As we ease into the new year we wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2023, sharing some of our noteworthy milestones and achievements.

It was a big year for the eMHPrac team, from launching new websites, developing new resources, and presenting at conferences across the nation. Our dedicated team has been working hard to guide practitioners through the ever-evolving digital mental health landscape and increase confidence and uptake of digital mental health services.

Each year we endeavour to create more resources to support the health workforce in accessing the right digital mental health services and learning how to use them in practice with their patients and clients. One resource we are particularly proud of is the launch of the Black Dog Institute Health Professional Resource and Education Hub.

2023 saw the launch of a new, free learning hub for health professionals, developed by members of the eMHPrac team from Black Dog University, providing a safe space for collaboration, sharing information and more. The online platform includes:

• Live webinars
• On-demand webinars, online modules and podcasts
• Informational PDFs and websites
• A moderated Community of Practice to connect with peers.

The Black Dog Institute Health Professionals Education and Resource Hub currently has over 2,800 members, sharing ideas and experiences with other health professionals, and building their digital mental health knowledge to integrate into their clinical practice.

Last year also saw the development of new resources for the WellMob and eMHPrac websites:

WellMob have developed a new suite of resource sheets for workers, providing short-cuts to the best resources regarding common wellbeing issues.

There are 14 new resource sheets available, designed to assist practitioners and the wellbeing workforce to quickly find the best digital tools on WellMob on specific topics including; alcohol, anxiety, cultural identity, depression, drugs and smoking, gender identity, parenting, sleep, suicide prevention, understanding and healing from trauma, understanding social and emotional wellbeing and understanding the impact of colonisation.

WellMob also developed a resource sheet to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through The Voice to Parliament Referendum which was accessed more than 1,885 times.

In 2023, we launch updated versions of our full suite of digital mental health fact sheets and brochures, featuring new artwork and the latest digital health services suitable for you and your clients. This includes our popular ‘A brief guide to digital mental health resources’, ‘Managing Mental Health Online’ and more.

2023 saw the launch of the third season on Digital Mental Health Musings, an eMHPrac podcast bringing you the latest news and expert opinions in digital mental health. This season we spoke to 14 expert guests across 9 episodes exploring everything from safety, privacy and data collection in digital mental health, artificial intelligence, and clinician behaviour and client experiences with digital mental health.

With over 1,400 listens, our most popular episodes from last year were:

S3E4 | Spotlight on WellMob: Connecting digital mental health to culturally responsive healthcare

With Angela Sheridan, Project Officer at WellMob, and Bec Pevitt, Social Worker

Discussing Indigenous approaches to mental health, the differences from mainstream models of care and how culturally safe resource, developed by and with Aboriginal communities, represents best-practice healthcare for Aboriginal people.

S3E2 | Australia’s new Digital Mental Health Standards will help deliver safer and more effective care – here’s what it means for health professionals

With Christopher Boyd-Skinner, Manager of Digital Mental Health at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Rachel Green, CEO at SANE Australia, and Dr Anita Moss, GP Obstetrician in rural Victoria

Taking a deeper look at how Australia is leading the way is setting standards for digital mental health safety and quality and what it means for health professionals.

S3E5 | The new wave of youth digital mental health: how MOST is challenging the mental healthcare model for young people

With Professor Shane Cross, Head of Research at Orygen Digital, and Savannah Whieldon, Orygen Digital’s Queensland Peer Work Coordinator

Discussing how health professionals can use MOST to support young people while they’re waiting for care, to expand on face-to-face sessions once they are in care, and to sue after discharge from a service.

You can listen to all past episodes here to hear more about all the major developments in digital mental health, or search and subscribe wherever you get your podcast.

We love getting to meet and connect with people in the mental health community throughout Australia, to share knowledge about digital mental health and learn more about what health professionals, support worker workers and your patients or clients need.

In 2023 we were able to participate in 22 national conferences, reaching over 7,905 delegates. Our team enjoyed chatting to people at our trade booths and sharing resources like our popular Guide to Digital Mental Health Resources, to help workers find the best digital services to enhance their work. We were also able to present at many of these conferences, sharing deeper insights into the many ways digital mental health services and help and strategies to use them in practice.

In addition to conference presentations, we delivered 108 training presentation, webinars and workshops across Australia to over 5,760 health practitioners and SEWB (Social and Emotional Wellbeing) workers.

The eMHPrac team at Black Dog Institute released 8 webinars in 2023, exploring topics like; young people impacted by cancer, climate change, anxiety disorders in women, Social and Emotional Wellbeing, ADHD and more. These webinars were recorded live throughout the year and are now available on-demand on the Black Dog Institute Health Professionals Education and Resource Hub.

In addition to distributing resources at conferences, our guides and fact sheets are also available through our website to download or order free hard copies sent directly to your practice. In 2023 we sent more than 31,000 copies of our resources to health professionals and support workers across Australia, and saw more than 22,000 digital downloads.

In addition to our goal of increasing health professionals access to and use of digital mental health, we also endeavour to help you keep up with all the latest news and developments in this space. Our monthly newsletter and weekly blogs posts help you stay on the cutting edge of digital mental health research, policy and services in Australia.

In 2023 we released 12 monthly editions of our newsletter to over 3,300 subscribers across Australia, including psychologists, GPs, social workers, allied health professionals, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing workers, and more.

The eMHPrac team released more than 50 weekly blog in 2023, sharing the best digital mental health services, new developments, tips and strategies, professional development resources and more. These blogs provide bite-sized insights into topical discussions and specific scenarios, providing a stepping stone for the mental health community into digital mental health.

Finally, we added the Black Dog Institute Being Well blog series to the eMHPrac website in 2023, a series exploring mental health topics and sharing insights from health professionals for health professionals.

2023 was a big year and we can’t wait to keep building on our knowledge and experiences to share and connect more health professionals with digital mental health in 2024. Contact us if you are interested in training or if there is anything you would like to know about digital mental health for health professionals.