Mental Health Community of Practice

Why is it important?

A higher proportion of members of the LGBTIQ+ community meet the criteria for experiencing a major depressive disorder and report high or very high levels of psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts compared to heterosexual people, these are magnified in young people:

• Compared to the general population, LGBTIQ+ young people aged 16-17 years old were almost three times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past 12 months
• LGBTIQ+ people are two and a half times more likely to have been diagnosed or treated for a mental health condition in the past 12 months
• LGBTIQ+ people are nearly six times more likely to experience and be diagnosed with depression
• LGBTQI+ young people aged 16-17 years old were over three times more likely (83.3%) to report high or very high levels of psychological distress

Where can I access more information?

Wear It Purple day (Friday 26th August) strives to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people. Resources can be accessed here. Consider wearing purple on the day to show support!

ACON has a number of Pride Training available here.

This report reveals that young people in distress or experiencing suicidal ideation need alternatives to emergency departments.

The report is based on consultations with 85 young people, 13 youth suicide prevention and mental health organisations, and a review of published research. The report outlines a set of recommendations for government to implement to better respond to youth suicide and self-harm.

Read the full report.

To help people access mental health support faster, Medibank has partnered with Myhealth and Medinet to trial a telepsychology clinic to reduce wait times from up to 3 months to just 2 weeks.

Find out more - Telepsych pilot

The impact of suicide across a community can be devastating. Talking to someone about suicide may feel like one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, but it could also be one of the most important conversations you’ll ever have. Recognise and Respond is a new online 1-hour course to provide you with the skills and confidence to have a life-saving conversation with a colleague, friend, or family member who may be at risk of suicide.

Find out more at: Recognise & Respond

If you, or someone you know needs help now, please call 000 or reach out to the support numbers and helplines below.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636

MensLine: 1300 789 978

A Safe Haven is a place a patient can go if they’re feeling distressed or having suicidal thoughts.

They can talk to a peer-support worker who may have experienced what they’re going through, or to a mental health professional.

Visiting and speaking with someone at a Safe Haven is free and you don’t need an appointment.

Find Safe Havens in the Hunter, New England and Central Coast region: Safe Haven, Towards Zero Suicides.

The PHN is offering an opportunity to join other primary care and allied health professionals in a four-hour, hosted InPlace workshop, taking the self-paced and team sessions out of the equation. SafeSide will deliver the guided workshop with the aim to upskill individual primary care and allied health professionals in the SafeSide framework. Following the workshop you will receive a certificate for your attendance, along with access to a yearly subscription, funded by The PHN.

Workshops are currently available on:

• Thursday, July 28, 2022 9.00 am - 1.00 pm
• Saturday, August 27, 2022 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

If you have a patient that is over 65 years old, or 55 years old if they identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, then this mental health program may the right fit.

Kinetic Medicine, based on the Mid-Coast is delivering the HEAL program in areas such as: Forster, Taree, Wingham, Gloucester, Port Stephens and others.

If you would like more information or have an eligible patient, find out more at: Heal Program — Kinetic Medicine | Exercise Physiology to Help You Get Better. Stay Better. Live Better.

With the holiday period fast approaching we wanted to share some information on our MindHealth service.

MindHealth is a PHN funded, low intensity counselling service, available online or via phone for anyone living or working in Hunter, New England, and Central Coast.

It’s free to access and operates Monday - Saturday 7am-9pm.

More info at: https://mindhealth.org.au/