A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) recently declared climate change a health emergency, reflecting similar positions taken by a growing list of peak medical bodies around the world. The AMA’s statement highlights the significant impacts climate change is having on physical health, including an increase in climate-related deaths. The World Health Organisation regards climate change as [...]
Growing up, I was a gymnast. The serious, train-six-times-a-week-and-never-do-anything-else kind. By the time I was 10, I had represented NSW at national championships, and won. By the time I was 12, I had represented Australia. By 15, I was preparing for my second World Championships. I had been training relentlessly, day in, day out. I [...]
An estimated 1 in 33 Australian children suffer TRAUMA in childhood. We need to rethink current practices and help schools to become more ‘trauma informed’. But what exactly does this mean, and how do we make it happen? Hard Yards is a unique one day conference, repeated over two days, giving principals, teachers, advocates and educational [...]
Horses are being used as mental health aids for humans, with equine therapy taking psychology sessions out of the office and into the paddock. Psychologist Sam Tassini is so enamoured with horses that she has incorporated them into her work and converted a functioning horse float into an office. She practices equine therapy - a [...]
Parents who endured “toxic stress” during childhood may be more likely to have kids with developmental delays and have a harder time coping with their children’s health issues, new research suggests. Adverse childhood experiences, commonly called ACEs, can include witnessing parents fight or go through a divorce, having a parent with a mental illness or [...]
A young child is gradually learning how to interact with other children in a safe play environment. The child had presented at SalvoConnect in Ballarat with severely stunted physical and cognitive development. Born in to a life of family violence, the young child had little social interaction with other children and had a strained relationship to [...]
Almost one out of every five adults suffers from mental illness in any given year. Mental illness resulted in a loss of nearly 200 billion dollars in earnings last year. For some, mental illness is a lifetime struggle. For others stress, grief, or other struggles can cause temporary mental health concerns. In any case, recognizing [...]
Nine out of ten people in Western Australian youth detention are severely impaired in at least one area of brain function such as memory, language, attention, and executive function (planning and understanding consequences). Such deficits would strongly impact on their ability to conform with legal instructions, and with other aspects of the justice system such [...]
It was a cry for help from a parent that made Menslink realise that a growing number of primary school boys were in need of mental health support. Now 10 to 12-year-old boys make up 12 per cent of the male support group’s client case, which CEO Martin Fisk said was not unusual and reflected the national [...]
Taking part in sport protects children who are abused or neglected from developing mental health problems in later life, according to a major public health study. People who had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) but regularly played sports as children were less likely to have a mental illness as an adult, the study found. People who [...]
