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29 January 2010

Last Updated (Tuesday, 02 February 2010 06:39)

Welcome to The Mental Health Association NSW’s e-news “MHA Communications.”

The Mental Health Association NSW aims to send out news of our latest projects and activities in the community, and how you can benefit from them, about once a month.

Latest campaign

January’s Stress Less Tip: Sign up for that course, join that club!

January’s stress less tip is focused on getting involved in your community. Signing up to a course or joining a club is a great opportunity to meet new faces and boost your self-esteem, and January is the perfect time of year to start something new. By interacting with new people you can expand your social circle, gain confidence with new skills and find a sense of belonging. The trick is to be realistic and set small goals. For more info on this tip see www.stresslesstips.org.au

Be our January Winner! Enter our Facebook competition and win 2 $100 vouchers from Sydney Community College or a double pass up to the value of $70 from Life's an Adventure to be used for all social bushwalking, mountain biking, social tennis or social golf events.

Tell a friend to enter this month's competition as well, and then you can share your experience together!

TO ENTER: follow the instructions at www.stresslesstips.org.au/entries

Would you like to be a stress less champion for the campaign? Simply send us a Stress Less story and encourage others to be a champion over excessive stress just like you! E-mail your experiences to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we’ll post it on the stories page at www.stresslesstips.org.au/stories

MHA NSW News

MHA Conference 15-16 April 2010

MHA is holding a conference, ‘Building Resilience: From Surviving to Thriving’ at the Masonic Centre on April 15th and 16th. The first day will include four streams of resilience topics and second day will be comprised of various workshops.

This event will be hosted by Julie McCrossin and touch on building resilience in the workplace, schools, community and culture. Professor Tim Sharp from the Happiness Institute, Tony Cotton from Australian Federal Police and Ingrid Poulson from Steadfast Training have confirmed they will be speaking on building resilience in the workplace. Greg Wilson, MHA Ambassador and Charmaine Jones, and Cherie Carlton from the Institute of Psychiatry, have confirmed their attendance and will be speaking or running workshops about the community resilience building; as well as Dr. Toni Noble and Lyn Worsley who will be talking about this process in a school setting. Bronwyn Batten has confirmed she will be speaking about an Indigenous example of building resilience. Other guest speakers are soon to be announced.

Early registration must be received by 14 March 2010 and standard registration will end 10 April 1010. For more information please contact MHA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

AUSEINET "Understanding Mental Health and Wellbeing" Workshop

We are currently rolling out the 'Understanding Mental Health and Wellbeing' workshop across NSW. The workshop is FREE and relevant for people working in health and non health sectors. Note that the training is knowledge based and not focused on skills. www.mentalhealth.asn.au/wellbeing/workshops.html

Dates and venues for 2010

1. Parramatta - Friday March 5. Spots filling fast, please contact Cherie Carlton directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to see if there is still space. 2. East Sydney - Thursday May 13, 10.30am - 4pm. 23 spots available.  3. East Sydney - Friday June 25, 10.30am - 4pm. 25 spots available.

Note: at this stage we are unable to consider requests for training in regional areas until the second half of 2010.

News from the Sector

The NSW Consumer Advisory Group – Mental Health Inc. (NSW CAG) - MH-CoPES Project

MH-CoPES (Mental Health Consumers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Services) is a Framework for consumer participation in service evaluation. It assists consumers and services to work together to improve services based on consumer’s feedback.

Consumers in all mental health services across NSW can anonymously fill in an  MH-CoPES Questionnaire about their experiences of the service. Collated feedback from Questionnaires is reported back to individual services, the Area Health Service and NSW Health, who must then work with consumers to drive change and improve services. In July 2009, the MH-CoPES stage 2 project, finalised the MH-CoPES Framework and Questionnaire.

MH-CoPES stage 3 has just begun. This will prepare Area Mental Health Services (AMHS) for the statewide implementation of the MH-CoPES Framework and Questionnaire. Over 12 months the MH-CoPES team will work closely with AMHS Directors, Staff, Consumer Workers, and Local Champions, to produce local implementation plans, to ensure the Framework and Questionnaire are used to their full potential and provide maximum benefit for consumers and the services.

To subscribe to Updates or find out more, email Kamani Thanakrishnan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ASCA’s Mike Lew 2010 Tour Downunder

ASCA (Adults Surviving Child Abuse), in collaboration with SECASA is bringing Mike Lew, M.Ed., a leading world expert in the field of adult male recovery from childhood abuse, to Australia. Mike has worked with thousands of men and women in their healing from the effects of childhood sexual abuse, rape, physical violence, emotional abuse and neglect. With a vast knowledge in both psychotherapy, and cultural anthropology, Mike Lew brings a multifaceted approach to a subject that sadly crosses every cultural and economic group.

In April, Mike will conduct workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Darwin for health professionals who work with male survivors of child abuse. The workshops offer a chance to hear Mike's insights and strategies which are aimed at providing health professionals the practical, therapeutic tools they require to assist their clients to move beyond the past and into the bright future of recovery. To book please visit www.asca.org.au/mikelew. The workshops also offer health professionals the support they need to work with male survivors of child abuse.

Black Dog Institute Volunteer Program

Volunteering for the Black Dog Institute includes a range of activities and interests. Depending on your skills, personal and professional experience, and your availability and location, you may be involved in school education, community education, basic administration work, skill-based volunteering, or participating in special events and fundraising activities. Positions range from long-term to short-term to one-off events.

Full training and support provided for volunteers by the Black Dog Institute.

What can a Black Dog Institute volunteer do? - Become a Community Presenter and deliver the Institute’s education presentation to the community - Become a Youth Presenter and deliver education presentation to young people - Become a Support Group Facilitator for groups of people who are affected by mood disorder - Provide Office Support to the Institute based in Sydney or participate in skill-based volunteering by offering your professional skills to work on Special Projects - Participate in fundraising activities to raise funds and awareness of mood disorders

To obtain Information Pack and to apply, please go to: www.blackdoginstitute.org.au (Community Programs). For enquiries, contact Sarah Connor, Volunteer Coordinator, on (02) 9382 9250, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it