[MMHA-E-Bulletin] MMHA March 2007 E-Bulletin

[Multicultural Mental Health Australia]

Welcome to the Multicultural Mental Health Australia March 2007 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?
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1. New faces at MMHA.

2. More money pumped into mental health in South Australia.

3. Shared Stories project.

4. New Medicare Rebate.

5. Harmony Day.


Publications
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1. Dementia prevalence and incidence amongst Australians who do not speak
English at home.
2. Where there’s smoke – cannabis and mental health.


Events and Training
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1. Walking together at same speed: A forum to dialogue - a cultural
journey. 11–13 April, 2007, Melbourne.
2. Critical Link 5 - Quality in interpreting: A shared responsibility.
11-15 April, 2007, Sydney.
3. 8th International Mental Health Conference on the Gold Coast. 17-19
August, 2007.
4. The Mental Health Service’s (TheMHS) 17th Annual Conference. 4-7
September, 2007, Melbourne.

New additions to the Web
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1. What's new on the MMHA website.

2. South Australia's Action Plan for Mental Health Reform 2007-2012.

3. Beyond Blue's website for young people - log on.

4. SANE Steps: How to help when someone is suicidal.

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WHAT'S NEW?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.  The MMHA family has grown. The team has expanded from just three to
eight staff members after additional funding was injected into the project
last year. Leading the team is the new National Program Manager, Georgia
Zogalis. Project Officer - Management Support, Scarlette Vinals, continues
in her role along with Community Capacity Building Project Officer, Robbie
Lloyd; and Vicki Katsifis as the Consumer and Carer Partnerships Project
Officer. In addition to those familiar faces, there are many newcomers
including locum Administrative Officer, Viktoria Rosek; and
Communications, Media and Information Coordinator, Margaret El-Chami.
Bibiana Chan and Rosanna Commisso have an exciting challenge ahead as both
have moved into two new positions that have been created from the extra
funding that was allocated last year. Bibiana is the new Workforce Project
Officer and Rosanna is our new Partnerships and Promotion Project Officer.
You can meet the entire team soon on our website: www.mmha.org.au.
2. South Australia’s mental health service is undergoing some major reform
with the state government injecting nearly 44-million-dollars into the
sector. The South Australian Government announced its multi-million-dollar
commitment to revamp the sector in February. The announcement follows the
release of the “Stepping Up: A Social Inclusion Action Plan for Mental
Health Reform 2007-2012”.  The report was prepared by the state's Social
Inclusion Board, which was asked by Premier Mike Rann to investigate South
Australia’s mental health system. The Board came back with more than 40
recommendations and the Government has since implemented 33 of these. Thestate government’s allocation of $43.6 million will go towards 90 new
intermediate care beds in Adelaide and regional areas, extra 24-hour
supported accommodation beds and providing priority access to services for
people with chronic and complex needs like drug and alcohol problems. “The
Social Inclusion Board have provided us with 41 recommendations in a
comprehensive and clear vision of where our mental health system should be
heading,” Mr Rann said. “We will continue to consider the implementation
of the remaining recommendations through the budget process.”
3. The NSW Transcultural Mental Health Centre is inviting people who have
recovered from a mental health problem or are managing their illness to
share their stories. The Centre is keen to collect stories from people who
are over 16 and from non-English speaking backgrounds. TMHC strongly
believes that these “Share Stories" will help those experiencing a similar
mental health problem. This project will aim to assist health workers and
others who work with people from CALD backgrounds to be more aware of what
is helpful (or not so helpful) when treating someone with a mental
illness. Participants whose work is selected will not be identified --made-up names will be used instead. TMHC Consumer Coordinator, Jan Heslep,
(who is also overseeing the project) says storytelling and hearing other
people’s stories can be empowering and can also help with the healing
process. She says when sharing your story (as part of a group) it can help
build common bonds with others and reduce the sense of isolation and
aloneness that people sometimes feel. If you’re in NSW and will like to be
involved - call Jan Heslep on 02 9840 3941.
4. There’s been some relief for mental health consumers since the
introduction of Medicare rebates for psychology services. Since last
November, consumers with an assessed mental disorder and an appropriate
Medicare referral from a GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician have been
eligible for Medicare rebates for up to 12 visits a year. The 'Better
Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through
the Medicare Benefits Scheme' provides greater access to psychologists and
provides people living with a mental illness more affordable mental
healthcare. The cost to you and the Medicare rebate will vary depending onthe length of the session, the type of psychologist consulted  (general or
specialist clinical) and the fee charged. If the psychologist decides to
bulk bill you, you won’t have to pay anything. But if the psychologist
does not offer bulk billing, then you will have to pay the difference
between their charges and the Medicare rebate. Best to check this with the
psychologist before commencing your treatment. Visit
www.psychology.org.au/members/Medicare/6.18_7.asp for more details.
5. Harmony Day has been celebrated in Australia since 1999. Each year it
falls on the 21st of March and this year will focus on sport in schools
and how sports encourage young Australians to understand teamwork, rights
and responsibilities. Various national sporting codes are supporting
Harmony Day with Cricket Australia organising “Crickids - Australia’s
Biggest Cricket Game”. In addition to that – there will be a swag of many
other events held throughout the country including regional areas like
Burnie (TAS), Shepparton (VIC), Barcaldine (QLD), Geraldton (WA)and Renmark (SA) to help celebrate Harmony Day. See www.harmony.gov.au for
more details.PUBLICATIONS
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1. The report “Dementia prevalence and incidence amongst Australians who
do not speak English at home” was released last November by Alzheimer’s
Australia. Access Economics was commissioned to do a study into the
prevalence and incidence of dementia amongst CALD Australians. A key
finding from this report was that more than 12 percent of Australians with
dementia (around one eighth) do not speak English at home. The report also
projected that between 2001-2050 there will be a fall in the proportionof Australians speaking English and other European languages, but an
increase in Australians speaking Asian and Middle Eastern languages.
Overall this report can be used to determine how services can be improved
to meet the needs and the special requirements of our ageing CALD
population. Visit www.alzheimers.org.au to download a summary or full copy
of the report.
2. In March 2006, the Board of the Mental Health Council of Australia
established a working group to prepare a report into the relationship
between cannabis and mental health. The “Where there’s smoke – cannabis
and mental health” report provides extensive analysis of the growing body
of evidence and research in this area. The report not only provides a
balanced and informed view on the relationship between cannabis and mental
health, but also includes recommendations on how to improve prevention,
intervention and treatment responses. The report also includes a shortoverview of cannabis use amongst CALD communities. Copies of the report
can be obtained by contacting the Mental Health Council of Australia on 02
6285 3100 or www.mhca.org.au.

EVENTS AND TRAINING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. The inaugural African Resettlement in Australia 2007 Conference will be
held at the University of Melbourne from 11–13 April 2007. "Walking
together at same speed: A forum to dialogue - a cultural journey” aims to
address the resettlement needs of African families and single people who
have resettled here from Burundi, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia,
Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan. This conference aims to provide
service providers with a better understanding of African family values and
the emergence of these new African communities in Australia; as well asbuild awareness for African refugees to gain a better understanding of
Australia’s multiculturalism system. For details
www.union.unimelb.edu.au/conferences/att.
2. Critical Link 5 - Quality in interpreting: A shared responsibility.
11-15 April, 2007, Sydney. The University of Western Sydney will host the
Critical Link 2007 Congress next month from 11-15 April, 2007. This year’s
theme is “Quality in interpreting: a shared responsibility”. Organisers
are hoping the event will trigger debate in how best to improve the
quality of interpreting services in the community and is urging practising
interpreters, lawyers, police, medical practitioners, medical
administrators, interpreting agencies, government departments, academics,educators, service providers and service recipients who have ever needed
interpreting services to attend. Register online by visiting:
www.criticallink2007.com.

3. 8th International Mental Health Conference on the Gold Coast: will
focus on the range of preventive approaches used in the field of mental
health and review their effectiveness. This gathering aims to assess how
clinicians can incorporate these approaches and techniques into everyday
clinical practice. It will also focus on State, Federal and International
initiatives to address mental health needs; various treatments in
recovering from depression and trauma; and prevention strategies. Theconference will be held at the Holiday Inn, Surfers Paradise, Queensland
from 17th-19th August, 2007. For more details:gcimh.com.au/conference/default.htm.

4. The Mental Health Service’s (TheMHS) 17th Annual Conference: “20-20
Vision – looking toward excellence in mental health care in 2020” falls on
4-7 September, 2007. While the calls for submissions of abstracts have
already closed, registration will be available online from May 2007via TheMHS website. This year’s conference will be held at the Melbourne
Convention Centre, Victoria, Australia. Contact details: +61 (2) 9810
8700; Fax: +61 (2) 9810 8733; Email: info at themhs.org; Website:
www.themhs.org.
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE WEB
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1. MMHA has uploaded Mindframe’s latest National Media Initiative on its
website. This unique initiative provides a new range of resources produced
for the mental health sector. 'Suicide and Mental Illness in the Media” is
part of the Mindframe National Media Initiative. It provides a website,
resource book and quick reference cards designed to help media
professionals continue reporting suicide and mental illness responsibly.
The aim of the resources is to support accurate and appropriate reporting
that will minimise the risk of harm and reduce the stigma experienced bypeople who live with a mental illness. Visit our website for more details
www.mmha.org.au.
2. Log onto the website for the Mental Health Coalition of SA
(www.mhcsa.org.au) for a direct link to the South Australian Government's
response to "Stepping Up: A Social Inclusion Action Plan for Mental Health
Reform 2007-2012" (see article at top of bulletin). Read more about the
plan and the Government’s strategy to meet the Board’s recommendations by
logging onto www.mhcsa.org.au.
3. Just a reminder that Beyond Blue has a special website that primarily
focuses on its youth program, Ybblue. Ybblue was set up a few years ago to
address the high youth suicide rates in Australia. The Ybblue website
invites young people to log onto its "Our Stories" page to share their
experiences of dealing with depression and anxiety. This space also works
as an online forum where other young people can respond to these stories
and potentially build support networks. Young people are encouraged to
visit www.beyondblue.org.au/ybblue/index.aspx.
4. The Sane website now has a factsheet on suicide prevention. “SANE
Steps: How to help when someone is suicidal” can be found at
www.sane.org/information/factsheets/sane_steps%3a_how_to_help_when_someone_is_suicidal.html.This factsheet provides step-by-step advice on how to respond if someone
you know is considering taking their own life. An entire series of
factsheets on mental illness can also be downloaded from the Sane website
www.sane.org.
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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