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 #4.06 (24/04/2004)

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

AICAFMHA News

On Tues 20th April, the Hon. Trish Worth, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, and Federal Member for Adelaide released key resources for people and services working with children of parents with a mental illness developed as part of the COPMI project at the Adelaide Zoo today before 170 invited guests.
The resources released included:
- Principles and Actions for Services and People Working with Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (document)
- The Best For Me and My Baby (booklet)
- Family Talk (booklet)
- The COPMI website for people working with families affected by parental mental illness, located at http://www.copmi.net.au .
Both booklets and the key document are downloadable from the COPMI website http://www.copmi.net.au/ . Orders for copies of the booklets and document can be made online or by contacting Elizabeth Fudge, COPMI Project Manager, fudgee@wch.sa.gov.au fax: (08) 8161 6983.
In addition, Ms Worth announced a further commitment of $700 000 to extend the resource materials dissemination and expand training and education in the COPMI field. This additional money will also contribute to the potential development of a National Youth Reference Group in mental health.

Significant interest has been generated about the 5th AICAFMHA/14th TheMHS Conference to be held on the Gold Coast from 1-3 Sept 2004. Over 300 abstracts for papers, symposia and workshops have been received. The latest details are available on our website at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/conferences/goldcoast2004/index.html . You can still pre-register to be on the mailing list for the conference registration brochure due for release in May 2004. New information on the site includes accommodation deals and approximate conference registration fees.

More 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 at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/membership/index.htm .

Parent, Adolescent and Child Training Skills (PACTS) Editor Martin Herbert ACER 2004 The Parent, Adolescent and Child Training Skills (PACTS) series of highly practical guides has been developed for all practitioners. These guides provide timely information on issues affecting parents and adolescents in today's society. The aim of this series is to provide concise, up-to-date information on children's problems in order to help the practitioner understand, assess and treat them more effectively.
13 - Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence Mark Griffiths Gambling and Gaming Addictions provides practitioners with an understanding of why children and adolescents may come to play fruit machines and video games to excess. It outlines the known risk factors and provides practical advice to give to parents facing their child's behavioural addiction.
14 - Avoiding Risky Sex in Adolescence Alan Carr Avoiding Risky Sex in Adolescence provides practitioners with a description of risky sexual behaviour, an explanation of associated risk and protective factors, guidance on the prevention of such behaviour and an overview of what we now know about the development of successful prevention programs.
15 - Depression and Attempted Suicide in Adolescence Alan Carr Depression and Attempted Suicide in Adolescence provides practitioners with a description of depression, an explanation of factors that contribute to mood disorders and guidance on assessment and treatment in adolescence. It includes a framework for the assessment and management of adolescents who have threatened or attempted suicide.
Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence	0 86431 6801	$ 15.95
Avoiding Risky Sex in Adolescence	0 86431 6887	$ 15.95
Depression and Attempted Suicide in Adolescence	0 86431 6968	$ 15.95
PACTS 13-20 set of eight guides	0 86431 5066	$124.95

What?s On?

Spring 2004 CAMHS Conference
Thursday 22 & 23 April 2004
Church House Conference Centre, London
Programme update & booking form available via:
website: www.focusproject.org.uk
email: cayres@cru.rcpsych.ac.uk
tel: 020 7227 0822
fax: 020 7227 0850

Early Childhood Conference, Sunshine Coast
Hosted by Maroochy Childcare Services, Maroochy Shire Council, will be held on the Sunshine Coast on the weekend of 29, 30 and 31 October 2004.
A "Call for Papers" Brochure is available here, professionals in the early childhood industry are encouraged to consider preparing a paper for presentation or a workshop at the conference.
Keynote speakers are Dr Louise Porter from SA, and Janet Gonzalez-Mena from USA and Dr Sohail Inayatullah Aust.
To submit your details to receive a Conference Brochure, please email janeteryan@bigpond.com

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

ECIA/NIFTeY conference in Melbourne in July
registration brochure now available here.

Community Group Program, Melbourne. Workforce Development and Training opportunities for the 1st semester available here. RCH Mental Health Service
Ph: 0418 321 403, Fax: 9347 9099
email:jmullane@unimelb.edu.au

28-30 Sept 2004, 'Getting it Together: Family Therapy Practice for the Future'
25th Australian Family Therapy Conference in Brisbane.
If you are interested in integrating approaches, not cutting off from our therapeutic family of origin, be in warm Brisbane to hear Paulo Bertrando, Doug Breunlin, Carmel Flaskas, Paul Gibney and Hugh Crago. The overseas speakers will offer pre and post conference workshops on the Monday and Friday.
Contact: PO Box 1237, Milton Qld 4064, Ph: (07) 3371 0333, Fax: (07) 3371 0555, Email: corinne@orgaus.com.au

The program for the 5th International Mental Health Conference, 9th to 11th of July, has been finalised and is available at http://www.gcimh.com.au/conference

Mater Child & Youth Mental Health Service Conference and Workshop to be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from 9 - 10 June and then the Workshops to be held at the Mater Child & Youth Mental Health Service on 11 June 2004.
Draft Program and Registration Details available here.

ACPCHN 2004
1-3 September
Bringing it together for kids & families
Hilton Adelaide
To register your interest or for further information; paed2004@sapmea.asn.au
www.sapmea.asn.au/paed2004

Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference, Identities & innovations: shaping better worlds through early childhood education,
16-19 July 2004, Melbourne Australia
For further information on call for papers and registration: http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/LED/CEIEC/

The Centre for Equity and Innovation for Early Childhood Conference, Honoring the child, honoring equity, Pushing the boundaries to make a difference,
11-14 November 2004, Melbourne Australia
For further information on call for papers and registration: http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/LED/CEIEC/

Mental Health News

A Head Start for 'Growing Up' Australians
A new report has been released that gives Australia a blue-print for what can be done to give children the best start in life - produced by the NSW Commission, in partnership with the Commission for Children and Young People (Qld) and NIFTeY.
Follow the link to read more about the Early Years Framework: http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/publications/early_years.html

Bullying workshop
Those of you who were unable to join us for the Commission's workshop 'Bullying - What can we do?' on Tuesday 16 March can download the speakers' notes about what can be done to address bullying in the school system.
Follow the link: http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/ourwork/bullyingnotes.html

Better for workers, safer for kids
New, improved Working With Children Check Guidelines will come into effect on Friday 23 April. The Guidelines help to protect children in the workplace without restricting the capacity of workers to provide care, comfort and guidance.
To help you prepare, an advance copy of the revised Guidelines can be downloaded at: http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/check/employer.html

The National Investment for the Early Years (NIFTeY SA) Awards for Excellence in the Early Years
Details available in pdf document available here.
The intention of the Awards is to:
- increase awareness of the importance of the early years (birth to age five)
- showcase what can be achieved in providing supportive environments for young children and their families
- stimulate and inspire others to follow examples of excellence
- publicly recognise individuals, community groups and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to provision of supportive environments for young children (birth to age five) and their families.
NIFTeY (SA) is an advocacy group (established in 1999) to highlight the importance of children's early years experience in the context of whole of life outcomes; and the role that parents, communities and governments can play to ensure this period is as developmentally advantageous as possible. A broad range of professions and community groups engaged in research, practice or policy making for young children are associated with NIFTeY.
The Awards will be presented by a high profile public figure (to be confirmed) during the National Parenting Conference dinner to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Monday 6 September. Applications for the Awards close on Wednesday 30 June 2004. Full details and a nomination form are provided in the pdf document or from the NIFTeY website www.niftey.cyh.com .

The Ministerial Council for Suicide Prevention is pleased to announce the release of its latest research publication "Using the Internet for Suicide Prevention: A Guide".
From the introduction:
"The rapid development and use of the Internet in delivering information and fostering interactions has created new forms of communication. This guide has been developed to assist consumers and professionals in accessing suicide prevention information, counselling and chat rooms on the Internet.
It provides practical, easy steps that will assist users to assess and select the most appropriate, sound website that best meets their needs. It also provides a useful resource for organisations developing a suicide prevention website. Although other organisations have developed guidelines for information sites and ethical standards for Internet counselling, this resource incorporates the specific issues for users in the context of suicide prevention."
The publication is available in pdf format from the Ministerial Council's website (www.mcsp.org.au), or print copies can be ordered. Order forms are available on the website.

The NSW Commission for Children and Young People has produced the 'Ask the Children' series to make kids' views on different topics available to the public and decision makers. Web: www.kids.nsw.gov.au
The PDF resource is the latest in the 'Ask the Children' series and is based on interviews that took place with 150 young people in the lead-up to the 2003 NSW Summit on Alcohol Abuse. Available here.
The resource details what young people know about alcohol, why they drink, how they get alcohol, the impact of alcohol in their lives and their ideas for reducing alcohol-related harm within the community.
You can also find additional information about the Commission's work in raising awareness of children and young people's experiences of alcohol on our website at http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/ourwork/alcohol.html.

There is a National Inquiry in the UK on the topic of Young People and Self Harm. The web link is http://www.selfharmuk.org/

Resources

RTC Updates for April 2004
Available here.

Caring for Children and Adolescents with Mental Disorders: Setting WHO Directions
http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/785.pdf
Geneva,World Health Organization, 2003.

Improving Mother/Child Interaction to Promote Better Psychosocial Development in Children
http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/29.pdf
Geneva, World Health Organization Programme on Mental Health, 1997.

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

Last Modified: 29-04-2004 17:42:48