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AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
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AICAFMHA E-News in Brief Issue #4.16

News in Brief - Issue #4.16 (11/09/2004)

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

AICAFMHA News

Thankyou to all who attended the 5th AICAFMHA/14th TheMHS conference on the Gold Coast last week. We were very pleased with the turn-out and the quality of infant/child/adolescent papers presented was fabulous. In particular, we thank our invited and keynote speakers: Dr Adrian Falkov, Dr Brett Mc Dermott, Prof Graham Martin, Dr Graham Vimpani and Tracy Westerman. Each of your presentations contributed to discussion and debate of child and adolescent mental health issues at an event attended by workers with an interest in mental health across the lifespan.

AICAFMHA has been working on a Position Paper for some months now and you are invited to participate in this process by providing comment on this document. It is available for download from http://www.aicafmha.net.au/resources/index.html . With the upcoming election it is an ideal time to put infant, child and adolescent mental health on the political agenda and the contribution of our readers would be much appreciated. Discussion of the document is also invited via the AICAFMHA Discussion List.

There is another of the COPMI Project updates available on the website which provides information about some recent articles of interest. View the update at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/copmi/project/updates/index.htm.

Now is also a great time to show your support for AICAFMHA by becoming a financial member. AICAFMHA receives no government funding for activities outside of contracted project work, so your contribution through financial membership is very important to us. Membership information is available on the website at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/membership/index.htm.

AICAFMHA continues to offer members a 10% discount on ACER Press publications and another of their publications is featured below. Order forms are available from our website at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/membership/index.htm .

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Through Loss
Elizabeth J Bruce and Cynthia L Schultz
ACER Press 2004
0 86431 6836 $24.95

Through Loss is a practical and compassionate book designed to inform and support readers in their experiences of loss and grief, such as death, unemployment, relocation and the breakdown of a relationship.

Through Loss is about normalising the place loss takes in the lives of human beings. By demonstrating the pivotal place of loss and the normal place it occupies in development, the nature of significant or traumatic losses is identified.
It aims to help readers manage their current situation, explore ways to cope and achieve better outcomes.
Through Loss explains the grieving process:
* What it involves
* Where it may sometimes take you
* Ways you can develop to deal with some of its strength, intensity and relentlessness
* Ways of staying connected with other people
* Ways of living with the loss and grief that continues in the forefront of minds or as a backdrop to lives
Through Loss can provide readers with different ways of looking at their personal history and re-validate natural feelings of loss that may recur in their life.

Features
* Normalises the place loss takes in everyday life
* Aims to validate the range of emotions and behaviours that parallel incidents of loss
* Identifies the nature of significant or traumatic losses and their interactions with development and personal history

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What?s On?

ABC TV's 4 Corners on Monday September 13 at 8.30pm features four personal stories of Bipolar Disorder and Depression.

Griffith University is holding a two day symposium dealing with urban children's issues in Australia and New Zealand. See the information below for further details or visit www.griffith.edu.au/centre/upp and check out Events.
This landmark two-day symposium will feature some of the most insightful thinkers dealing with urban children's issues in Australia and New Zealand. The full urban childhood experience will be examined, ranging from early childhood development to the challenges facing urban youth. The symposium will be the first Australian research based forum to focus specifically on how urban development and urban policy affects children.
Date: 28 & 29 October 2004
Venue: Royal on the Park, Brisbane CBD
Register Now! Places Are Strictly Limited
Poster presentation proposals welcome
Cost: $175.00 (GST inclusive) (teas and lunches provided)
For registration and full information contact:
Ms. Rebecca Sibley, Executive Assistant
Urban Policy Program, School of Environmental Planning, Griffith University
Tel. 07-3875-3742 Fax. 07-3875-4026
Email: R.Sibley@griffith.edu.au
Forms downloadable from:
http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/upp

ADVANCE NOTICE and CALL FOR PAPERS - EXPRESSIONS of INTEREST INVITED
for the Association for the Welfare of Child Health 10th National Conference 28, 29 April 2005
Carlton Hotel Parramatta, Sydney
'Healthy Solutions for Children: Making the Right Choice'
CALL FOR PAPERS OPEN - submissions welcome - closes 15 October 2004
Information for Presenters - Call for Papers brief available from www.mob.com.au/awch2005 or on request by emailing sharyn@mob.com.au

Third Cambridge Conference on Teenage Anorexia Nervosa
Tuesday 2nd November 2004 Churchill College, Cambridge
A one-day conference for professionals, young people, families and carers.
Fees:
Fee include VAT, tea, coffee, lunch and conference materials.
Ł130 = Professional fee (NHS/public/private sector)
Ł80 = Voluntary sector fee
Ł20 = Family/carer/service user fee
Family/carer/service user group discounts may be available - please contact us.
Accommodation form available at http://www.focusproject.org.uk/events
Booking forms available soon.

Mental Health News

The CD "KOPING Kids Kall Out" was developed as part of a project involving graduates of the Koping Adolescent Group Program, a peer support program for 12-18 year olds who have a parent with a mental illness. The CD contains three original songs, performed by a core group of seven young people ranging in age from 12-16 years. The songs were written to express their experiences of having a parent with a mental illness.

Copies available free of charge by contacting the KOPING Project Officer, Shirley Anastasi, Child & Youth Mental Health Service, PO Box 1507, Fortitude Valley, Q, 4006
Ph: 07 38351472 or email Shirley_anastasi@health.qld.gov.au.
The official launch of KOPING Kids Kall Out will be held in Mental Health Week 10-16th October 2004.

Lifeline: To promote World Suicide Prevention Day (Friday, 10th September 2004) we have a special edition of our e-newsletter which we hope you enjoy http://www.lifeline.org.au/content/e-newsletter_september_2004.pdf.

The latest edition of the MHCA Newsletter 9 September 2004 is now available on the MHCA website:
http://www.mhca.com.au/Public/Newsletters/default.html
For further information on any of the articles in the newsletter, or to contribute to the next issue, please contact the Secretariat on 02 6285 3100 or email admin@mhca.com.au

The September edition of the KOPING Statewide Newsletter is now available. As you will see the momentum in this area is continuing to grow. We hope you find the information useful in supporting the young people and families in your local area. Please feel free to send me any suggestions, feedback or general comments, Shirley Anastasi: Shirley_Anastasi@health.qld.gov.au.
View the KOPING Newsletter.

Resources

From BMJ:
Identifying the Mental Health Needs of Looked after Young People
Mount, J., Lister, A., Bennun, I.
Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2004 9: p. 363-382
http://ccp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/3/363?ct

From ABC Health Updates:
FEATURE: SOUL MINING
Can we all benefit from a more spiritual approach to psychological distress or mental illness - whether or not you're a believer? Natasha Mitchell reports on the growing push to incorporate mind, body and spirit into the therapeutic efforts of medicine and psychiatry.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/soulmining/

FOUR CORNERS: Beating the Black Dog
Monday 13 September, 8.30pm, ABC TV
A celebrated cartoonist, a businessman, a young artist, a cleaner?each tells their story of beating depression, the 'black dog' affecting one in five Australians. As with many health issues, particularly in the area of mental health, the help available to those with depression is unfortunately dependent on their income and the support network around them. A live online forum will follow the program.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/

Adolescent Health: Enhancing the skills of General Practitioners in caring for young people from culturally diverse backgrounds
Adolescent health problems are often complex and require a comprehensive, biopsychosocial approach. This Kit outlines the skills needed for working with the young person and their family, while addressing the developmental, cultural and environmental factors that influence their health status.
Details here.