well as some demographic information. Its basic domains are drawn from those identified by the Picker Institute Europe as critical elements of quality health care. We have the permission of the Picker Institute to use this instrument in Australia and we have ethical clearance from the University of Sydney.
* The second asks consumers only more specific questions about their experiences with mental health services. It is based on a current survey being undertaken also in the United Kingdom to evaluate consumer's direct experiences of care.
We would be very grateful if you could alert/advertise this survey to your members and contacts and encourage as many people as possible to complete it. You can refer people to the MHCA Website www.mhca.com.au and then to the "Hot Topics" where people will find the link to the "Survey-Consumer and Carer Direct Experiences of Care" or they can use the following direct link http://www.mhca.com.au/ConsumerCarerSurvey_000.html to go straight to the survey.
If you know of anyone who does not have internet access but would like to complete the survey please ask them to contact us directly to request a postal hard copy and to provide us with their contact details.

This week saw the release of a new report from the Foundation for Young Australians. The Profile of Young Australians looks at the lives of young people in Australia, drawing on data gathered from a wide variety of organisations. Key areas covered by the Profile include demographics; family life; the financial circumstances of young people; young people in need of protection; the health of young people; lifestyle and health risk behaviours; leisure time activities; young people and the law; secondary school education; participation in further education, training and work; and young people and civil society. Each of these chapters has been written by someone currently working in the youth and/or community sector and has been peer reviewed.
Access online at http://www.youngaustralians.org/ .

EXCHANGE Vol 2 issue 1: 'Sharing knowledge about suicide prevention'
The newsletter of the Ministerial Council for Suicide Prevention is available to view here.

Resources

Reports:
Child protection self assessment tools for clinicians - UK Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), March 2004
CHI has developed this self assessment tool solely to help managers and front line staff to systematically assess standards of practice against national guidance; there is no expectation of data being returned to CHI.
The tool has been developed for clinicians in every part of the NHS who have any contact with children. Its purpose is to enable health care professionals to regularly review their practice, address key issues and act to improve child protection services and practice.
At http://www.chi.nhs.uk/eng/child/cp_tool_clinicians.pdf

Children's Voices - UK Commission for Health Improvement
Children and teenagers are unhappy with the lack of communication they get when they are treated in the NHS and think that they are not sufficiently involved with the decision making process, a new report says.
The report, which was published by the Commission for Health Improvement last week, says that many children and teenagers felt they had the right to participate in decisions about their treatment rather than being passive recipients of care.
It was compiled from 59 separate reports from voluntary bodies and statutory organisations and is the largest ever compilation of feedback from children and teenagers about health care. All the information, comprising 700 individual pieces of feedback, is being put on a database, to which health professionals will have access.
The responses, which were from children and teenagers up to the age of 19, were collected in different ways appropriate for each age group, including questionnaires, oral interviews, and interactive group sessions. However, to qualify for entry into the database responses had to come directly from the children, not from parents or other carers.
The report gives many examples of how young people viewed their treatment. They gave descriptions such as "Nobody explained anything about going home" and "The GP did not ask-[he] just sent a referral."
At http://www.chi.nhs.uk/childrens_voices/Report.pdf

Tapping the Power of Community:
Building Assets to Strengthen Substance Abuse Prevention
The latest issue of Search Institute Insights & Evidence Building developmental assets can play an important role in reducing many forms of youth substance use, according to a new report from Search Institute.
The report shows how young people with low levels of developmental assets are two to four times as likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs than those who have above-average asset levels, according to a new report from Search Institute. This relationship is true for young people from all racial/ethnic, family, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The report calls "Though there have been great advances in understanding of substance use and prevention, it is clear that prevention programs are necessary, but not sufficient to substantially reduce overall use among adolescents," write report authors Peter L. Benson, Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, and Arturo Sesma Jr. "Asset building offers additional approaches, strategies, tools, insights, and capacity that can be woven together around a shared and sustained commitment to young people's healthy development in communities."
Download a one-page summary or the complete article (no charge) at: http://www.search-institute.org/research/Insights/

rtcUpdates for March 2004
CONTENTS OF THIS UPDATE:
** 2004 BUILDING ON FAMILY STRENGTHS CONFERENCE--Register Now
** FORUMS--Poverty and Children's Mental Health
** RTC PUBLICATIONS & PRODUCTS--Recently Produced & Newly Available Downloads
** DATA TRENDS--Recent Research Summaries
** NATIONAL WRAPAROUND INITIATIVE--An Update
** FROM THE WEB--Online Information and Sites of Interest
There is some good stuff in this edition relating to systems of care and family approaches. Also check out the Data Trends topics.
View here.

Children say they are not involved enough in their treatment
BMJ 2004;328:600
Chibuzo Odigwe
The Commission for Health Improvement is a UK body looking at health care in the NHS. It has compiled information from many sources to produce a document "Children's Voices" representing childrens' views about the experience of being in hospital. It makes interesting reading.
The full report is accessible at www.chi.nhs.uk/childrens_voices/index.shtml
It also contains hundreds of individual quotes from children (particularly like the one: "I know more than my mum, I know nearly everything,")

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

Last Modified: 27-03-2004 16:25:59