Time For Change
Keynote presentation at the International eMental Health Forum.
Keynote presentation at the International eMental Health Forum.
How do we ensure people know their rights and can get help making sure they are honoured? It's a challenging one for sure, but human rights are at the centre of modern society and can help address discrimination and foster social inclusion.
I led the evaluation of Korowai Whaimana (The Empowering Cloak) training - the world’s first education program on mental health and human rights by and for people with lived experience.
Every time we hear about suicide in the TV, radio or social media it has a huge impact on us and our communities. I led academic research into this with a special focus on how the news stories are different when suicide involves online technology.
As well as informing government guidelines on media reporting, this part was published in the peer-reviewed journal New Media and Society.
For me DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy) takes all the best bits of the better-known CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and adds useful tools from Eastern traditions like acceptance and mindfulness. I felt privileged to be able to help the country's only residential DBT service with strategic and operational planing to improve accessibility and continue to deliver services.
Reaching out for help can be a huge threshold to cross and helplines can help those who can't or don't want to visit a mental health or social service. I was privileged to be Lifeline's first national manager to bring together over a dozen silo'd services into one cohesive platform of helping and online support.