Sign up below to receive monthly eMHPrac newsletters and updates about the latest digital mental health news, events, and resources.
In this edition:
- Australia’s new National Digital Health Strategy for 2023-2028
- Black Dog Institute opens hub to social workers and counsellors
- Lifeline and Beyond Blue partnership
- Participate in research on AI in mental health
- Live webinars from Reach Out
- Live Webinars from Black Dog Institute
- Recent blogs:
- “Still worried about the safety of Digital Mental Health resources? Service accreditation will help”
- “Managing PTSD in the Frontline Community”
- “Using Technology to Complement Neurodivergent Brains”
- See the eMHPrac team at these upcoming conferences
- Read the latest dMH research articles
- This month’s featured service: Mindspot Pain Course
Australia’s new National Digital Health Strategy for 2023-2028
Australia has launched its National Digital Health Strategy for 2023-2028. The strategy focuses on achieving 4 overall outcomes for the health system over the next 5 years, striving to make it more: Digitally enabled, person-centred, inclusive and data-driven. In the spirit of connected care, achieving these outcomes will enable healthcare in Australia to become more streamlines and efficient for individuals, the community, providers, industry and governments.
Black Dog Institute Opens Health Professional Resource & Education Hub to Social Workers and Counsellors
The Black Dog Institute has officially opened its Health Professional Resource & Education Hub to registered social workers and counsellors. This platform provides evidence-based digital resource, including training modules, webinars, podcasts, and e-Mental Health in Practice tools, aimed at enhancing the skills and knowledge of health professionals. If you are a social worker registered with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) or a counsellor registered with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), you are eligible to join the hub.
Lifeline and Beyond Blue Strategic Partnership
Late last year, Lifeline and Beyond Blue announced a partnership to streamline mental health and crisis support across Australia. This collaboration aims to leverage Lifeline’s expertise in crisis intervention with Beyond Blue’s focus on early intervention and prevention, ensuring that individuals can easily access the support that best suits their needs. A key feature of this partnership is the transition of the Beyond Now suicide safety planning tool for Beyond Blue to Lifeline. This initiative marks a significant step towards a more integrated and accessible mental health support system, designed to meet the increasing demand for services with clarity and efficiency.
Participate in research on Artificial Intelligence in mental health
The team at Orygen Digital are seeking mental health professionals to complete a short, anonymous survey on their experiences using AI for mental health. The survey is expected to take 5-7 minutes and is open to mental health professionals based in Australia who have used or considered using AI in their work.
Live webinar from Reach Out
“From insight to change: Why embedding impact matters”
When: Online, 21 Mar 12:00pm – 1:00pm AEDT
ReachOut are hosting a webinar to launch its inaugural Social Impact Report 2022 – 2023. This webinar will spotlight ReachOut’s impactful contributions to youth mental health and delve into the essentials of impact measurement for digital mental health services. Led by Karen Wilcox, ReachOut’s Director of Research and Professor Amanda Third, the session aims to explore effective strategies for overcoming the challenges of impact measurement and enhancing service delivery through data-driven decisions.
Live webinars from Black Dog Institute
“Smartphone apps for depression and anxiety in young people”
When: Online, Thurs 21 March 1pm AEDT and Thurs 21 March 8pm AEDT
RACGP CPD Approved Activity – 1 CPD hour – Educational Activities
Join Dr Imogen Bell, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Psychologist at Orygen Digital, as she summarises the research into smartphone interventions for depression and anxiety in young people, including what apps are currently available and considerations for their use in everyday clinical practice. She will also highlight some of the promising innovations, including the artificial intelligence, research into the effectiveness of transdiagnostic apps, and the development of new transdiagnostic app, Mello.
“Recognising and enhancing positive emotion”
When: Online, Tues 16 April 12:30pm AEDT and Tues 16 April 6pm AEDT
In this brief and practical webinar, the Black Dog Institute team will discuss the importance of highlighting the positive emotions in clinical conversations, and explore some ways in which we can help people (and ourselves) enhance the experience of those emotions.
Dr Melanie Babooram is a compassionate and experienced Clinical Psychologist at the Black Dog Institute, and will be in discussion with Dr Jan Orman.
“Still worried about the safety of Digital Mental Health resources? Service accreditation will help”
A guest blog by Jan Orman, a GP from Black Dog Institute exploring how the new NSQDMH Standards help clinicians use digital mental health resources in clinical practice.
Managing PTSD in the Frontline Community
How digital mental health services offer a practical solution for frontline workers experiencing PTSD.
Using Technology to Complement Neurodivergent Brains
Exploring how neurodivergent people can use digital tools in their everyday lives as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18-24 March).
Catch us at these upcoming conferences
AddictionZ
29 April – 1 May 2024, BJW Marriott Gold Coast, QLD
Presentation and Trade exhibit
Breaking the barriers. The A to Z of addiction trends and treatments.
See eMHPrac’s Senior Training Facilitator Carol Purtell present on “Building a Digital Mental Health Toolkit for Practitioners Working with Substance Use and Addiction” and visit the eMHPrac team at their trade exhibit.
The National Suicide Prevention Conference
30 April – 2 May 2024, Adelaide Convention Centre, SA
Trade exhibit
Collective. Courage. Accelerate. Impact.
Visit the eMHPrac team at their trade booth.
General Practice Conference & Exhibition (GPCE)
24-26 May 2024, ICC Sydney, NSW
Presentation and Trade exhibit
See Dr Jan Orman present and visit the eMHPrac team at Black Dog Institute at their trade exhibit.
What we’ve been reading
Bendotti, H., Lawler, S., Chan, G. C., Gartner, C., Ireland, D., & Marshall, H. M. (2023). Conversational artificial intelligence interventions to support smoking cessation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Digital Health, 9. Doi: 10.1177/20552076231211634
The Current State and Validity of Digital Assessment Tools for Psychiatry: Systematic Review
Martin-Key, N. A., Spadaro, B., Funnell, E., Barker, E. J., Schei, T. S., Tomasik, J., & Bahn, S. (2022). The current state and validity of digital assessment tools for psychiatry: systematic review. JMIR Mental Health, 9(3), e32824. Doi: 10.2196/32824
The Effectiveness of Crisis Line Services: A Systematic Review
Hoffberg, A. S., Stearns-Yoder, K. A., & Brenner, L. A. (2020). The effectiveness of crisis line services: a systematic review. Frontiers in public health, 7, 399. Doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00399
Our featured service…
About MindSpot Pain Course
The MindSpot Chronic Pain Course consists of five lessons over an eight-week period. It provides the information and practice skills individuals would normally receive from a mental health professional from a mental health professional at a specialist pain management clinic.
Read out blog delving into the MindSpot Pain Course here.
About the author
