Multicultural Mental Health Australia’s E-Bulletin May 2008

This is a free electronic newsletter that 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. If you wish to receive this and other publications such as our magazine, Synergy, please consider joining our mailing list.

WHAT'S NEW?

1. Mental Health Forum for CALD communities: The Mental Health Forum for CALD communities, recently hosted by the Granville Rotary Club in Sydney, was a success. More than 60 people attended the event including Rotarians, health professionals and the general public. The Rotary Club invited Multicultural Mental Health Australia, NSW Transcultural Mental Health Centre and STARTTS to manage stalls at the event. This was a perfect opportunity to showcase resources and mental health services for people from Non-English speaking backgrounds. Claudio Silva and Vicki Katsifis from the MMHA CALD Speakers Bureau addressed the gathering by sharing their experiences of living with a mental illness. Vicki’s story about being a carer moved everyone in the room and triggered many questions from the floor. MMHA was very proud to coordinate this event and hopes it leads to future partnerships with Rotary clubs around the country.

2. Transcultural Mental Health Liaison Officer for the ACT: The ACT Transcultural Mental Health Network is pleased to announce that the ACT Department of Health has agreed to fund a Transcultural Mental Health Liaison Officer. The Officer will be located within the ACT Mental Health Unit. The role will involve enhancing the capacity of the sector to deliver culturally appropriate services to CALD consumers and carers. This will include increasing the awareness of the impact of culture on mental health and illness as well as strengthening existing and establishing new and informal linkages between services to enhance inter-agency collaboration. The ACT Transcultural Mental Health Network (ACT TCMHN), who have provided a voice for CALD mental health consumers, carers and mental health stakeholders for the past ten years in their state have worked together in a voluntary capacity with the support of ACT Health to achieve this outcome.

For further information about the ACT TCMHN – please contact Deputy Chair, Aine Tierney - aine.tierney@optusnet.com.au

3. Moves to increase the number of interpreters: The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI) has announced a new national project, funded by the Australian Government, to increase the number of interpreters in new and emerging languages in metropolitan areas and languages where there are shortages in rural and regional areas. Eligible applicants will attend a 15-hour workshop to help them prepare to work as an interpreter and apply for a 'NAATI Accreditation' test and/or 'NAATI Recognition'.  This project is fully funded and eligible candidates will be subsidised for the full cost of the workshop, application and assessment fees. In New South Wales, workshops are planned for Sydney, Coffs Harbour and Wagga Wagga. NAATI is also hosting a free Community Information Session on Thursday 19 June 2008 between 3-4pm at the NAATI NSW Office - 280 Pitt Street, Sydney CBD. If you wish to attend this event or register, please call the NAATI office - 02 9267 1357 or visit - http://www.naati.com.au

4. National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy: As a part of the Social Inclusion Agenda, the Australian Government is developing a National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy will be developed in close consultation with consumers, peak bodies, employers, state and territory governments and experts. The Strategy aims to address the barriers faced by people with disability and/or mental illness that make it harder for them to gain and keep work. To ensure the Strategy is practical and effective, the Government wants input from a wide range of people with disability and/or mental illness who have experienced the challenges of working and seeking work.

For more information on the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy and how to fill out a form see the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy discussion paper visit: http://www.workplace.gov.au/workplace/Publications/PolicyReviews/EmploymentStrategy

Submissions close on 30 June 2008. Please call 1800 047 848, or email employmentstrategy@deewr.gov.au for further information.

5. Parliamentary Inquiry into Carer needs: MMHA is urging CALD carers of people living with a mental illness to make a submission to a new parliamentary inquiry into carer needs. The Federal Government has established the inquiry to determine how to better meet the needs of carers who look after those with chronic illness, disabilities or frailty. The inquiry has been established to determine social and economic barriers for carers and practical support measures. Federal MP, Annette Ellis, will chair the inquiry.  MMHA is urging carers from CALD backgrounds and carer organisations to make written submissions to the inquiry to ensure the issues affecting mental health carers from CALD backgrounds are heard.

If you wish to make a submission contact the House of Representatives Family and Community Committee - 02 6277 4372 or email: fchy.reps@aph.gov.au

Written submissions to the inquiry addressing the terms of reference must be made by 4 July 2008.  The committee is due to report back to government in early 2009.

6. Exercise and Eating Well Makes a World of Difference: People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds bring with them a range of different beliefs, practices and traditions in relation to food and physical exercise. Some of these have been integrated into the mainstream community and vice versa, with positive outcomes. However, there are still many opportunities for further sharing of ideas and best practice. The Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia (MCCSA) has secured a Healthy Active Ageing grant to explore this issue by working with young people in the South West region of Adelaide to:

* identify healthy aspects of nutrition and physical activity brought to South Australia by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities; and

* use this to develop practical strategies to encourage other young people to adopt healthy lifestyle practices.

The participating schools will develop projects on selected countries, with help and advice from experts in the physical activity and nutrition fields, and also from representatives from the selected countries. Four schools are already involved in the project  with another four coming on board in December 2008. For further information please contact the MCCSA - 08 8410 0300 or http://www.mccsa.org.au/ExerciseEatWell

PUBLICATIONS/RESOURCES:

1. Multicultural Mental Health Australia’s report on its consultation forum in South Australia: On 17 March 2008, Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA) conducted a one-day consultation/ forum in Adelaide titled: The Mental Health Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities in South Australia. Over 120 people attended and made a number of recommendations to improve services to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds affected by mental illness living in South Australia. They highlighted the need to improve interpreter services and interpreter training, provide clinicians and mental health service providers with cultural competency and cultural awareness training, provide community awareness training and education on mental health issues with CALD communities and the wider community, devise strategies to reduce stigma, make resources more available to mental health services and ensure such services are more flexible and holistic. A full breakdown of recommendations can be found in this report. To obtain a copy please contact MMHA National Program Manager, Georgia Zogalis – 02 9840 3333.

2. Employment status, attributional style and psychological well-being: A study of Vietnamese employed and unemployed in Queensland by Toan Nguyen, Kathryn Gow and Richard E. Hicks. Volume 6, Issue 3, November 2007 Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health: The aim of this study was to examine the psychological impact of employment status, locus of control and attribution stability in the Vietnamese community in Queensland. 117 people in the Vietnamese community participated in this research. It was hypothesised that employment status, locus of control and stability of attributions regarding employment status would contribute significantly to the prediction of depression, anxiety, stress and somatisation symptomatology. Results indicated that employment status and locus of control made significant contributions to the prediction of depression, stress, anxiety and somatisation. The clinical implication from the current research is that in the Asian community studied, individuals who encounter an adverse situation such as unemployment, and internally attribute that adverse experience to themselves, have a higher risk of developing mental disorders. Practitioners working in the field may find this information useful in their consultations with the ‘at-risk’ community.

3. Free information about the NSW Ombudsman in 16 languages: The NSW Ombudsman is an independent watchdog that handles complaints about the NSW Government and certain non-government agencies. Its mission is to promote good conduct, fair decision-making, protection of rights and provision of quality services. Its services are free and accessible to all. However, the Office is trying to improve access by people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities through the production of multilingual information about the role of the Ombudsman in 16 community languages. It has produced brochures about making a complaint to the Ombudsman in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Persian, Russian, Samoan, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish and Vietnamese. To order these multilingual brochures please visit – http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/onlineorderform.asp or contact the office - 02 9286 1008.

4. An Awkward Fit by Helen Maczkowiack: This book is the biography of Helen Maczkowiack’s son, Stephen, who suffered from schizophrenia and took his own life at just 29. It captures the haunting story of a young man’s desperate struggle to find his way in life. It features excerpts from Stephen’s diary, which gives the reader a deep insight into his illness: the paranoia, obsession and flashes of anger, the unpredictability as well as the creativity and energy. Helen says in the preface of her book that her primary motivation was to preserve her son’s writings. But as she became more and more involved in rewriting his story, she discovered that she could also promote mental health issues to support the development of more effective responses from community services and those working in the mental health field. Copies are available directly from Helen Maczkowiack – email: hmaczk@bigpond.net.au

5. West African Refugee Health in Rural Australia: Complex Cultural Factors that Influence Mental Health by Andrew Harris and John Nyagua. Rural and Remote Health 8 (online), 2008: 884. Available from: http://www.rrh.org.au: Health and mental health practitioners in rural and regional Australia are increasingly being presented with the challenge of working cross-culturally. Due to a diversity of cultures, generic approaches are needed that take account of culture without requiring the practitioner to have detailed knowledge of each person’s background. However, there are many practitioners from diverse backgrounds now working in Australia at various stages of enculturation into Western practice. The cultural grounding of one practitioner from West Africa is used to highlight potential areas of misunderstanding, and to offer an accessible point of departure for culturally sensitive practice and formal research opportunities.

6. The Jailbreak Families CD: The second edition of the Jailbreak Families CD produced by the Community Restorative Centre NSW has just been released and is available free to families and mental health workers. It is full of updated information and explains the journey of a prisoner from reception to release. Being an audio resource, it is particularly useful for those who have trouble reading English. Tracks include information about entering prison, remand prisoners, going on protection, classification, passing time in prison, transfers, visits and related services, keeping in touch, money, complaints, Hepatitis C, mental health, sexual heath, parole and leaving prison.
 
To order your copy, please email - info@crcnsw.org.au or call 02 9288 8700

 
EVENTS:

1. Special retreat for CALD Carers of people with a mental health disorder or illness: The NSW Transcultural Mental Health Centre’s CALD Carer Support Program is hosting a free retreat for carers of people from CALD backgrounds living with a mental health disorder or illness. This event is in partnership with the Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre (Cumberland Prospect, South West Sydney, Inner West, Northern Sydney). It will allow carers to take a break from their caring role and find out about services that are available to help them and their family. The retreat is free and will be held from 10-12 June at the Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury Hotel in NSW. Carers will be invited to attend workshops across the two days to gain information and better assistance in their caring role. If you wish to attend, please call the Coordinator of the CALD Carer Support Program, Ramy Var - 02 9840 3899.

2. Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) Carers Engagement Project: The Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) is continuing to roll out its Carers Engagement Project with workshops around the country. The workshops are designed to assist family members and carers of a person living with a mental illness further develop their coping and management skills. There will be specific workshops for carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds including:

SYDNEY:
Tues 27 May – Vietnamese community
Wed 28 May – Chinese community
Thurs 29 May – Khmer community
Fri 30 May – Greek community
Tues 1 July – CALD
Wed 2 July – CALD

MT ANNAN, NSW:
Tues 15 July – CALD

PERTH:
Sat 23 August – CALD

GEELONG, VIC:
Tues 2 September - CALD

The Carers Engagement Project aims to record the real life experiences of mental health carers, encourage carers to identify their current and future information needs and provide a method of ongoing monitoring of carers’ experiences by the MHCA Project. The MHCA will use the experiences and information discussed at the workshops to advocate for better outcomes for mental health carers through the development of an annual snapshot of carers’ experiences. For more information  about this project please call contact Linda Rosie - 02 6285 3100 or email:
linda.rosie@MHCA.org.au or visit: http://www.mhca.org.au

3. Research project exploring the mental health impacts of immigration on the Sudanese community: Provisional Psychologist at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Eleanor Clyne-Kinghott, is planning to explore the experience of immigration on a small group of Southern Sudanese refugees living in Victoria. Eleanor will investigate how these experiences have impacted on the community’s ability to engage with life in Australia. The current literature on refugee mental health has a tendency to focus on the prevalence of disorders like Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression, while grief and people’s lived experience of immigration is infrequently reported. This research therefore aims to further understand the nature of this grief and whether certain responses to the losses to immigration are more adaptive than other responses within the Southern Sudanese community. This research is also interested in comprehending the stories of refugees with the aim of understanding individual lived experience. Eleanor is seeking people to assist her with the study, as she anticipates that the results from her research will lead to the development of more culturally sensitive interventions and support for Southern Sudanese people. Eleanor has developed a collection of questions for her research work and had these reviewed by a member of the Southern Sudanese community to assess for appropriateness and relevance. If you wish to participate please contact Eleanor Clyne-Kinghott - 0411 967 277 or email Eleanor_ck@hotmail.com

4. Refugee Week – 15-21 June 2008:  'A Place to Call Home': For World Refugee Day in 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is globally promoting the theme of “refugee protection”, whether that’s shelter or fair treatment or the right to seek asylum. Australia’s Refugee Week theme of “A Place to Call Home” encourages people to think about the global themes of protection and human rights by focusing on the fundamental right to a secure place to call home. It encourages Australians to think about our common obligations to people who have no secure home, as well as to acknowledge the 700,000 refugees and humanitarian migrants over the past 60 years who have made Australia their home. If you wish to order Refugee Week 2008 posters or resource kits – please contact the Refugee Council – Sydney: 02 9211 9333 or Melbourne - 03 9348 2245 or visit: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/newsevents/refugeeweek.html

CONFERENCES:

1. Madness, Citizenship and Social Justice: A Human Rights Conference. Vancouver, Canada. June 12-15 2008: The Institute for the Humanities at Simon Fraser University (SFU) is hosting this four-day conference at the university’s Vancouver campus from 12-15 June 2008. This event aims to provide a forum in which critical topics and issues related to madness, citizenship, human rights and the role of the ‘psy’ professions can be explored across a range of perspectives. Participants and delegates will include academics, consumers, practitioners and community workers from the local Vancouver area, across Canada and around the world.  It also aims to establish a context of mutual knowledge-sharing and empowerment, and to develop longer-term strategies that will permit consumers, academics and other participants to interact, share experiences, develop connections and engage in problem-solving. Visit: http://www.sfu.ca/madcitizenship-conference

2. Making A Difference: Social inclusion for new and emerging communities. Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. 25-27 June 2008. This conference aims to build on the 2006 Conference: When Do I Stop Being a Refugee? It will seek to address the key challenges identified by the Federal Government in the Australian Social Inclusion Agenda 2007, with a particular focus on new and emerging communities. It will explore many themes such as engaging diversity, strategies to ensure people do not fall through the safety net and exploring tools for measuring positive change. MMHA Chair, A/Prof Abd Malak AM, has been invited as a speaker and will participate in a panel discussion titled: People, the Workforce and the Future of Australia. This conference will bring community leaders, service agencies, politicians, academics, researchers and government representatives together. For further details please call Matti Spellacy at the Migrant Resource Centre South Australia – 08 8217 9510 or download - http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/events/making_diff_conf2008.pdf

3. International ‘Unity in Diversity’ Conference - People, the Workforce & the Future of Australia. Jupiters Townsville Hotel & Casino, Queensland. 13-16 August 2008. This conference aims to explore global trends in immigration, the workforce and creating enhanced community cohesion. Drawing together an expert panel, the conference will address the need for collaboration, communication and cooperation across cultural, religious and ideological barriers. The conference program will feature national keynote speakers, panel discussions, cross-cultural training, exhibition displays, as well as art and cultural performances. Organisers of this event advise that it’s suitable to business leaders and multicultural stakeholders and is also aimed at employees from government, education, community, religious, multicultural and migrant settlement sectors. For more details please call 07 4772 4800 - http://www.culturalfest.org

4. World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Melbourne, Australia. 10 –12 September 2008: VicHealth is hosting this event, which is organised by the World Federation for Mental Health, the Clifford Beers Foundation, the Mental Health Program of the Carter Center, Auseinet and supported by the Global Consortium for Prevention and Promotion in Mental Health (GCAPP). It aims to explore new ways that individuals and organisations, from a range of sectors, can promote mental health and prevent mental illness. Organisers hope to attract practitioners, researchers and policy makers from a broad range of sectors, including those within education, justice, planning, the arts, technology and human rights, to attend this conference. It is envisaged this will provide delegates with examples of good practice across different sectors, and will highlight the local, regional and international partnerships that can be created to promote mental health and prevent mental illness. For further information contact please call - 03 9667 1333 or visit:http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/conference2008

5. TheMHS 18th Annual Conference. Auckland Convention Centre, New Zealand. 2 - 5 September 2008: Organisers of this event are aiming to invite consumers, indigenous people, refugee/new immigrant groups; families/carers, clinicians, community support workers, researchers, health promoters, primary healthcare workers, academics, community agency, public or private mental health services to share innovations in the mental health workforce. Steven Onken from the Social Science Research Institute of University of Hawai‘i at Manoa is one of the keynote speakers who will focus on innovative research to support an emerging evidence base for service use, indigenous and cultural approaches to mental health well-being and recovery. This conference will also aim to explore a series of questions such as: How can we model the change we want? How can we be effective change agents? What tools, techniques and methods support workforce change and innovation? Whether innovative changes are societal, community, service, group or individual. This conference invites people to share how to work towards an inspired and inspiring mental health workforce. Download details on registration, advertising, satchel inserts and booth displays: http://www.themhs.org/p.aspx?n=GHOUG-FSNSC-QELGP-OEFBT-ANEYV

6. The 2nd Australasian Mental Health & Psychosocial Disaster Conference. Sebel & Citigate King George Square Hotel, Brisbane. 21-23 October 2008: MMHA Consortium Partner, Professor Beverley Raphael, Professor Population Mental Health and Disasters at the University of Western Sydney, is a keynote speaker at this conference. Some of the topics that will be discussed include: the role of the media and public communications in minimising disaster stress, psychosocial impacts in Hurricane Katrina and lessons for Australia's disaster managers, integration of mental health in large operations, selecting and using crisis counselling as well as identifying special needs groups. The conference is aimed at general emergency management, psychosocial and mental health practitioners. For further information, program details and registrations visit - http://www.disasters-psychosocial.org.au

7. National Refugee Primary Health Care Conference: Caring Nationally. Mater Health Services, Brisbane. 27-28 November 2008: This conference is hosted by the Queensland Integrated Refugee Community Health Clinic (QIRCH). Following on from the QIRCH’s last conference in October 2004, this national conference aims to inform, educate, stimulate debate, network, inspire, and provide peer support for those healthcare practitioners and other service providers working with people from a refugee background in the primary health care context. The key conference themes are: how to promote and improve practitioner education about refugee healthcare, how to best promote awareness within the health sector on refugee healthcare and how to improve health outcomes for patients from a refugee background. Organisers of this event are now calling for abstracts for papers or workshops addressing one or more of the conference themes. Abstract submissions close 31 May 2008. For further details – Claire Brolan, Clinic Manager, Queensland Integrated Refugee Community Health Clinic - 07 3163 2880 or email: Claire.brolan@mater.org.au or visit http://www.ncmpcp.org.au/news/items/2008/03/201907-upload-00001.pdf

 
WHAT’S ONLINE:

1. Diversit-E Forums: The Diversity In Health 2008 (DIH 2008) Conference Secretariat is pleased to announce that the presentations and papers from DIH 2008 are now available for download from the Diversit-E Forums website.

Keynote and Symposia presentations are available immediately, while papers from concurrent sessions will be released over the course of the next month.
 
The Diversit-E Forums also provide you with the opportunity to post comments, provide feedback or ask questions about any of the papers or the conference itself. This is a great chance to continue engaging in dialogue about diversity health issues, to further explore conference themes and to continue building on this body of knowledge in the lead up to the next conference scheduled for 2010. To access the presentations and papers visit the Diversit-E Forums site at: http://dhinet/Conference/diversit_e_forum.html

If you have any problems using the forums or need any further information, contact dhi@swahs.health.nsw.gov.au.

2. Beyondblue’s new online directory of mental health medical and allied health practitioners: beyondblue, the national depression initiative, has uploaded a new national directory of medical and allied health practitioners in mental health on its website. The new directory includes an interactive map, to make it easier to find the relevant mental health practitioner in your area, and replaces the old Find a Doctor and Find a Psychologist lists that used to appear on the beyondblue website. Multicultural Mental Health Australia applauds beyondblue for including the languages spoken by some of the mental health professionals and encourages bicultural and bilingual mental health medical and allied health practitioners to add their details to the directory. Visit: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=107.1007

3. Mensline Australia online in Arabic and Vietnamese: Mensline Australia, the national telephone counselling support service for men with family and relationship concerns, is better targeting men from Arabic and Vietnamese backgrounds through its website. The service has developed specific web pages dedicated to each cultural group. There is now a site each for the Arabic community and the Vietnamese community. Visit:

http://www.menslineaus.org.au/Arabic/Default.aspx

http://www.menslineaus.org.au/Vietnamese/Default.aspx

Mensline Australia is also coordinating a digital story-telling project where members from each community have created a personal digital story, using multimedia technology that can be accessed online. Please contact Jeremy Hearne – 03 8371 2813 or email jhearne@mensline.org.au

4. Online survey for people living with bipolar disorder (and their advocates/carers): UK-based publishing and research organisation, PatientView, in association with the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH) and GAMIAN-Europe, as well as the European family and carer federation, EUFAMI, is inviting you to participate in an online survey. Consumers, carers and consumer groups will be able to contribute their personal views on bipolar disorder. The survey has been developed to assist PatientView and its associates with information on what people living with bipolar disorder think are the most important types of healthcare information and what sets them apart from other people living with a mental illness. The online survey has been divided into seven parts, each reflecting important issues in the life of a person living with bipolar disorder. The survey closes on Monday 30 June 2008 with results being released in September 2008.

The survey can be found at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HUisU1tNJVjlkEmdcNGOjQ_3d_3d

For further information email Louise Oatham from PatientView - info@patient-view.com.

5. The 2008-2009 Federal Budget at a glance: For a quick overview of the 2008-2009 Federal Budget – visit: http://www.budget.gov.au. The site, features a section titled: Budget at a Glance, which provides an overview of key budget aggregates and the Government's budget priorities. This site also features budget papers for the departments of Health & Ageing, Families, Housing, Community Services & Indigenous Affairs – which illustrate the Government’s commitment to mental health services and carers.

6. Mindframe website: The Hunter Institute of Mental Health has launched two new sections on its Mindframe website. Parts of the Mindframe website have been created to provide access to accurate information about suicide and mental illness to help improve the portrayal of these issues in the Australian news media and on stage and screen. To add to these web pages, Mindframe has extended its work to the Australian legal system. The new pages have been specifically designed for police and for the courts, and complement other resources on the site for media professionals, the mental health and suicide prevention sectors, stage and screen and journalism students. These new sections are again focused on the media’s portrayal of both suicide and mental illness and the potential role of police and the courts as key sources of information for the media. The police and the courts section of the website are accompanied by new print resources for these sectors. They will be disseminated to police, coroners, magistrates, judges and justices in each state and territory. The new resources were developed in consultation with police and court representatives in each state and territory, as well as media professionals and people working in mental health and suicide prevention in Australia. Visit: http://www.mindframe-media.info