Monday, April 28, 2025

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Mount Ainslie Room

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Overview

Putting mental health promotion and prevention on the political radar - the role of the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health

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Details

There is no additional cost for attending the workshops but you will need to register as space is limited - To register go to https://www.prevention2025.com/program/workshops Hosted by: Prevention United Facilitated by: Dr Stephen Carbone - Prevention United Co-Presenters: - Dr Jaelea Skehan, Director - Everymind - Professor Nicola Reavley, Deputy Director Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing - University of Melbourne Description: In this highly interactive workshop we will use a real-world case study of the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition (W&PC) in Mental Health to consider the barriers and solutions to advocating for greater government action in mental health promotion and preventive mental health. Encouraging governments to increase action and investment in preventive health is challenging. Getting them to focus on preventive mental health is even harder! The (primary) prevention of mental disorders has received significantly less attention among public health professionals and governments alike compared to the prevention of 'physical health' conditions like infectious disease, injury, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and other chronic illnesses. Yet there is growing scientific evidence to show that it is possible to enhance people's mental wellbeing and reduce their risk of experiencing common disorders such as depression and anxiety conditions through a proactive focus on promotion and prevention. Getting this issue on the policy agenda is therefore vital. The workshop will be facilitated by senior experts in the field of preventive mental health working in Australia. In the first 30 minutes, the presenters will discuss their involvement in establishing the W&PC as a vehicle to advocate for greater government action and investment in mental health promotion and preventive mental health. They will outline who is involved in the coalition, what it aims to achieve, how it came to be formed, and what it has achieved to date. They will also discuss the challenges the group has faced, and the lessons learned that can be used to guide the work of others interested in playing a role in this field. This will be followed by a 60-minute interactive group activity in which participants will be invited to critically reflect on this information and participate in a planning exercise to help the W&PC enhance its approach to advocacy. Learning Objectives: - Participants will learn what preventive mental health is, why it's important, and what's involved (interventions and systems infrastructure) - Participants will learn about the work of the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health, an informal group of like-minded organisations, advocating for greater government action and investment in preventive mental health and mental health promotion - Participants will discuss and apply the principles of effective political advocacy through a group activity

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Speaker