Mental health Archives | Page 7 of 22 | South Western Sydney PHN

29 January 2024

The Making the most of mental health questionnaires webinar will be held on Thursday, 8 February from 1pm to 2pm (register here) and again from 8pm to 9pm (register here).

The webinar is RACGP-accredited for 1 CPD hour (Educational Activities).

Clinical psychologist Dr Peter Baldwin will take participants through how self-report questionnaires work, how to choose a questionnaire, and how to quickly and effectively interpret the scores.

The Supporting Families when Dementia Comes Knocking webinar will be held on Thursday, 27 February from 12.30pm to 1pm (register here).

Dr Hilton Koppe, GP Educator at Dementia Training Australia and facilitator of the Dementia in Practice podcast, will explore how health professionals can support community members in assisting a person maintain their dignity and a good quality of life after a diagnosis of dementia.

29 January 2024

South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN) welcomes Community Links Wellbeing as the new commissioned service provider for the STAR4kids program in the Camden, Wollondilly and Wingecarribee Local Government Areas (LGAs).

Community Links Wellbeing is a not-for-profit non-government organisation which supports clients to achieve positive individual and community outcomes through events, groups, workshops, youth programs, crisis support, carer and family support, and allied and mental health services.

Community Links Wellbeing will take over management of the STAR4Kids program from At Full Potential Pty Ltd on Thursday, 1 February.

STAR4kids provides free psychological therapies to children aged three to 12 years with, or at risk of, developing a mild to moderate mental illness, including depression, anxiety or stress disorders.

The service consists of up to 12 hours of free psychological support with a mental health professional (psychologist, mental health nurse or accredited social worker) who has experience working with children.

SWSPHN’s Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs Manager, Jade Weidner, thanked At Full Potential Pty Ltd for their work in delivering STAR4kids for seven years, and for working closely with Community Links Wellbeing to ensure the smooth transition of the service and continuity of care for clients.

“We want to assure our community the STAR4kids service in Camden, Wollondilly and Wingecarribee will continue under the care of Community Links Wellbeing,” she said.

“SWSPHN has a long relationship with Community Links Wellbeing which already provides a number of SWSPHN-commissioned holistic and solution-focused mental health and wellbeing services in the region.”

For clients under a current referral and working with a STAR4Kids mental health clinician within Camden, Wollondilly and Wingecaribee LGAs, there will be no immediate change. You will continue to be treated by your current clinician until you have completed your referral.

All new referrals will be managed and allocated services by Community Links Wellbeing.

How to access STAR4kids

If you are a parent or carer you can gain access to the program for your child by visiting your GP for a referral. You will need to book a longer GP appointment, so your child can be assessed, and a referral and GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (for Children) is completed.

Referrals can also be made through approved referrers such as early childhood centres, teachers and school counsellors.

Referrals by health professionals

GPs and other health professionals may make referrals to this service through SWSPHN’s Mental Health Central Intake.

14 December 2023

SWSPHN’s Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs team facilitated the 7th annual Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Roundtable at Campbelltown Catholic Club’s Dharawal room last week.

The Mental Health and AOD Roundtable aims to promote integration among service providers. This year, 43 attendees including nine SWSPHN staff, came together to discuss the theme of creating culturally safe and inclusive spaces for multicultural communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“Today isn’t about what we already know and what we are already doing. Today is about adding more thinking to things, i.e., diversity, and we have carefully chosen speakers who can take us further down that path,” facilitator Sharon Pedersen said.

Jioji Ravulo, the keynote speaker and Professor and Chair of Social Work and Policy Studies at The University of Sydney, highlighted the importance of a holistic approach in responding to diversity. He emphasised the journey towards recovery from mental health and AOD comorbidities, stressing the need for individuals to know they are not alone and find strategies to move forward.

*Jioji Ravulo, keynote speaker and Professor and Chair of Social Work and Policy Studies at The University of Sydney*

“It’s all about building relationships, and we can do that through concepts like cultural humility, where we’re holding space, where we are aware of the individual and self, how they connect with family, communities, spaces and places and also social structure, system and services,” Professor Ravulo said.

Key discussions highlighted the importance of safe spaces in shaping identity and community belonging. Professor Ravulo emphasised the challenge of aligning services with diverse community needs, stating intentions drive the effectiveness of tools.

“A tool is only as good as its intention,” he said. “As practitioners, we need to be mindful of how we do that with intention, with a genuine and dialogically driven approach because it’s through those particular outcomes that you can create particular opportunities that are inclusive, sustainable and supportive,” Professor Ravulo said.

Cultural humility and shared co-design approaches were emphasised in the conversation. Professor Ravulo introduced the concept of “Talanoa”, a Fijian term to represent holding and sharing a nurturing space.

Guest speaker, Dr Lisa Juckes, clinical lead at YESS Northern Sydney and youth, general and addictions psychiatrist, delivered an afternoon presentation titled “I don’t have an issue with substance use – just help me with my mental health” focusing on co-occurring mental health and substance use.

*Guest speaker, Dr Lisa Juckes presenting on co-occurring mental health and substance use*

The session was followed by a workshop exploring Models of Intersectionality, Concept of Cultural, and Social and Emotional Wellbeing. Gandangara Health Services’ presentation stood out during the event, featuring a captivating performance by Jestyn Nand on the didgeridoo, a meditation session using “dadirri”, meaning deep listening and quiet stillness, and a Yarning Circle for all attendees.

During the roundtable, we also heard from:

Vi Nguyen: Coordinator at Odyssey Multicultural Programs.
Mohamad Fenj: Stakeholder and Community Engagement Officer at Neami Liverpool Head to Health Mental Health Service, CALD auditor, registered counsellor and founder of The Rehabilitation Project.
Angela Spithill: Health Services Manager of Gandangara Health Services and Marumali.
Alex Budlevskis: Social and Emotional Wellbeing Team Leader at Gandangara Health Service.

Find out more about mental health

Find out more about alcohol and other drugs (AOD)

30 November 2023

SWSPHN representatives attended the Community Services Networking Day at Wollondilly Shire Hall in Picton last week.

Our Integration and Priority Populations Manager Ben Neville attended the event alongside Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator Luke Swain and Integration and Priority Populations Coordinator Alyssa Horgan.

The event brought together service providers, other council representatives and Local Health District representatives.

The goal of the networking day was to support community service organisations, and provided SWSPHN with an opportunity to connect with various services and share information.

All three SWSPHN representatives delivered presentations on the day.

Mr Swain discussed targeted regional initiatives for suicide prevention.
Miss Horgan shared insights on disaster preparedness and recovery for the community.
Mr Neville focused on health considerations for growth areas.

Each presentation was followed by a five-minute Q&A session.

For further information on the topics covered during the networking day:

24 November 2023

Consultations and research to gain insights on how to provide better support and reduce the risks of suicide throughout South Western Sydney took place between June and September this year to inform ‘targeted regional initiatives for suicide prevention’.

Consultations were conducted with community members, GPs and other health professionals. Extensive research on priority populations who are overrepresented in regional suicide data was conducted.

The feedback from these consultations and research helped SWSPHN understand what’s working and what needs improvement to better support people and their families affected by suicide and reduce the risks of suicide within our community.

The findings, recommendations and key actions from the research and consultations are documented in the Suicide Prevention Codesign Report and summarised below.

Suicide prevention summary report

This co-design served to guide South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) commissioning and coordination of a systems-based approach to suicide prevention in South Western Sydney.

Aims and objectives

This co-design aimed to improve data quality, enhance access to services, strengthen community response, and raise awareness to address suicidal behaviours effectively, inform regional planning and develop targeted initiatives and to ensure gatekeepers are provided adequate support to deliver care.

The co-design objectives were to better understand the barriers to accessing suicide prevention and aftercare services as well as gaps within these services for people at risk of suicide, lived experience of suicide and/or suicidal bereavement, as well as identifying opportunities to improve suicide prevention, postvention and aftercare services.

Data gathering

Between June and August of 2023, a review of the current literature and community consultations were carried out to guide this report.

Focus groups 112 participants (27 male, 83 female), this included a Vietnamese session and two Arabic sessions.
Online surveys Completed by 11 General Practitioners
Structured interviews 13 Accredited mental health professionals

Consultation findings

Consultation responses were grouped into the follow themes, barriers, enablers, challenges to care provision and opportunity and priority areas. The top three under each category is outlined below.

Focus group findings

Barriers	Enablers	Opportunity/priority areas
Lack of awareness of services (31%)	Access to clinical support (28%)	Improve public awareness of services (26%)
Logistical/financial factors (27%)	Helpline and crisis services (17%)	Enhance access to services (20%)
Stigma/discrimination (17%)	Culturally appropriate care (13%)	Improve service coordination (16%)

Mental health professional consultation findings

Barriers	Challenges to care provision	Opportunity /priority areas
Lack of awareness of services (28%)	Inappropriate availability of services (39%)	Improve awareness of services (32%)
Individual’s mental health factors (22%)	Lack of awareness of services (18%)	Improve service coordination (22%)

Identified areas of need

The Suicide Prevention Co-Design Project identified several common priority areas to reduce the risk of suicide.

Training, education, and awareness

Improve awareness and education in identifying and responding to suicide risk, and the available suicide prevention and aftercare services.

Access to services

Address cost barriers, extending service hours, reducing waitlists, and providing psychological support to help patients overcome barriers to accessing care.

Coordination and postvention protocols

Support healthcare professionals and community to ensure patients/families/friends and community are connected to the right supports.

Service delivery and design

Tailor services to meet individual needs, ensuring more effective and person-centred care.

Improved data and research

Improve data available about priority populations and their risk of suicide within South Western Sydney.

Recommendations and key actions

Recommendation 1: Enhance awareness of suicide and local prevention and aftercare services.

Support GPs to identify suicidality, best practice clinical care and the services they can refer patients.
Develop resources for community about suicide prevention and aftercare services.
Provide culturally safe patient information.

Recommendation 2: Improve access to suicide aftercare services.

Improve access to online and telehealth services.
Promote Online Self-Help Resources (apps, websites).

Recommendation 3: Enhance care coordination, including community postvention protocols.

Facilitate cross-referrals.
Commission activities that support individuals, families, and communities after the loss of a loved one to suicide.

Recommendation 4: Tailor services to meet the level of patients’ mental health needs.

Provide responsive suicide aftercare support programs.
Provide non-clinical peer-led and mentoring services to promote social connectedness.
Incentivise service strategies which accommodate people at a low to moderate risk of suicide (afterhours care, follow up care and case coordination).

Recommendation 5: Improve suicide specific data on priority populations through additional consultations.

Engage community stakeholders: Involve representatives from these priority populations when designing, delivering, and commissioning services as well as in the development of resources.
Invest in more research about suicide in SWS related to priority populations.

20 November 2023

SWSPHN-funded headspace Bankstown featured at the recent headspace NSW and ACT state meeting at Parliament House.

headspace Bankstown staff presented on building cultural capability and safety, particularly for First Nations, refugee and migrant young people.

The presentation was delivered by headspace Bankstown’s Service and Community Development Officer, Marwa Kechtban and Clinical and Operations Manager, Ali Rahman.

headspace Bankstown is operated by Flourish Australia and is funded by SWSPHN.

Find out more about headspace

16 November 2023

The Transcultural Mental Health Line, 1800 648 911, is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm.

The telephone service is available to support people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities get the help they need, with a specialist team of healthcare professionals who speak their language and understand their mental health concern from shared cultural perspectives.

The service provides brief over-the-phone and telehealth support for callers, including in-language information and support for carers and family members of a person with a mental health concern.

Resources are available in 42 languages.

It also provides information for callers on how to access mental healthcare and will be able to connect them with relevant services and community support.

15 November 2023

After two years of successfully delivering the Mental Health Service Navigator Service directly, SWSPHN will be commissioning a service provider to grow and better integrate the much-needed service.

This service provides psychosocial advice and service recommendations to people living with complex or persistent mental illness in South Western Sydney.

New referrals to the service ceased on 31 October. Enquiries will still be managed and advice provided for a short period of time to support the transition.

The service is expected to be re-launched under the commissioned service provider in early 2024.

During this transition, GPs and other professionals are encouraged to refer their patients/clients to Head to Health via phone on 1800 595 212 (8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday), or by visiting Liverpool Head to Health at 203 Northumberland Street, Liverpool (1pm to 9.30pm, Wednesday to Monday, and 1pm to 5pm Tuesdays).

Head to Health staff will assess and refer patients/clients to the most appropriate mental health service to meet their needs.

07 November 2023

SWSPHN mental health staff hosted the No Wrong Door Sector Collaboration Forum at Rydges Campbelltown last week, the first face-to-face annual forum to be held since the COVID-19 pandemic.

No Wrong Door is a response to the repeat experiences reported by people in the community of “endless closed doors” when trying to navigate the mental health system and seek support. The idea is that regardless of which door a person enters through the system, they are supported to access a suitable service that meets their needs.

SWSPHN delivers and facilitates the No Wrong Door initiative to reduce barriers and enhance support for families in South Western Sydney.

More than 30 signatories to the No Wrong Door Charter – mainly mental health services providers from across South Western Sydney – took advantage of last week’s networking opportunity and information update. The program’s framework was launched on the day and the NWD website relaunched.

Forum participants included:

Community Links Wellbeing
Department of Community Justice
Grand Pacific Health
Lifeline Macarthur and Western Sydney
Neami National
Odyssey House
One Door Mental Health
St George Community Housing
SWS Gamble Aware
Flourish Australia – headspace Bankstown

The No Wrong Door Framework is an interactive self-paced tool for NWD Charter signatory organisations to self-assess when implementing a no wrong door and recovery-oriented approach. The framework is also a part of a toolbox of resources to support organisations in embedding a No Wrong Door approach across their services. The framework aims to:

Help No Wrong Door Charter signatory organisations work together to support consumers and carers;
Ensure consumers receive the help they need, when they need it, and from appropriate services;

Support organisations in contributing to a service system that is well placed to understand, meet, and continue to adapt to support the needs of people with a mental illness.

Feedback from the forum was positive overall, with all organisations asking for more regular interactions. Attendees were also positive about how well organised the event was, and said they enjoyed the various activities on the day.

For more information about the No Wrong Door initiative, visit the No Wrong Door or SWSPHN websites or email Bessie Berberovic bessie.berberovic@swsphn.com.au

03 November 2023

Culturally and linguistically diverse communities are benefiting from an award-winning mental health and wellbeing Bilingual Community Education (BEC) program.

The program, commissioned by SWSPHN, was recognised with a Quality Award at the inaugural South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) Gala Awards Ceremony recently.

‘Changing life keep your balance’ (CLKYB), delivered by SWSLHD’s Multicultural Services Team, was a winner in the ‘Keeping people healthy’ category.

The program was commissioned in 2021.

The pilot program targeted Assyrian, Arabic-speaking and Vietnamese communities, with the aim of improving mental health outcomes and mental health literacy.

It was a success, and the program was commissioned for a second round in 2022-2023, with the program extended to 11 languages, including Arabic, Assyrian, Cantonese, Dari, Farsi, Hindi, Khmer, Mandarin, Spanish, Tongan and Vietnamese.

It was delivered online and face-to-face.

The impetus for CLKYB was the COVID-19 pandemic. It was acknowledged that vulnerable people in the community were disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

SWSPHN was given specific funding to enhance access to appropriate mental health services, including better delivery of targeted mental health initiatives to culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

The Multicultural Services Team submitted a proposal to enhance and revise its Bilingual Community Education Program – ‘Changing life keep your balance’ – to include mental health and wellbeing post-pandemic: the five ways to wellbeing as well as how to access telehealth.

The project included training 20 Bilingual Community Educators (BCEs) and delivering a pilot program across three culturally and linguistically diverse communities in South Western Sydney.

It was seen as important to reach out to culturally and linguistically diverse communities, who face various barriers to accessing appropriate mental healthcare, including stigma and access.

CLKYB’s curriculum already included modules on stress, coping with stress, making changes, grief, self-esteem, effective communication and being in control. Mental wellbeing and mental health literacy were added.

A revised plan was implemented for the second round of the program by working with SWSLHD’s Multicultural Health Unit.

The program has been adapted to a range of settings and to communities who have not been exposed to BCE programs yet, such as the Pacific Islander community and targeted gender populations such as the Assyrian men’s groups.

A follow-up phone interview will be made with participants of the first phase of the project to ascertain long-term health outcomes three months after attending the program. The findings will help inform the program’s future directions and provide opportunities to strengthen the intended health outcomes of participants.

SWSPHN is currently awaiting final evaluation of the program.