Mental Health week 2021 – “Take Time for Mental Health”

After a virtual hiatus last year due to COVID-19, the Mental Health Expo returned for an 11th year at its new venue at the Powerhouse in New Farm. The Expo has been organised by the Metro North Mental Health Resource Team since it’s inception and was previously known at the North Brisbane Mental Health Expo. Metro South partnered with Metro North five years ago, and the Expo is now a key Mental Health Week event for Brisbane and surrounds.

Kimberly Taylor, RBWH Complex Care Co-ordinator and Jack Stanley, TPCH Complex Care Co-ordinator and Claire Carberry, PAH Service Integration Co-ordinator co-chaired the event this year leading a steering committee made up of local service provider representatives.

Together they withstood threats of lockdowns and storms to host another successful Expo. The move to the new site at the Powerhouse created a great atmosphere for providers and clients of the local mental health sector to network and learn from each other.

Pathways for supporting vulnerable people to access the COVID-19 vaccine

Brisbane North PHN and Brisbane South PHN are working together to improve access to the COVID-19 vaccine for the following people who would benefit from additional support:

• housebound people
• people experiencing homelessness
• culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• non-Medicare eligible people
• First Nations Peoples

For more information click here!

TheMHS Award winner – Associate Professor Stephan Parker

On 13 September 2021, Associate Professor Stephen Parker, Research Psychiatrist at TPCH, was awarded the Young Researcher Award at annual TheMHS Awards. The judges thought his entry showed that he is ‘a clear leader in culture change – building and fostering interdisciplinary clinical and lived experience research capacity and a workplace research and evaluation culture’.

The award was based on his research working to establish an evidence base to inform practice and policy in community-based residential mental health services for people experiencing severe and persistent mental illness.

TPCH had the pleasure of hosting his virtual award ceremony and were joined by colleagues from Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services, including his supervisor Dr Frances Dark.

Inclusion in Action – Multicultural Qld Month

As part of Multicultural Qld Month our MNMH Multicultural Mental Health Coordinators (MMHCs) have been building community partnerships to increase access and supports available for our CALD consumers.

Our MMHCs actioned a referral from a Mental Health Clinician at Nundah Community Mental Health Service to find some cultural connections in the local community for a CALD consumer in treatment with their team who was born overseas in a non-English speaking county.

The consumer resides in the Bracken Ridge area, so our MMHC approached the Bracken Ridge Library to discuss local support options. From there, a wonderful new initiative commenced!

The library coordinators made the decision to launch an English Conversation Group for all members of the general public. Libraries offer a range of books, magazines, DVDs and CDs in several languages. The library catalogue (eLibCat) is also available in Spanish and Chinese.

If you can’t find the language you want, ask one of the library staff for help – they may be able to order it in for you. The libraries also have resources to help people learn English, including interactive CD-ROMs, books, DVDs with subtitles in a variety of languages, and language kits.

All members of the public are welcome to attend any of the many respective Library English Conversation Groups regardless of where their home address is.

Upcoming Workshops – Cross Cultural Communication

Optimising Cross-Cultural Communication

Presented by Andrés Otero-Forero (Clinical Educator, Qld Transcultural Mental Health Centre) – an interactive reflective workshop focusing on the interplay between culture and language in mental health care. Introduces some strategies for improving cross-cultural interactions, including Apps and visual tools, and will outline the process of booking and working with interpreters.

DFV in CALD Communities and the Interface with MH

Presented by Sonia Kumari (RBWH MMHC) – experiential workshop exploring the complexity of domestic and family violence for CALD families, its impact on mental health, and implications for mental health care.

Myth Busting: Aggression, Race and Culture          

Presented by Rosa Bibby (TPCH MMHC) – provides a challenging look at the stigma regarding violence associated with some culturally and linguistically diverse groups, and the impact on their treatment within mental health services.

Cultural Considerations in Cognitive Assessment

Presented by Dragos Ileana (Clinical Psychologist & Statewide Transcultural Mental Health Practice Leader, Qld Transcultural Mental Health) – explores linguistic and cultural considerations in conducting and interpreting psychometric assessments, using case studies across the developmental spectrum, and giving opportunity for participants to workshop clinical dilemmas of their own. * Workshop designed specifically for Psychologists.

For more information and how to register, please contact your local Multicultural Mental Health Coordinator.

Boundaries and Limits workshop

Topic: “Managing Boundaries and Limits in Inpatient Mental Health”

When: Wednesday 10 November 2021, 8am – 1pm

Venue: Room 1B, Centre for Clinical Nursing, RBWH

The ‘observing limits’ approach is simple in theory but difficult in practice (Linehan,1993) This 5-hour workshop will cover:

• The difference between boundaries and personal limits
• Boundary violations vs limit violations
• Team and client implications
• Skills that clinicians can use to support the team and the client and will incorporate the work of Marsha M Linehan

Facilitator: Kate MacDonald and MH Nurse Educators

Please register for this session via TMS

Course ID: 0000024759

For any information on the course please contact the MH Nurse Educators on 3646 1164 or at MH_education@health.qld.gov.au

Hearing Voices Workshop: A simulated experience

Topic: “Working with voices”

When: Wednesday 10 November 2021, 1.30pm – 4.30pm

Venue: Room 1B, Centre for Clinical Nursing, RBWH

Facilitator: KeepwellTM

All Staff of Metro North Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (including Psychiatric Consultants, Registrars and RMO’s) are invited to register for this experiential workshop.

The Working with Voices Workshop aims to help mental health professionals understand the challenges that face people with psychiatric disabilities. During the training participants listen to distressing voices through headphones while completing a series of tasks such as taking a mental status exam in a mock psychiatric emergency room.

Please register for this session via TMS

Course ID: 0000024762

For enquiries please contact MH Nurse Educators on 3646 8014 or MH_education@health.qld.gov.au

Please note – The Hearing Voices Simulation activity is not recommended for people with a lived experience of voice hearing. If you have any concerns about your suitability to participate in this program, please contact the course facilitator prior to registering.

Mental Health Professional Development workshops

Topic: “Trauma informed care”

When: Wednesday 24 November 2021, 8am – 12.30pm 

Venue: RBWH Centre for Clinical Nursing

Trauma Informed Care (TIC) aims to provide Mental Health clinicians with a model of care to reinforce a person-centred approach and complement current practices such as Safewards, recovery and strengths orientated practices and sensory modulation.

TIC service acknowledges the prevalence of trauma, recognises how trauma affects all individuals (consumers and staff) and responds by implementing trauma informed practices prioritising physical, psychological and emotional safety for all individuals.

This four-hour session will include a one hour sensory modulation session.

Topic: “Safewards”

When: Wednesday 24 November 2021, 1pm – 4.30pm

Venue: RBWH Centre for Clinical Nursing

All Metro North Mental Health Clinicians who are working in inpatient services are invited to attend this workshop, which introduces participants to the research based Safewards nursing model.

This model was developed to assist in the reduction of conflict and containment within mental health inpatient settings. Participants will gain knowledge of the Safewards interventions and learn strategies for implementing and supporting the interventions within the clinical setting.

Please register for these sessions via TMS

Course ID Trauma informed Care: 0000033455

Course ID Safewards: 0000033458

Staff compliments

Read about some of the great feedback our services and staff have received.

I cannot say enough about NAMED STAFF MEMBER and her capacity to engage with and offer support to this person, seeking collaborative information (with consent) from myself and listening to her consumer. She did a brilliant job and should be acknowledged for her kindness and caring in a very difficult space allowing the consumer to feel heard, supported and part of the decision-making process in their journey to recovery. I would like to acknowledge the excellent work she is doing in this space, and I feel she should be recognised for all that she does.

My son NAME came in by ambulance today and he often just needs to talk to someone from mental health. He went to meet named peer worker and another lovely person from your new “Calm / Safe Place” and I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU!!!! Having a space that he can feel SAFE and able to talk to someone is exactly what he needs. He’s 28 now and being in the A&E is not the right place for anyone with mental health issues like him. He has BPD, Autism and an Intellectual impairment. So, he only needs a place to sit quietly, talk to someone, and when he starts to calm down, of course his brain kicks in and he can THINK again. So, thank you very much for creating a space that he can come to.

Consumer with complex needs admitted to hospital as community supports inadequate leading to issues with consumer’s mental and physical care.  During admission NAMED STAFF MEMBER worked with multiple stakeholders to assess consumer and identify more suitable accommodation and community supports and to facilitate ongoing assessment and treatment for consumer’s physical condition.

Consumer thanking staff for care and compassion.

Client thanked Biala Ground Floor for the amazing work that they do and said “they are worth their weight in gold”.

Applications for Mental Health Scholarships are now open

Mental Health Scholarships provide financial assistance for completion of approved post-graduate university studies in mental health clinical practice that will enhance the capability of clinical staff working closely with people accessing mental health, alcohol and other drugs services.

Studies aimed at enhancing the delivery of recovery-oriented, consumer-focused services, increasing confidence and job satisfaction, and opportunities such as career development are prioritised.

You can find more information on eligibility or how to apply for a scholarship on the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning website or you can email the Mental Health Scholarship Coordinator.

Applications close on 22 November 2021.