125 Results

Jaelea Skehan writes:  Mention the phrase ‘carer’ and you get an instant warm, fuzzy feeling along with a picture of someone strong and healthy, helping someone frail.  But these images can be very misleading. It is estimated that 2.6 million Australians are carers, many of whom are providing practical day-to-day and emotional support for people [...]

In recent years the increased focus on mental health issues and subsequent increases in federal funding, have created an environment where significant change should be possible.  However, two years after the federal government proudly focused on mental health in the 2011 budget – Sebastian Rosenberg reminds us that announcing the funding is the easy bit. [...]

Nick Glozier writes: The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has copped the predicted criticisms since its release on the weekend. Most centre on the idea thatmore of us will be diagnosed with mental disorders, as the diagnostic thresholds are lowered. Critics have also argued these thresholds will lead to [...]

The poor physical health of people with mental illness has been known about for decades – one of the first studies in this area was published as far back as 1934 (see reference 1 at the bottom of this article). A National Summit on Mental Health and Physical Health will be held in Sydney tomorrow with [...]

Jayashri Kulkarni: Women admitted to psychiatry wards experience high levels of violence and sexual assaults, according to a report released this week by the Victorian Mental Illness Alliance Council. Across the nine different psychiatry hospital wards surveyed in Victoria, 85% of female inpatients felt unsafe during hospitalisation, 67% reported experiencing sexual or other forms of harassment [...]

Olav Nielssen writes:  Just when we thought we were heading for a more tolerant and accepting attitude toward people afflicted by mental illness, a feature and a news article in Saturday’s The Australian quoting leaders in the area of forensic psychiatry have revived the old mental-illness-equals-axe-murderer stigma. One of the articles was based on a recent paper published in the journal Acta Psychiatrica [...]

Are our policies and laws leading to treatment delays for people with schizophrenia? It seems so, suggests a review of the evidence around involuntary treatment orders, conducted by the Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research and Schizophrenia Research Institute. *** Time for a rethink around involuntary treatment for people with schizophrenia Dr Anne-marie Boxall writes: [...]

The first National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention is the latest in a long, long line of similar reports and inquiries. It’s time for some real action, according to the commentary below, from: • Vern Hughes of the National Campaign for Consumer Centred Health Care, and • Dr Lesley Russell, a senior research fellow at the [...]