[MMHA-E-Bulletin] MMHA E-Bulletin October 2005 Edition

Thu Oct 6 14:09:07 EST 2005

Welcome to the Multicultural Mental Health Australia October 2005 E-Bulletin.

This free e-bulletin aims to keep you up-to-date with the latest news and
information related to the mental health and wellbeing of Australia’s
culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. For
contributions: info at mmha.org.au
This edition in brief: (please scroll down for more information)

What’s New?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.Australian Institute for Suicide Research & Prevention e-Suicide
Prevention Skills Training
2.Mental health 'ambassadors' to assist teens –Tasmania

3.CALD Consumer Interest Group: an initiative of MMHA and the AMHCN CALD
Subcommittee
4.Liverpool Hospital’s Centre for Population Mental Health Research acting
director and senior lecturer at UNSW Zachary Steel – Future fears key to
treating posttraumatic stress
5.Latest Edition of Synergy Magazine – The Importance of Family Out Now!

Publications
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.ABS, Australian Social Trends – 2005 Edition

2.They poured fire on us from the sky: the true story of three lost boys
from Sudan
3.The 2005 Ethnic Communities Reference Book

Events and Training
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.Community Interest Forum- Black Dog Institute Friday 14th October 2005

2.Centre for Ethnicity and Health training program

3.MMHA 2005 Training Program

4.Mental Health Week 9 – 16 October 2005

New additions to the Web
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.Summary of the framework for the implementation of the national mental
health plan.
2.New additions to Multicultural Health Communication Service Website

3.Ramadan Fact Sheet

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WHAT’S NEW?

1.  Australian Institute for Suicide Research & Prevention e-Suicide
Prevention Skills Training supported by the Australian Government
Department of Health and Ageing

Summary:
This online training program provides an accessible, equitable,
sustainable and cost-effective mechanism for development and recognition
of professional skills and knowledge in a flexible and efficient way.

Modules of e-SPST:
Three Units each consisting of three modules will form the structure of
the training.  The Units  and corresponding modules are as follows:
1) Prevention – Community, culture and diversity; The evidence base of
suicide prevention: Theoretical models, and Myths and factors; Universal
prevention and networking.
2) Intervention – Engaging the suicidal person, Risk assessment and duty
of care; Principles of crisis intervention.
3) Postvention – Management and rehabilitation; Principles of postvention;
Worker self-care.

To access the official website of e-SPST and to register for the next
training course for 2005, which begins on NOVEMBER 1st (runs until end of 
Feb, 2006) - please go to http://www.suicidepreventiontraining.com or
contact Jacinta Hawgood on (07) 3875 3394 or
Jacinta.Hawgood at griffith.edu.au

2.  Mental health 'ambassadors' to assist teens.
The University of Tasmania wants to enlist 200 teenagers to spread the
word about mental health support that is available on the Internet.

The project will train 'emotional well-being ambassadors' to encourage
young people to seek help from resources available online.

The head of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, Professor Ken Kirkby,
says nearly one in five young people has a mental health problem,
including substance abuse, depression and anxiety.

"The demands for performance have gone up and so people are required these
days to do much more in their work and studies and so forth than they used
to certainly when I was a lad and that brings with it certain stresses and
strains," Professor Kirkby said.

"We're also living in a world where there are a lot more drugs available.
"There's a whole lot of issues in a consumer culture, about being
disappointed about not being able to make the grade and so forth."

Source: ABC News Online
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1472388.htm

3.  CALD Consumer Interest Group is an initiative of MMHA and the AMHCN
CALD Subcommittee, which is supported by Multicultural Mental Health
Australia. The CALD Consumer Interest Group is a group of people
interested in the voice of mental health consumer from CALD backgrounds.
The CALD Consumer Interest Group supports the Australian Mental Health
Consumer Network to be inclusive of consumers of CALD communities and to
ensure that their voices and views are heard.

For further information and a copy of the brochure either contact the
AMHCN on 07 3844 3009 or download the brochure via the following link
http://www.mmha.org.au/CandC/amhcnconsumer/file_view

4.  Recent research from Liverpool Hospital has revealed that the fear of
future trauma is a key factor in maintaining symptoms of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).

Liverpool Hospital’s Centre for Population Mental Health Research acting
director and senior lecturer at UNSW Zachary Steel said the findings may
help to treat asylum seekers suffering PTSD.

“Our research shows that refugees with temporary protection who face the
risk of return to their country are 16 times more likely to experience
terrifying intrusive thoughts about the future compared to refugees with
permanent protection who have had the same level of exposure to trauma.”

Use the following link for further reading.
http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/Modules/media.aspx?ItemID=204

5. The aim of this edition is to explore the significance of the CALD
family and the challenges they face. As we move forward in an
ever-changing world, the expectations of the family increase. For CALD
families in Australia their past experiences can be as diverse as their
culture. Understanding this is an important part in helping CALD families
understand signs of mental illness and taking a proactive approach to
mental health. Mental illness and mental health are not identifiable in
some CALD communities, and may be seen as a spiritual issue rather than a
mental illness. Support for the family that is culturally specific will go
a long way to assist.

To view the latest edition use the following link
http://www.mmha.org.au/MMHAPublications/Synergy/2005No2

PUBLICATIONS

1.  Australian Social Trends draws on a wide range of statistics from the
ABS and other official sources to paint a picture of current conditions
and trends in Australian society. This publication offers easy-to-read
discussion on a range of topical issues in our ever-changing society.

Available through the ABS for $53.00 to order phone 1300 135 070 or visit 
www.abs.gov.au

2.    THEY POURED FIRE ON US FROM THE SKY
The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan
By Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Judy Bernstein

Published by: Public Affairs, New York 2005

ISBN 1-58648-269-6

For excerpts and ordering use the following link:
http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi
bin/display?book=1586482696

3. The 2005 Ethnic Communities Reference Book (NSW only) is now available.
The Reference Book contains details of more than 1,500 community
organisations, groups and associations together with details of government
departments, agencies, embassies and consulates. This is an essential
reference source for anyone operating in the multicultural sector.

Access an order form via the following link  http://www.eccnsw.org.au/  or
send an email to eo at eccnsw.org.au and type 'Order for Reference Book' in
the Subject line - and provide delivery and invoice details. You may also
fax us at 9319 4229 and provide delivery and invoice details.

EVENTS AND TRAINING

1. Black Dog Institute Community Interest Forum. An invitation to visit
the Black Dog Institute for an Open Day during Mental Health Week 2005.

One session worth noting on the day is by Bibiana Chan, titled; Stress
Less Tips & Introduction to Depression in the Chinese Community

When: Friday 14 October 2005
Time: 10am – 1pm
Where: Corner of Hospital Road and Francis Martin Drive, Princes of Wales
Hospital Campus, Randwick, NSW.

RSVP: Thursday 13th October 2005 (02) 9382 4523 or t.wigney at unsw.edu.au

For further information visit the Black Dog Institute Website
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au

2. Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health Training Calender

South Sudanese Communities in Victoria
Wednesday 19 October 9.15 - 1.30

This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to gain an
insight into the growing South Sudanese communities in Victoria. The
session will cover:·Migration history and demographic characteristics of Victoria's South
·Sudanese communities and impact on access and use of health services
·Refugee and settlement issues
·Health and social issues for these communities
·How to support and implement culturally effective work practices for
South Sudanese communities

Engaging CALD Communities Through Arts & Culture
Wednesday 23 November 9.30 - 1.30pm

This workshop will look at some of the synergies between health promotion
with culturally diverse communities and the utilisation of arts and
cultural expression to engage and build communities. Published material on
this topic will be provided to all participants at the workshop. Presented
in partnership with the nationally recognised Arts & Culture Program at
North Richmond Community Health Centre the session will cover:

·Connections between art and well-being
·Examples of innovative community cultural development practice within a 
health context·A brief practical introduction to developing art projects with culturally
diverse communities

For further information contact the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health
on 03 9427 8766 or visit www.ceh.org.au

3. MMHA 2005 Training Program in conjunction with "Diversity in Health
2005: It's Everybody's Business"

In conjunction with "Diversity in Health 2005: It's Everybody's Business"
Multicultural Mental Health Australia is proud to present three
outstanding practitioners in two 1/2 day Workshops.

Thursday, October 20, 2005. Rydges Melbourne, 186 Exhibition Street,
Melbourne

* Valuing Diversity and Strengthening our Practice: Multicultural Mental
Health for Refugees and Vulnerable Communities - a workshop for clinicians

By: Associate Professor Nicholas Procter, University of South Australia
When: 20 October 2005, 8.30am - 12.30pm

*Thinking through language and the interpretation of meaning - a workshop
for interpreters and mental health practitioners

By: Professor Leslie Swartz, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and
Greg Turner, Queensland Transcultural Mental Health CentreWhen: October 20 2005, 1.30pm - 5.30pm

Workshop numbers are limited.

For more information and to download Registration Form:
http://www.mmha.org.au/2005Workshops

4. Mental Health Week October 9 – 16
http://www.mhca.org.au/Resources/WorldMentalHealthDay/index.html World
Mental Health Day occurs Monday 10 October 2005 http://www.wfmh.com/ .

Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA) provides national leadership
in mental health and suicide prevention for Australians from culturally
and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Identified through the
Framework for Implementation of the National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008
http://www.mmha.org.au/Policy/framework.pdf/file_view in Multicultural
Australia are priorities for national initiatives in multicultural mental
health. Some initiatives include increasing the literacy and understanding
of mental health and a reduction of stigma in diverse communities. A large
proportion of Australia’s population come from a culturally diverse
background, awareness and service delivery that is culturally competent
will go along way in assisting an important part of Australia’s diverse
community.

For a complete listing of conferences and training relevant to
multicultural mental health, visit www.mmha.org.au

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE WEB

1. Summary of the framework for the implementation of the national mental
health plan provides a snapshot of the key areas within the larger
detailed Framework.
The summary and the full document can both be downloaded at
www.mmha.org.au contact MMHA on 02 9840 3333

2. The Multicultural Health Communication Service  website has just added
the following documents to their website
·Depression in Pregnancy & Antidepressant Medication Use (Arabic/English)
·Postnatal Depression - Depression After Having a Baby (Arabic/English)

To access these and more documents please use the following web link
www.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-affairs/mhcs/

3. Ramadan Fact Sheet – Ramadan is important spiritual time for the Muslim
population. This fact sheet explains the many facets of this special
spiritual occasion
http://www.mmha.org.au/ResourceDatabase/ramadan

Multicultural Mental Health Australia has extensive listings on mental
health resources and services. Available at: www.mmha.org.au. For more
information please contact us on:Tel: +61 2 9840 3333
Fax: +61 2 9840 3388
Email: admin at mmha.org.au
Website: www.mmha.org.au

Multicultural Mental Health Australia
Locked Bag 7118
Parramatta BC  2150

Ph:  02 9840 3333
Fax: 02 9840 3388

Email: admin at mmha.org.au
Web:  www.mmha.org.au