“There is a wealth of information collected here over the last eight episodes to help you explore more about digital mental health – what new evidence-based resources are available, the stories behind them and how they work – and there are plenty of really practical tips for integrating digital mental health into your practice.”

In the season final of Digital Mental Health Musings, we take a look at the key moments from our conversations with the experts shaping the mental health landscape in 2023. From AI and chatbots to Australia’s ground-breaking digital mental health safety and quality standards, plus culturally responsive mental healthcare, data protection and privacy, a moderated online social community changing youth mental healthcare, the clinician attitudes and behaviours that support better client experiences with digital mental health, and more, we’ve covered a lot of ground.

Featuring key moments, analysis and practical tips on integrating digital mental health into practice from across the season all in one place, this episode will help you keep on top of the major developments in digital mental health this year.

You’ll hear from Dr Phoebe Holdenson Kimura, GP and medical educator at Black Dog Institute, discussing a new education hub for health professionals and the Community of Practice that is fostering inter-collegial collaboration.

Chris Boyd Skinner, Manager of Digital Mental Health at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, discusses the impact of privacy breeches in digital mental health, how Australia’s Safety and Quality Standards were developed to protect consumers against them and what assurances health professionals should expect from digital mental health services.

Renowned socio-legal researcher at Melbourne University, Dr Piers Gooding, joins us to speak about the legal and ethical challenges surrounding AI and chatbots in mental health and the team from Head to Health take us through their award-winning new site that helps connect clients – and Health Professionals – more easily to the best mental health services for them. Meanwhile, Associate Professor Shane Cross and peer work coordinator Savannah Whieldon at Orygen discuss their moderated online social therapy platform, MOST, and how itshelping young people engage in mental health support – and the results it’s achieving.

We also hear from Dr Sally Fitzpatrick, Program Manager at Everymind, about how to identify family and carers at risk of their own mental health deteriorating and the digital resources available to help them. Social worker Bec Pevitt and Project Officer Angela Sheridan from WellMob discuss cultural humility, trauma informed care and the role that digital mental health is playing in sharing traditional Indigenous knowledge to health professionals to bridge cultural gaps and improve mental health outcomes for our First Nations People. And clinical psychologist, Dr Lou Farrer from The Australian National University discusses her work looking at the impact COVID-19 has had on the changing attitudes and behaviours of clinicians on the role of digital mental health.

You can listen to the full episode here and we look forward to joining you in 2024 with more of the latest news in digital mental health.

Check out some of the resources we discussed in this episode:

WellMob: https://wellmob.org.au/

Black Dog Institute’s Health Professionals Education and Resources Hub: https://cop.learning.blackdoginstitute.org.au/#/public-dashboard

MOST: https://most.org.au/

Digital Mental Health Safety and Quality Standards: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/national-safety-and-quality-digital-mental-health-standards

SANE Australia: https://www.sane.org/

Head to Health: https://www.headtohealth.gov.au/

EveryMind: https://everymind.org.au/

Minds Together: https://mindstogether.org.au/

Listen to the full conversation below. You can also access Digital Mental Health Musings on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Deezer.

Read the Episode Transcript