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


AICAFMHA E-News in Brief Issue # 5.11

News in Brief - Issue # 5.11 (Sep 11, 2005)

AICAFMHA News

Details and benefits of AICAFMHA membership for the 2005/06 financial year are listed at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/membership/index.htm.
To subscribe, you can choose to:
- print and post/fax an application form available from the website at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/membership/index.htm OR
- phone Sue on 08 8132 0786 and have your credit card details handy.
Thank you.

COPMI Project News:
- the latest project update is online and available at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/jsp/copmi/index.jsp

The 17th International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) Congress will be held in Melbourne in Sept 2006. The Call for Abstracts has been released and can be downloaded from our website at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/conferences/index.htm. The Symposia Proposal Deadline is Friday 28 October 2005. The Abstract Submission Deadline is Friday 31 March 2006. AICAFMHA is co-hosting this event with IACAPAP and RANZCP. We look forward to seeing you all there!

What's On

The Events Calendar keeps you up to date, with what's happening in Australia and around the world.
New Events in our database are listed below.

Event Name: Adolescent Health Information Night
Event Date: Oct 6, 2005
Event Name: Primary Mental Health Conference
Event Date: Nov 3, 2005
Event Name: 4th Annual Australian and New Zealand Adolescent Health Conference
Event Dates: Nov 10, 2005 - Nov 11, 2005

Event Name: QUT 10th International Health Summer School
Event Dates: Nov 21, 2005 - Nov 25, 2005

Why not browse through all the Events we have listed and if you have an event coming up email secretary@aicafmha.net.au so we can include it in our Calendar.

Mental Health News

The consequences of conduct problems in childhood for psychosocial functioning in adulthood

From J Child Psychol Psychiatry. Vol 46 (8), August 2005

Show me the child at seven: the consequences of conduct problems in childhood for psychosocial functioning in adulthood.
Fergusson David, Horwood John, Ridder Elizabeth. pp837-849.

Method: Information was gathered on child conduct problems at ages 7,8 and 9 from Parent and Teacher reports plus later measures of measures of crime, substance use, mental health, sexual.partner relationships, education/employment; plus confounding factors, including childhood, family and educational characteristics.

Results: Statistically significant associations between childhood conduct problems in primary age group and risks of adverse outcomes across all domains of functioning. After controlling for confounders, associations with early conduct disorder remained for crime, substance abuse, mental health and sexual/partner relationships, but lost significance for education/employment outcomes. Children in the most disturbed 5% of the cohort had the greatest problems - rates between 1.5 - 19 higher than for the least disturbed 50% of the cohort. Similar associations as for male and female.

Conclusions: Childhood conduct problems were associated with a wide range of adverse psychosocial outcomes, even after controlling for confounding factors and reinforce the need for greater investment into interventions to address these problems.

QLD State Network newsletter: KOPING Project

KOPING PROJECT: Supporting Children & Young People in Families Where a Parent is Living with a Mental Health Problem

The latest state network newsletter is now available. It contains a round up of state and national activities including COPMI presentations at the recent TheMHS conference in Adelaide, and additions to the national COPMI website.

View online at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/enews/info05/QLDNetwork_Sept05.doc (660kb doc)



Helping young people come to terms with mental illness

Creating websites and placing posters in schools are just some of the ways self-help support groups (SHSGs) could reach young people with a mental illness, according to a study just completed at the University of Western Sydney.
Dr Ann Dadich spent three years researching such groups and found many were not being fully accessed by those who most needed them - young people.

Instead, young people were more likely to self-diagnose, research their illness through the Internet, or talk to friends about their problems.

"Collectively, SHSGs offered young people support...but not all young people regarded the groups as supportive," says Dr Dadich, who interviewed 53 young people for her research.

"At times, the support offered by the group did not meet the particular needs of the young person."

Full article at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/ra-hyp082905.php

Autism linked to parents with high level of education

By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent
(Filed: 01/09/2005) (From Telegraph UK)

Parents of autistic children tend to be more highly qualified than parents of children with other mental problems, according to a controversial study for the Department of Health.

It also links a wide range of "clinically recognisable" mental health problems in youngsters to divorce and family breakdown.

The study of 7,977 children found that one in 10 children between the ages of five and 16 had a mental disorder.

But unlike children with more common disorders, autistic children had better educated parents: 46 per cent had parents with qualifications above GCSE compared with 35 per cent of other children.

Full article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/01/naut01.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/09/01/ixportal.html




World Mental Health Day, Mon 10 October 2005

The Mental Health Council of Australia invites you to ?be active for your mental health? and to participate in the launch of National Mental Health Week. The launch will take place in Canberra on:

World Mental Health Day
Monday, 10 October 2005
at Reconciliation Place, commencing at 10.00 am with a "Canberra Lake Walk".

The Hon Christopher Pyne MP has been invited to MC the launch. Celebrities (including Jessica Rowe, MHCA Patron and Channel 10 newsreader), Sev Ozdowski (Human Rights Commissioner), and a number of Australian Institute of Sport's elite athletes and community leaders will be attending the Canberra Lake Walk. Colonel Tony Cotton has advised the Department of Defence is also interested in participating.

Attached is a copy of MHCA's campaign brief for National Mental Health Week (9-16 October 2005). The 2005 World Mental Health Day theme is ?Better Mental Health through Physical Exercise?. The theme will be developed around three key messages that provide ways individuals can build and maintain positive mental health: ?Act-Belong-Commit?

?Act? walk, swim, read, daydream ?
?Belong? join a group, chat to a neighbour, meet a friend ?
?Commit? take a challenge, get involved, volunteer ?

With recent unprecedented interest across Australia in mental health, this year?s National Mental Health Week provides an opportunity to raise community understanding of mental health issues and provide individuals with strategies to enhance their mental well-being.

A list of events which have been planned in your state/territory will be available on the MHCA website www.mhca.org.au. This list will be updated daily in the lead-up to NMHW and will provide links for further details on each event. We would welcome your involvement or promotion of these activities.

If you (and your staff) would like to demonstrate your support of World Mental Health Day and participate in the "Canberra Lake Walk", please RSVP to Lynnette Eager at the MHCA on 6285 3100 .

Mental health: Family status a large factor in mental disorders

By Dipika Ghose - 07/09/05 (UK)

Poverty and family life is a huge factor in determining the likelihood of poor mental health in young people, according to a new report.
Young people from single-parent families, low-income families and with unemployed parents are more likely to suffer from poor mental health, according to the Office for National Statistics' mental health survey.

In 2004, one in 10 young people had a "clinically recognisable" mental disorder, according to the report, rising to one in five in families where neither parent works, compared with one in 25 where both work.

Dinah Morley, deputy director of youth mental health charity Young Minds, described the survey as "a wake-up call". She said: "There are implications for youth workers, because a vast majority of them have had no training in mental health."

The survey, which covers five- to 16-year-olds in England, Scotland and Wales, found that youth mental health levels have not improved since the study was first carried out in 1999. It focuses on three categories of mental disorder: behavioural, emotional and hyperkinetic.

Young people with mental disorders are also more likely to attempt suicide, with 28 per cent of those with emotional disorders, and 21 per cent of those having conduct disorders, trying to kill themselves. Young people with emotional disorders are also more likely to smoke and drink alcohol than their peers - 23 per cent smoke and 20 per cent take drugs, as opposed to eight per cent among other young people.

"I'm pleased there hasn't been an increase, despite stresses such as exams and living in a more terrifying society," said Morley. "But more has to be done to improve mental health needs."

Morley also asked why more young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were not prescribed medication. "Ritalin is very effective to treat ADHD," she said.

www.dh.gov.uk.

Article at http://www.ypnmagazine.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=full_news&ID=8168


Renowned Child Trauma Expert on Katrina: 'The real crisis is coming'

Materials Released for Helping the 'Children of Katrina'
HOUSTON, Sept. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- One of America's most respected experts on traumatized and maltreated children is sounding the alarm for the "Children of Katrina," and Dr. Bruce Perry wants parents, first-responders and government leaders to rally to the call.

"More than 35 percent of the children exposed to a single traumatic event will develop serious mental health problems" says Bruce Perry, M.D. "The real crisis of Katrina is the hundreds of thousands of ravaged, displaced and traumatized children."

Dr. Perry, the senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, is widely-regarded as one of America's foremost authorities on child trauma, abuse and neglect. The Academy is offering materials to help professionals support and counsel the "Children of Katrina."

Publications include information for parents, teachers, first responders, mental health professionals and community leaders on such topics as:

-- Dealing with post-traumatic stress disorders in children

-- What teachers can do to help grieving children

-- The impact of Katrina on children

"When traumatized children receive appropriate services, they can heal," Perry writes in a recent essay, The Real Crisis of Katrina. "If we do not help these children, what has been lost will pale in comparison to what could be lost."

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. is the senior fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas. Dr. Perry has served as chief of psychiatry for Texas Children's Hospital at Baylor College of Medicine and as medical director for Provincial Programs in Children's Mental Health for the Alberta (Canada) Mental Health Board. He has been a consultant to government and community organizations on the Columbine school shootings, Branch-Davidian siege, Oklahoma City bombing and September 11th attacks and their effects on children. He has appeared on numerous national and international news programs and is an expert-in-residence to Scholastic, Inc. He is also a founding national advisory board member of the National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT).

The ChildTrauma Academy materials can be found at their Web site: http://www.childtrauma.org.

Dr. Perry's article, "The Real Crisis of Katrina," can be found at http://www.protect.org.

Distribution Source : U.S. Newswire
Date : Wednesday, September 07, 2005
To: National Desk
Contact: Jana Rubenstein of the ChildTrauma Academy, 281-932-1375 or childtrauma@aol.com, or Grier Weeks of PROTECT, 828-350-9350 or grierweeks@protect.org

Article at http://press.arrivenet.com/pol/article.php/689844.html


Youth Mental Health Foundation - Tender deadline extension

A number of applicants have requested that the Department extend the deadline for applications for RFA 001/0506 to engage an organisation or consortia to establish and operate a national Youth Mental Health Foundation.

The Department wishes to ensure applicants have sufficient time to prepare high quality, comprehensive responses to the RFA. As such, the Department has agreed today to extend the deadline for submission of applications to 5pm, Monday 10 October 2005.

The Department's website (www.health.gov.au/tenders) has been updated to reflect the changed deadline. Additional information on the RFA is also available on the website and applicants should ensure they familiarise themselves with this information.

Resources

TRIPLE P (Catalyst: 25/08/2005) - ABC Health

Ever since the first baby was born, parents have been searching for good advice on how to be good parents and how to bring up their children to be happy and healthy young people. Now a team from the University of Queensland has produced the most sought-after document in the history of parenting; an owners manual for every parent. Called Triple P for Positive Parenting Program, this is a compendium of advice, techniques and tips that aim to make parenting that much easier.
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1446063.htm

ALL IN THE MIND: The Wings of a Butterfly - teenagers, schools and depression

ALL IN THE MIND: The Wings of a Butterfly - teenagers, schools and depression
Saturday 10 September, 1.30pm, Radio National
The World Health Organisation estimates that by the year 2020 depression will be the world's second most prevalent illness. The whirlwind of changes experienced by teenagers make them particularly vulnerable to this. Teen Screen is a controversial American program that screens high school students for depression. Its pointed approach is compared to the preventative programs found in Australian schools. So which approach is best?
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/

Aligning Federal Agencies Around Recovery (USA)

Aligning Federal Agencies Around Recovery (From RTC Updates)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is disseminating ?Federal Action Agenda for Mental Health,? a report that describes how six cabinet level departments and the Social Security
Administration plan to align their resources so as to ensure that people with mental illnesses have every opportunity for recovery.
http://www.samhsa.gov/Federalactionagenda/NFC_preface.aspx.

A ?Roadmap? for Transformation of Mental Health Services (USA)

A ?Roadmap? for Transformation of Mental Health Services (From RTC Updates)
The Campaign for Mental Health Reform, a partnership of 16 national mental health organizations, presents its ?Roadmap for Federal Action on America's Mental Health Crisis? and calls for immediate federal action to implement the vision of the President's New Freedom Commission.
http://www.mhreform.org/emergency/emergencyresponse_report.pdf.

Adolescents perception of mental illness

Corrigan, P. W., Demming Lurie, B., Goldman, H. H., Slopen, N., Medasani, K., & Phelan, S. (2005).
How adolescents perceive the stigma of mental illness and alcohol abuse. Psychiatric Services 56(5), 544-550.
Findings revealed that familiarity with someone having a mental illness does not reduce stigma among teens.
http://datatrends.fmhi.usf.edu/summary_117.pdf

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005

The report found that "in 2003, 5% of children ages 4?17 were reported by a parent to have definite or severe difficulties with emotions, concentration, behavior, or being able to get along with other people. Sixty-five percent of the parents of these children reported contacting a mental health professional or general doctor and/or that the child received special education for these difficulties."

The percentage of children with definite or severe emotional or behavioral difficulties differed by age and gender. The overall percentage for males was 6 percent; it ranged from a low of 5 percent among ages 4?7 to a high of 7 percent among ages 8?10 and 15?17. The overall percentage for females was 3 percent; it ranged from a low of 2 percent among ages 4?7 to a high of 5 percent among ages 15?17."

"America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2005 is a biennial report to the Nation on the condition of children in America. Nine contextual measures describe the changing population, family, and environmental context in which children are living, and 25 indicators depict the well-being of children in the areas of economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. This year's report has special features on children with asthma, children with specified blood lead levels, and parental reports of children?s emotional and behavioral difficulties. In addition, the report includes a special section on family structure and the well-being of children."

Report available at: http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/spe3.asp

Cognitive Therapy Reduces Repeat Suicide Attempts

Recent suicide attempters treated with cognitive therapy were 50 percent less likely to try to kill themselves again within 18 months than those who did not receive the therapy, report researchers for National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (From RTC Updates)
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/ctsuicide.cfm

Effective Parenting Benefits Children with Conduct Disorder

A new study from the University of Washington finds that training adults to have more effective parenting skills is the most potent tool available and should remain the standard of care in treating
preadolescent boys and girls with serious conduct behavior problems. (From RTC Updates)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-07/uow-tae071405.php