Pre-Conference Workshop (2nd October)
Venue: Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront
Mary O'Hagan,
International Mental Health Consultant
‘A recovery approach to risk’
The recovery approach amplifies the voice and personal meaning of people with lived experience but this has yet to penetrate the risk thinking in mental health services. Recovery requires us to take a much broader view of risk – one that is concerned with the subjective experience and life chances of people with mental distress. It also requires us to focus more on strengths and opportunities which are the flipside of risk. This workshop is interactive and uses real life situations to discuss this subject.
Members - $100
Non-Members - $140
Concession - $40
Conference Workshops
Prof. Michael Hazelton
Professor of Mental Health Nursing, University of Newcastle and Hunter New England Health
Research Workshop: Evaluating the impact of your practice on clients
The purpose of this workshop is to provide a straight forward introduction to research to encourage the design and implementation of practice-based research projects. The workshop has been designed to be relevant to mental health nurses and other health professionals with little or no prior experience of research. The topics covered will include: how to read research literature; how to keep research straight forward; how to work with a 'shoestring' budget; how to plan and manage a project; how to seek advice regarding research; and how to get research findings published.
Professor Nicholas Procter
Mental Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia
Engagement with asylum seekers with mental health issues who have been released from immigration detention into the community.
The term Asylum Seeker refers to a person who has applied for the status of refugee but has yet to be granted this status. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees routinely publishes reports on the number of asylum seekers in Europe and selected non-European countries. The current report for 2011 states that in the 44 countries included in the report there were a total of 358,800 asylum claims during 2010. At the same time there have been many studies conducted into the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers, detailing the prevalence of serious mental health conditions – particularly in refugees who had relocated to western countries. There is also a large incidence of co morbidity of physical ill health with other mental health conditions. This workshop will explain a mental health nurse model of engagement between people of refugee and asylum seeker background and mainstream mental health services. The workshop will explain a conceptual framework for understanding the impact of trauma among asylum seekers and link this to how a workers from mainstream mental health service can know how and when to move in new ways to better respond to clinical issues. The model posits a number of interactive strategies between services and migrant/ refugee communities that seek deeper understanding of the issues at play, to learn from each other so that there can be a foundation of trust leading to broader translation of care and treatment for previous mental health effects as part of a social inclusion framework for the future.
Elaine Painter
Team Manager - Eating Disorders Outreach Service (EDOS), Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
Knock Knock – Who’s there? Patients with Eating Disorders, please let us in.
“Eating disorders are highly complex and serious mental illnesses within our community. They include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). These disorders are associated with a high level of morbidity and mortality; in fact Anorexia Nervosa has the highest rate of mortality of any psychiatric illness/” NEDC 2011 “Eating Disorders - A current affair” - unpublished.
Despite the seriousness of eating disorders and the potential debilitating and long term impact on the very fabric of a person’s wellbeing there are still huge barriers to accessing treatment and support. Barriers can stem from a range of causes including costs, skills, resources, attitudes, fear, and general myths about eating disorders and their treatment. The Eating Disorders Outreach Service has spent the last eleven years educating and supporting Queensland health professionals in order build capacity, change the culture of care, and improve access to treatment options. Our goal is to open up the doors to mainstream health care services as well as develop specialist services for people with eating disorders.
Our service is available to Queensland health professionals in a variety of public and private inpatient and outpatient settings. We provide a state wide consultation liaison service to assist teams to assess and develop individualised management plans for adults with eating disorders.
This workshop will help participants to explore eating disorders from different perspectives including; the person with a lived experience, their family and supporters, and the health care professionals that work with them. This understanding of eating disorders, coupled with Queensland’s access pathways and state wide management guidelines, will guide the group to assess and develop individualised treatment plans for the case studies provided.