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 #4.09 (05/06/2004)

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

AICAFMHA News

The resources developed by the COPMI Project are proving popular with over 1500 Principles and Actions documents, 3500 Best for Me and My Baby booklets and almost 4500 Family Talk booklets being distributed nationally already. To order your materials online, go to http://www.copmi.net.au/ and visit the 'Downloads' section. The materials are free for Australian residents, however a small charge to cover postage applies to large orders (>100 P&A docs, >200 booklets).

People will be pleased to see that the registration brochure for the 5th AICAFMHA/14th TheMHS Conference is now online. To be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre from 1-3 Sept, this event has a strong program with 4 streams (1 COPMI) daily dedicated to infant, child and adolescent mental health issues. Download your registration brochure today from http://www.aicafmha.net.au/conferences/goldcoast2004/index.html . AICAFMHA members receive a discount on earlybird registration!

AICAFMHA has launched its' new membership year with applications for the 2004/05 financial year now online. AICAFMHA members this year will continue to receive a 10% discount on ACER Press publications by quoting their membership number. In addition, existing and new members can receive a discount on earlybird registration to attend the conference in September.

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.
19 - Delinquency and Adolescent Offenders Clive R Hollin, Deborah Browne and Emma J Palmer Delinquency and Adolescent Offenders looks at current methodology in reducing delinquency, families in relation to delinquency and advances in working with delinquents. It offers a clear insight into this complex area while offering practical problem-solving advice.
20 - Social and Antisocial Development in Adolescence Martin Herbert Social and Antisocial Development in Adolescence provides an account of the development of social and antisocial development in childhood and adolescence. It reviews the effective interventions available to professionals and parents and offers some common intervention methods for problem behaviour.

What?s On?

REGISTER now for the 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'
Information and registration at www.acwa.asn.au/conf2004/
View flyer.

Workshops for Youth Workers, Counsellors, etc
Dr Harvey Milkman, International Speaker, author and psychologist will conduct two workshops in Queensland for those working with young people that are affected by mental illness, substance abuse and anti-social behaviour.
The Registration Form for the Adolescent Treatment Workshop is at www.winterschool.info under Satellite Workshops
Bob Aldred, Chief Executive Officer
Alcohol and Drug Foundation-Queensland
www.adfq.org
aldred@adfq.org

The Australian Winter School on Alcohol and other Drugs is offering 24 scholarships thanks to a grant from the Alcohol Education and rehabilitation Foundation Ltd.
Three scholarships are offered to not for profit organisations in each state and the Northern Territory who would have difficulty in paying the registration of $650, would benefit from attending, and are endorsed as suitable by their State alcohol and drug peak body.
The program, registration and information is accessible at www.winterschool.info

15th Annual Conference 2004
8 - 9 JULY 2004
Parmelia Hilton Hotel
Mill Street, Perth
Western Australia
For school psychologists, school counsellors, student services managers, and other individuals who work with schools, children or young people
View registration booklet.

Call for papers for The 14th National Conference of the Institute of Australian Psychiatrists, to be held at Tweed Heads - Friday 12th to Sunday 14th of November 2004.
The theme this year will be will be "Exploring the Options, Complementary Approaches to Psychiatry". This conference is the first in Australia dedicated to the exploration of complementary approaches to Psychiatric treatment and Psychotherapy.
mailto:iap04@astmanagement.com.au
URL: http://www.astmanagement.com.au/iap04

INFORMING THE FUTURE OF INPATIENT CAMHS
New Research: Implications for service development and practice
Wednesday 16th June 2004,
Commonwealth Institute, Kensington High Street, London W8
Organised by The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Research Unit
This day meeting will provide an opportunity to consider, in-depth, the current place of in-patient services within overall CAMHS in light of recent research and in the context of future proposals within the National Service Framework for children. It will provide an update on the NICAPS national census survey and a report of the recent national CHYPIE study into process and outcome and economic evaluation of inpatient treatment.
Full programme and booking form at http://www.focusproject.org.uk/events

Mental Health News

The Australia Institute's report on the role of NGOs is now available. The report, titled "Silencing Dissent: Non-government organisations and Australian democracy", can be downloaded by going to 'What's New' on The Australia Institute website -- www.tai.org.au (look in 'What's New')
The report begins with an account of the important role played by NGOs in public debate in Australia. It also presents the results of a survey of 290 NGOs. They provide a disturbing picture of the limits on public debate in Australia: For example:
90 per cent of respondents believe that dissenting organisations and individuals risk having their government funding cut; 76 per cent do not believe that current Australian political culture encourages public debate; 74 per cent agree that NGOs are being pressured to amend their public statements to bring them into line with current government policy; and 92 per cent do not believe that individuals and organisations that dissent from current government policy are valued by the government as a part of a robust democracy;
We hope that the report stimulates a vigorous public debate about the role of NGOs and their relationship to government, and I encourage you to read the report and participate in that debate drawing on your own experience.
Dr Clive Hamilton, Executive Director
The Australia Institute

The Centre for Community Child Health with funding from The RE Ross Trust is developing a series of professional development modules. The titles of each module are listed overleaf. The target audience in each module has been designed to enable a facilitator/leader to deliver 3 hours of professional development. Titles include:
- Understanding the underlying factors influencing child health and development and family functioning.
- Family Centred Practice - an introduction
- Identifying and responding to child and family needs
- Community Centred Practice
- Service delivery and collaborations - what works
- Diversity and inclusive practices
- Implications for services for young children and their families - conclusions
View flyer.

From NSW CAG
We now have the National Standards Quilt Booklet up on our web site take a look at www.nswcag.org.au - see Projects

Organisation for the 2004 Awards for Excellence in the Early Years is well under way. Response to our invitations to sponsor the awards has been very positive, information about the awards has been disseminated widely, applications are being received and arrangements for judging are in place. The awards will be presented during the dinner for the National Parenting Conference to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Monday 6 September.
The deadline for submission of nominations is 3 00 pm on Wednesday 30 June so there is still lots of time left to promote the awards.
I would appreciate your proactive support in identifying and encouraging individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to young children and their families to submit a nomination (either by self nomination or nomination by you).
We are particularly keen that the business sector responds to the new award category Business Support to Families.
Chris Caudle
View flyer.

Resources

From the Adelaide University Mental Health Library News:
Western Australia's Clinicians Guide to Outcome Measurement Children & Adolescents
http://www.mhidp.health.wa.gov.au/one/uploads/resource/61/
Child%20Clinician%20Guide.pdf
Perth, Office of Mental Health, Department of Health 2003.

New book:- Handbook of interventions that work with children and adolescents : prevention and treatment
edited by Paula M. Barrett and Thomas H. Ollendick. Chichester : John Wiley, c2004.
Barr Smith Main collection 618.9289006 B2747h

From ABC Health Updates:
AOTEAROA MINDS: MAORIS TAKING ON MENTAL HEALTH - Part 1 of 2 (All In The Mind: 29/05/2004)
In the Land of the Long White Cloud, Maori minds are being challenged. Drug abuse, domestic violence, poverty and colonisation have taken their toll, and mental health has become a critical concern for New Zealand's Indigenous communities. But over the last decade, a revolution has taken place to reinject Maori values into services and policy, and at the centre of this transformation sits the Treaty of Waitangi. In this special feature, the first of two parts, Natasha Mitchell explores ideas about the mind, body and health with leading Maori movers and shakers.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/stories/s1115248.htm

ALL IN THE MIND: Aotearoa Minds: Maoris Taking on Mental Health, Part 2 of 2 Saturday 5 June, 1.30pm, Radio National
In the Land of the Long White Cloud, Maori minds are being challenged, but Indigenous New Zealanders are leading the charge to change that. In the second part of this All in the Mind series, Natasha Mitchell visits a team injecting Maori traditions back into the fractured lives of people with psychiatric illness. How do Maori views of depression, schizophrenia and psychotherapy diverge from Western psychiatry? And how does the NZ scenario compare with that for indigenous Australians? Leaps and bounds ahead, argues one leading specialist in Aboriginal mental health.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/default.htm

MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE US COURTS (Law Report: 25/05/2004)
A look at mental health and the criminal justice system in the USA. How well do courts cope with seriously ill defendants?
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/lawrpt/stories/s1114398.htm

ADHD Book: The Little Monster: Growing Up With ADHD
Robert Jergen PhD,
$29.95 1-57886-104-7 March 2004 200pp
Diagnosed with ADHD while he was a struggling college student, Robert Jergen's incredible life story progresses from being a happy child who enjoyed school and wanted to learn to a state of withdrawal and depression because of the constant reprimands from his parents and teachers.
By eighth grade, Jergen had twice tried killing himself. By college, he was an alcoholic. Finally, when he thought he was going to end up in a "white padded room," he was diagnosed with ADHD. Years of pain, anguish, frustration, anger, and rejection were suddenly explained.
Jergen describes how he turned ADHD into an asset that enabled him to get his Ph.D. in half the time as his non-ADHD peers, become a tenured associate professor at age 34, publish five books in two years, and - most importantly - find peace and happiness.
Jergen presents ADHD from the view of the child who actually has it and illustrates how constant academic and social failures can gradually wear away at the child's self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. The Little Monster is a valuable tool for any parent, professional, or individual who is touched by ADHD or similar conditions.
Go to www.scarecroweducation.com to read some of the sample chapters (just type in "Jergen" into their search engine and webpage will come up).

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

Last Modified: 05-06-2004 23:12:22