Charles Foster (Policy and Research Officer – Regional and Remote at Consumers of Mental Health WA (Inc.))
Topic
In this presentation we will offer an outline of the issues and proposed actions of the Out of Sight, Out of Mind report, which considered the enduring inequities and barriers to access faced by people seeking mental health treatment or support in regional and remote Australia. In particular, we will draw out the critical importance of the place-based solutions championed by this research, underscoring that attending to these injustices will require more than simple quick fixes or technological innovations.
Through highlighting how these fundamental barriers to access have remained unaddressed time and time again, we will reflect upon the persistent cycle of identifying problems and producing reports that has unfortunately characterized responses to this issue thus far.
Finally, we will share our learnings about the importance of returning to those people who continue to experience and live amidst these unjust barriers, as a pathway to maintain momentum and hope in the face of a system that would rather look away.
About the speaker
Charles Foster works at Consumers of Mental Health WA as a Policy and Research Officer focusing on Regional and Remote issues. He has worked in systemic advocacy since 2023 after leaving a casual teaching position in academia.
His previous research has focused on using Phenomenology to explore the limitations of conceptualising the mental health and human experience through biomedical models.
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Dr. Anna Ross (NHMRC Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne)
Topic
The media is a key source of information about mental illness. However, people living with complex mental illness, such as psychosis and schizophrenia, are most commonly portrayed in relation to violence, which negatively influences public beliefs about dangerousness and unpredictability and increases stigma.
This seminar will give an overview of the research we are undertaking to address media-based stigma. We will explore recent examples of media portrayals of mental illness, and the role we can all play in challenging stigma in the community. You will also be invited to reflect on your experiences of media portrayals of mental illness, both the ‘good’ and ‘not-so-good’.
About the speaker
Dr. Anna Ross is an NHMRC Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne where her research aims to reduce stigma towards people with complex mental illness through improved media reporting. She completed her PhD within the Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Anna is leading research collaborations with Everymind’s Mindframe program and SANE Australia’s StigmaWatch program on improving news media representations of people living with complex mental health issues.
Anna’s background is in psychology, where she has completed a Masters of Clinical Psychology and worked clinically in adolescent mental health. She has over 10 years experience in mental health research, with her research focusing on reducing stigma and discrimination towards people with mental illness, development of mental health first aid guidelines and evaluation of courses, and evaluation of suicide prevention programs.
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Andrea Vancia, Cultural Diversity Program Manager (Brisbane South PHN) & Michelle Ravesi, Access, Equity and Engagement Lead (NWMPHN)
Topic
There are 31 Primary Health Network (PHN) regions in Australia all with different populations, contexts and ways of working. The PHN Multicultural Health Framework was launched in February 2024 to provide high-level guidance and best practices for PHNs in order to improve health system access and equity for multicultural communities across all PHN regions.
While this tool is specifically for PHNs, it has a strong focus on collaboration across the health system and other sectors and so this is an important opportunity to learn about the Framework and how you can work alongside your local PHN to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and experiences for multicultural communities in your region.
This session will:
• provide an overview of the PHN Multicultural Health Framework
• showcase PHN activities aligning with Framework action areas.
About the speakers
Andrea Vancia is the Cultural Diversity Program Manager at the Brisbane South PHN. She has completed studies in nursing, public health and health promotion. She has experience in nursing, research, international aid work and project management. For the past 15 years she has managed various projects in primary care at a Division of General Practice, Medicare Local and Primary Health Network, with the past 10 years focused on multicultural health. Andrea coordinates the National PHN Cultural Diversity Community of Practice and the PHN Multicultural Health Strategic Group. Andrea is a passionate advocate for improving systems to ensure they are equitable for multicultural communities.
Michelle Ravesi is the newly appointed Access, Equity and Engagement Lead with NWMPHN beginning at the start of 2024. She has qualifications in Community Development and Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), with over 20 years’ experience of working in public health. Michelle began her career working in the AOD sector and chronic disease in both the hospital and community settings. For the past 13 years Michelle has worked in Health Promotion and Population Health at Monash Health and for the last 5 at Latrobe Community Health Service (LCHS). At Monash Health she was the Manager of Population Health and the Aboriginal Health Service. At LCHS she managed Prevention and Partnerships and continued her passion and involvement with First Nations People through convening the RAP committee. Through these roles she has had extensive experience working and engaging with Asylum Seekers and Refugees, CALD communities, First Nations peoples and hardly reached people in the community. Michelle is passionate about ensuring all communities have equitable and easy access to high quality, culturally appropriate health services.
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Simon Katterl (mental health advocate and consultant)
Topic
In May 2022, the Department of Health commissioned advice to the Minister for Mental Health on how their government could formally acknowledge harms in the mental health system. The resulting report entitled, “Not before Time, Lived Experience-Led Justice and Repair” contains discussions of significant traumas and gross human rights violations.
Working together with VTMH in this seminar, the co-author of this report, Simon, provides expert insights into the Lived and Living Experience-led justice and repair process as recommended throughout the report.
Simon Katterl
Simon is a mental health advocate and consultant that advises governments, mental health and legal services on human rights, mental health, co-design and regulation. In addition to his studies in law, politics, psychology and regulation, Simon has lived experience of mental health issues and works from this perspective.
Simon previously worked at and advised mental health, human rights, regulatory and legal organisations.
Simon’s research focuses on various aspects of mental health and human rights, including regulating closed environments and the use of compulsory treatment, restorative justice and reparations for human rights breaches, mental health stigma and vilification laws, as well as regulation of digital mental health technologies. He has also written on the workplace rights of the mental health consumer workforce. Simon also publishes work in the Age, the Guardian and other popular outlets.
In 2022, Simon was commissioned by the Department of Health to advise the Minister for Mental Health on what would become the “Not Before Time” report.
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Prof. Tom Clark, Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities (Victoria University)
Topic
In 2021, Victoria University (VU), Wyndham City Council (WCC) and Wyndham Community and Education Centre (Wyndham CEC) jointly launched a new local support network. This network was the first of its kind in Australia, set up in close collaboration with communities to offer alternative community-based reporting pathways and support services for people who have experienced racism. Since that time, numerous other agencies have partnered with VU to co-design similar community-led mechanisms for responding to racism on a municipal scale.
This presentation has two main aims. First, it explains the projects that we have contributed to, detailing the work accomplished by communities and the issues encountered there. Second, it offers a practical discussion about how similar anti-racism support networks and services can be developed and implemented, in close collaboration with local communities and other stakeholders, in municipalities across Victoria and beyond – led by municipal councils or other key local organisations.
About the speaker
Prof. Tom Clark
Tom Clark is a professor at Victoria University, Melbourne. He researches and teaches in public and political communication. He has collaborated with Mario Peucker at Victoria University and others to sustain the ‘Community-led Responses to Racism’ research program through numerous projects since its inception, always co-designed with community stakeholders.
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Prof. Michael Olasoji (Federation University & Alfred Mental & Addiction Health) Erin Joyce (Alfred Mental & Addiction Health)
Topic
As acknowledged during the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, access to equitable and culturally safe mental health services for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds remains problematic due to a variety of factors. There is limited published work that has examined the role of bicultural workers (BCWs) within mental health settings.
The overall aim of this joint research study is to explore the role and benefits of engaging Bicultural Workers in the delivery of mental health care within acute and community based mental health services.
This presentation will introduce attendees to the project and learn about its findings to date. Victoria’s new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act includes diversity and cultural safety principles aimed at improving access to equitable and culturally safe and responsive mental health care for all Victorians. It is hoped this research will contribute to the discourse in this space.
About the speakers
Prof. Michael Olasoji
Professor Michael Olasoji is a Professor of Mental Health Nursing at Federation University and the Research Lead at Alfred Mental and Addiction Health. He has worked across various mental health settings for a number of years and has also worked within academia. His research focuses mainly on exploring better outcomes for consumers with lived experience.
Erin Joyce
Erin Joyce is a Social Worker and Community Development Practitioner and currently holds the role of Senior Advisor, Diversity and Inclusion at Alfred Mental and Addiction Health. Her career spans the fields of human rights, international development and mental health and psychosocial support and has seen her work in many cross-cultural environments in Australia and abroad.
Eligibility
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Parwin Miazoi (Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House)) Zabi Mazoori (Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House))
Topic
The Afghan Community Response Project (ACR) was established in August 2021 by Foundation House in response to the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan, which saw approximately 5000 people evacuated from Kabul by the Australian Government, the majority of whom arrived in Melbourne. The ACR project was led and delivered by a team of mainly lived-experience practitioners from within the Afghan Community.
Two years have passed and the mental health and wellbeing of communities from Afghanistan continues to be heavily impacted by the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
This presentation will provide an overview of the presenting challenges and psycho-social needs of newly arrived Afghans as well as exploring the innovations and strengths of the ACR model, which is a model that can be adapted and used by other communities arriving in Australia after a crisis.
This presentation will also offer reflections and learnings on the nuances and complexities that emerge for a team of mainly lived-experience practitioners working with their own community.
About the speakers
Parwin Miazoi
Parwin is a Team Leader at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House). Parwin holds a Master of Social Work, Graduate Certificate in Developmental Psychiatry and a Bachelor of Arts. She has practiced as a trauma counsellor for 9 years and has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of torture and trauma survivors including asylum seekers and refugees of all ages.
Zabi Mazoori
Zabi is the Team Leader of the Afghan Community Engagement Team at Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House). Zabi is the president of United Cultural Support Inc. and Victorian Afghan Football Association. He is also a committee member of the Victorian Afghan Associations Network and has worked extensively with refugees and asylum seekers in Australia both in a professional and volunteer capacity.
Zabi is a human rights defender who has worked with renowned international human rights organisations in promoting human rights and justice around the world. For many years, Zabi worked for Physicians for Human Rights, specialising in the forensic documentation of war crimes and serious human rights violations, including the exhumation of mass graves.
Since the Taliban take over of Afghanistan in August 2021, Zabi and Parwin have collaboratively led the Afghan Community Response Project at Foundation House, which is a program that responds to the mental health and advocacy needs of newly arrived Afghan evacuees and the existing Afghan Community.
Eligibility
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
A fundamental part of choosing to create meaning is to consider the value that this has on one’s life. Various writings on meaning in life have suggested that the root of most common human unhappiness is a sense that one’s life has no meaning (Eckart 2014; Fortgang, 2014). This conclusion is echoed by empirical research which has demonstrated an association between a strong sense of meaning and life satisfaction and happiness, whilst a lack of meaning predicts depression and disengagement.
This seminar will explore the following questions:
How is spirituality considered in today’s world?
Can an inward path on the human journey create meaning?
How can we help individuals create meaning through spirituality?
About the speaker
Caroline Le Brun
Caroline is a registered Mental Health Social Worker and holds a Masters in Psychotherapy. She has a particular interest in spirituality and her research has been about the way spirituality creates meaning in life.
Eligibility
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Sarah Williams (Footprint Enterprises Inc, Mahana Culture & RMIT University)
Topic
This seminar explores the building of political voices of young South Sudanese Australians to resist racialising discourses, particularly through Hip Hop. Describing four types of alternative forms of artivism, the presentation draws on empirical evidence from a youth participatory action research project facilitated by a small non-profit organisation: Footprints.
In this presentation, Sarah will examine how the political voice of this group of young South Sudanese Australians manifests in important new ways that conventional theories of activism and resistance may not capture – namely, through participation in Hip Hop as a New Social Movement and through creating alternative subcultures.
Utilising Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy, participants embark on consciousness-raising practices around racialising discourses. By re-framing and asserting their multiple identities, young people establish themselves as social agents in the world, i.e. by promoting pride in their Blackness and their culture, rather than acquiescing to racialising discourses.
About the speaker
Sarah Williams
Sarah has worked as an Intercultural Community Development Practitioner and Youth Worker for over a decade. Soon to graduate from her PhD, Sarah’s research methodology involves Action Research investigating creative sites for social change regarding racial social justice issues. Her interest in arts-based development projects is driven by the question of how “being born to stand out” manifests.
Sarah is Co-founder of Footprint Enterprises Inc. an organisation which focuses on creating spaces to bring about social change through the creative arts.
Sarah currently works as an educator and research and evaluation lead at Mahana Culture and RMIT university.
Eligibility
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
Naomi Chapman (VTMH Lived Experience Consultant) Tess Marotta (Mental Health Lived Experience Advocate/Consultant) Justin Kuay (Psychiatrist, VTMH) Rohan Souter (Mental Health Spiritual Care Practitioner, Bendigo Health)
Topic
Mental healthcare is not just about diagnosing illnesses and prescribing treatments, it is also about understanding the social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual needs of patients. Health professionals who exhibit empathy and compassion towards their patients, listen to their concerns, and treat them with respect and dignity, are better equipped to provide quality care. Addressing these factors requires a holistic approach where healthcare providers consider the whole person, not just their symptoms or medical conditions. Incorporating heart and soul matters in healthcare does improve health outcomes, promotes healing, and helps people feel heard and understood.
As a part of their ongoing Spirituality &Diversity Discussion Project, Victorian Transcultural Mental Health and Spiritual Health Association present an opportunity for webinar attendees to participate in a conversation between former service users Naomi & Tess who will be joined by service providers Justin & Rohan to share where their experiences of spirituality were supported and explore where engagement on this level may have been enhanced to ensure greater holistic outcomes.
About the speakers
Naomi Chapman
Naomi is a Consumer Consultant with VTMH. She was a consumer representative for nearly 12 months at Northwest Area Mental Health, also known as Waratah Clinic, prior to commencing with VTMH. This included sitting on the board of ‘C-Drive’ (Consumer Drive), playing a key role in the ‘Create 2’ Art Exhibition for consumers and budding artists, and co-facilitating nurse’s intake sessions with fellow consumers.
Naomi studied IT at Swinburne University and worked in the IT industry for 16 years before transitioning to her current Consumer Consultant role, which she considers a more meaningful vocation. She is also a practising Christian, which has helped her greatly in her recovery journey.
Tess Marotta
Spirituality is the guiding light in Tess’s life, and the bedrock for her values. She has lived experience as a consumer of the mental health system, and brings her unique perspective, beliefs, and values to the work she does as a mental health advocate, and a support group facilitator.
Tess has worked as a consultant with several health services and sits on several local government advisory committees related to Disability and the LGBTIQA+ community.
Tess is dedicated to advocating for compassionate, inclusive, and respectful spiritual care in the health care setting.
Justin Kuay
Justin has worked with VTMH since 2012 and is an experienced general adult psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has provided educational support of psychiatry registrars through his work with both the University of Melbourne and VTMH.
On both a professional and personal note, Justin finds an enriching balance in his Christian faith with his psychiatry practice, to combine both spiritual and scientific approaches to address complex issues.
It is Justin’s hope to continue to work with VTMH, and see it become a world-leader in providing culturally responsive training and education, as well as continue to provide valuable input to guide current government policy and funding for culturally responsive mental health care.
Rohan Souter
Rohan moved into mental health spiritual care work in 2014 following diverse careers in teaching, disability and the arts. A personal and professional preoccupation of his, has always centered around two abiding questions: Who are you?How are you going?
He asks these questions every day in his role as mental health spiritual care practitioner at Bendigo Health and endeavours to respond with a caring and validating presence, inviting people to explore and give expression to their thoughts, feelings and experiences around matters of identity, connection, meaning and purpose.
Eligibility
VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.
Please note, Trybooking is no longer supported by Internet Explorer so you will have to use another web browser such as Google Chrome, in order to make your booking.
