Despite decades of government investment, significant research endeavour, and a growing commitment to mental health training and response activities in schools and workplaces, rates of mental health in Australia are rising.

The scale of this issue is staggering: a recent report shows that 494,000 Australians with moderate to severe mental health problems are not receiving the support they desperately need. Long wait times and a shortage of mental health professionals are leaving vulnerable Australians without access to timely and appropriate care, particularly those in rural and remote areas. When people finally get care, it doesn’t always help.

We know the current system is broken. We know what we need – a robust mental health system that is well-staffed, adequately funded and integrated across the country that will lay the foundations for a mentally healthier future. But how do we get there? How do we plan for a better future? And what is the role of Health Professionals?

Listen to our Mental Health Month edition of Expert Insights were Black Dog Institute’s Dr Peter Baldwin, Senior Research Fellow and Policy Research Manager, will share findings from BDI’s recent mental health poll and discuss the key issues facing the health sector.

Panel Members: -

Dr Peter Baldwin - Senior Research Fellow and Policy Research Manager, Black Dog Institute

Dr Laura Kampel - Head of Clinical Services and Senior Clinical Psychologist, Black Dog Institute

Matt - Lived Experience Representative

Facilitator: -

Dr Sarah Barker - Clinical Psychologist

The median age of onset for mental disorders is 14 years. This means, 50% of individuals who will develop mental illness will have already developed the disorder by the age of 14 years.

Since children's diagnoses are missed, they do not receive the care that they need and are less likely to receive help, which has a flow-on effect to adolescence where more complicated conditions can present.

In this episode, Professor Jennie Hudson from Black Dog Institute shares her findings on understanding the onset of anxiety and depression in children and teenagers, focusing on correcting the myth that mental health problems begin in adolescence.

Joining her on the panel, is Psychiatrist Dr Brenda Heyworth who shares her insights from working with children and teenagers, and by Fiona, a lived experience representative who also discusses the topic from her perspective.

Panel Members: -

- Professor Jennie Hudson - Director of Research at Black Dog Institute
- Dr Brenda Heyworth - Psychiatrist, Educator and Facilitator
- Fiona - Lived Experience Representative

Facilitator: -

- Dr Sarah Barker - Clinical Psychologist

The term dMH (digital mental health) covers a wide range of online resources for mental health care. This includes, but is not limited to, the CBT-based treatment programs that Australia has led the world in developing. The scientific evidence is important for practitioner confidence but sometimes our patients and clients want to know about it too. This webinar will make it easier for you to explain why you are recommending an online treatment program.

Please join Dr. Jan Orman and Prof Nick Titov, founder of the Mindspot Clinic at Macquarie University, who will discuss the evidence to support online CBT delivery. They will talk about the evidence to support the use of online mental health treatment programs in general as well as the Mindspot Clinic specifically.

Learning outcomes:

1. By the end of the webinar participants will be able to:
2. Describe some of the research that supports the use of online mental health treatment programs
3. Describe the situations in which they may consider recommending an online program
4. Explain how they would talk to a patient about the evidence base for these programs and the best ways to get benefit from them

Nick Titov is a Professor of Psychology at Macquarie University. He is also a Clinical Psychologist and Executive Director of the Australian MindSpot Clinic. MindSpot is a digital psychology service, which provides psychological assessments and treatments to adults across Australia. MindSpot employs mental health professionals to deliver care, it is accredited under the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards, and it has been funded by the Australian Government since 2012.

Nick has worked on >100 trials of psychological interventions and has published numerous reports of outcomes of digital psychology services in peer reviewed papers including in the Lancet Digital Health. Nick serves on multiple advisory groups to national and international organisations.

Dr Jan Orman MBBS MPsychMed is a Sydney GP with a special interest in mental health and psychological medicine. She has a Masters in Psychological Medicine (CBT) from the University of NSW and has combined general practice and specialised work in mental health for over two decades. Jan has also worked for more than 10 years as a facilitator in Black Dog Institute’s Professional Education team. She is currently responsible for developing the content of, and delivering, the GP education programs for the Black Dog Institute’s arm of the e-Mental Health in Practice Project.

Click here to see the slides