Adult Psychiatry - Southern Synergy
About Southern Synergy
Southern Synergy is a Monash University research group broadly focused on improving mental health care. Primarily based in the Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, this group also has members in the School of Primary and Allied Health care and the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine along with contributors from the Faculty of Business and Economics, the Faculty of Arts and numerous external national and international institutions.
Particular strengths of the group lie in a unique combination of research, training and clinical academic staff. Our multidisciplinary group consists of members and collaborators from psychiatry, clinical and organisational psychology, social work, occupational therapy, nursing, law, epidemiology and biostatistics, and health economics together with lived experience expert leaders and advisors.
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The group plays a significant and respected role in enhancing and better applying the evidence base for use by service planners, policy makers and clinicians engaged with mental health care. There is directengagement at multiple levels with services in the Monash Health catchment area while the influence of the work of the group extends well beyond that and includes work of international significance. Regional, state, national and international research, practice and policy is informed by Southern Synergy's outputs. The work of the group reflects commitment to a value set including equity, empowerment, efficiency and sound use of evidence at all levels of healthcare delivery and planning.
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The group exists to champion research, knowledge and understanding in mental health. This is achieved through the conduct and facilitation of high quality, regionally relevant translational research that is responsive to the local environment while constructed also to have wider applicability. Research work is developed in line with the overarching value set, then conducted, reported and disseminated so as to influence policy makers and health services in shaping a mental health care system that is continually focused on improving the health and wellbeing of the community. There is a particular focus on the southeast region of the State of Victoria while the work also is designed to have influence on policy, strategy and clinical practice at state, national and international levels.
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Professor Graham Meadows is the Director of Southern Synergy and a Professor with Monash University in multiple Adjunct roles.
His doctoral studies and a substantial part of his publication record are in health services epidemiology in which area he has expertise in questionnaire development and analysis of complex data sets. He has headed large scale studies investigating mindfulness and recovery-oriented practice as clinical and service level interventions.
Professor Meadows provided an invited statement to the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health Services. This is available here.
Find out more about Professor Graham Meadows.
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Southern Synergy was proposed as an initiative during the reorganization of Mental Health services operated by Southern Health through 2002. Following negotiations with Monash University, the outline plan for the establishment of Southern Synergy as a Faculty Research Centre was developed through 2002-2003. The Commitment from Southern Health to the Centre was: ongoing core funding for Southern Synergy comprising the full salary package of the Professor/Director, provision of an Administrative position and Research Assistant, provision of Business support and other infrastructure support services, with accommodation for the Director and support staff in existing research facilities at Dandenong Hospital, and provision for the development of a new Research Centre in the longer term redevelopment of Mental Health facilities on the Dandenong site. In addition to Southern Health funding, Monash University provided significant funds to assist establishment of the professorial position.
Targeted and active recruitment to the Professor and Director of the Centre position led in November 2003 to the appointment of Professor Graham Meadows to this role. Professor Meadows had previously been Associate Professor of Acute Psychiatry with the University of Melbourne where he had developed clinical and service development interests particularly in primary mental health care, along with a major research interest in epidemiology and a long-term involvement in training the broad mental health workforce. Two substantial research and training grants were transferred from The University of Melbourne to Monash University with his new appointment.
From late 2013 the Centre was located in new purpose-built offices at Dandenong Hospital. Designed to optimise translational opportunities for work in mental health care, the facility had close co-location with the key leadership team of Monash Mental Health. Over this time, research expertise in the Centre included training delivery and program evaluation; cluster randomised clinical trials including mindfulness-based interventions and recovery-orientated practice; refugee mental health, economic analysis of mental healthcare programs, epidemiological surveys and clinical studies.
In a paced progression to retirement to allow for a possible replacement for the Director role, Professor Meadows resigned from his position with Monash University in 2018 but remained Director as an employee of Monash Health. In anticipation of the Director’s retirement, Southern Synergy was disestablished as a University Faculty Centre from 30 June 2022 and as an entity became a research, evaluation and training centre within Monash Health and a research group within the University. Following the resignation of Professor Meadows from Monash Health and the cessation of funding from Monash Health in 2023, Southern Synergy from 2024 became a research group within Monash University only. The group remains active and is continuing to support a PhD student and work with colleagues across faculties, disciplines and universities to produce research publications in mental health.
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External collaborations
- Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia
- Refugee Health Research Consortium, Victoria, Australia
- London School of Economics - Health Economics
- Université de Montreal -Epidemiology
- Université Paris 5 - Epidemiology
- University of British Columbia - Epidemiology
- University of Melbourne - Graduate Diploma; Health economics, epidemiology and program evaluation
- University of Queensland - Epidemiology
- University of Saskatoon - Epidemiology
- University of Toronto - Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
- University of Western Ontario - Primary care service models
- University of Wollongong - Adherence therapies
- Yale University - Services evaluation
Major internal collaborations
- Monash University - School of Primary Health Care
- Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit
- Monash Institute for Health Services Research - Services Research
- Monash University - Organisational Psychology - Organisational change in mental health services
- Monash University Department of General Practice - GP training and intervention studies
- Monash University - School of Nursing - Mental Health Research
Meet the team
View
Collaborating Adjunct Staff
- Dr Marlies Alvarenga
- Dr Soumya Basu
- Mr Anthony Cichello
- Dr Marissa Dickens
- Dr Tara Hickey
- Prof Nicholas Keks
- Prof Paul Martin
- A/Prof David Moseley
- Prof Brendan Murphy
- Ms Ingrid Ozols
- Mr Scott Patten
- Dr Christos Plakiotis
- Dr Ante Prodan
- Dr Sathya Rao
- Dr Bharat Saluja
- Dr Neeraj Sareen
PhD Candidates
- Mr Andrew Boxer
Research programs
Health services research
View
Coordinator: Dr Joanne Enticott
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The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) commissioned Southern Synergy and the Sax Institute to conduct the initial evaluation work for the Place-Based Suicide Prevention Trials (PBSPTs), which aims to improve individual resilience and wellbeing and create systems change that will help to prevent suicide in an ongoing way.
The Victorian Government has committed to halving the rate of suicide deaths by 2025. The Victorian Suicide Prevention Framework 2016-25 (the Framework) outlines their approach for achieving this, including a set of actions targeted at suicide prevention.
The Place-Based Suicide Prevention Trials (PBSPTs) form a cornerstone of the Framework and aims to reduce suicide, improve individual resilience and wellbeing and create systems change that will help to prevent suicide in an ongoing way. The PBSPTs draw on evidence-based suicide prevention interventions that are tailored to local populations and circumstances. The PBSPT is based on the concept of collective impact, which involves local communities in bringing together the skills, expertise and resources needed to develop a systemic plan for preventing suicide. This approach encourages everyone involved in suicide prevention to collaborate and focus their efforts on the interventions likely to have the greatest impact within their community.
The Victorian Government is partnering with Primary Health Networks (PHNs) to trial the PBSPT in twelve communities across six PHN regions from 2017 to 2020:
Eastern Melbourne – Whittlesea and Maroondah
North-Western Melbourne – Brimbank/Melton and Macedon Ranges
South-Eastern Melbourne – Mornington Peninsula/Frankston and Dandenong
Gippsland – Latrobe Valley and Bass Coast
Murray – Mildura and Benalla
Western Victoria – Ballarat and Great South Coast.
In the period from 2018-2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) commissioned Southern Synergy and the Sax Institute to:
- Develop an Evaluation Framework to form the foundation for the formative and summative evaluations
- Evaluate the PBSPT’s Establishment, Formative and Summative phases, using a developmental evaluation approach
- Develop evaluation capacity in the PBSPT sites, enabling them to continually review and adapt their implementation approaches across the life of the project.
For further information, see https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/mental-health/prevention-and-promotion/suicide-prevention-in-victoria
For an overview of the trial, see https://youtu.be/J9E8sWo-krk
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PULSAR stands for ‘Principles Unite Local Services Assisting Recovery'. Recovery Oriented Practice involves supporting a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.
About PULSAR
The PULSAR (Principles Unite Local Services Assisting Recovery) project was a training and research project funded by the Victorian State Government's Mental Illness Research Fund (MIRF). The project tested a practical approach to address the vital issue of how different types of services within a defined geographical area can be refocused to support recovery. It was expected to shed light on how clinical mental health, primary care and community support services can collaborate effectively and support people using mental health services to achieve their personal recovery goals.
Key findings from the Primary Care PULSAR study were published in a paper in Frontiers in Psychiatry in March 2021.
- Enticott, J. C., Shawyer, F., Brophy, L. M., Russell, G., Mazza, D., Wilson-Evered, E., Weller, P., Slade, M., Edan, V., Meadows, G. N. (2021). REFOCUS-PULSAR Recovery-Oriented Practice Training in Adult Primary Mental Health Care: Exploratory Findings Including From a Pretest–Posttest Evaluation. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12(101).
Key findings from the Secondary Care PULSAR study were published in a paper in The Lancet Psychiatry in February 2019.
- Meadows, G., Brophy, L., Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. C., Fossey, E., Thornton, C. D., Weller, P. J., Wilson-Evered, E., Edan, V., & Slade, M. (2019). REFOCUS-PULSAR recovery-oriented practice training in specialist mental health care: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(2), 103-114. doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(18)30429-2
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30429-2
The summary of the Research in Context section of this paper was:
‘Training health-care workers to deliver recovery-oriented care using the REFOCUS materials developed over time and adapted to local settings can positively affect the process of personal recovery for consumers.’
This research supported recovery-oriented practice involving community mental health services, primary care and the community managed sector. In the project we adapted a range of existing materials for the Australian setting so that the content and processes of training and development are sensitive to needs of the Victorian mental health care system, the local cultural and legal contexts. We used materials developed by our research partners in London, UK, and materials we have developed in Australia for similar work in the primary care sector. The modification for Primary Care also drew on work from Monash University in the development of recovery-oriented treatment plans, a project commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of health and Ageing and the Royal Australian College of general Practitioners. We delivered these interventions and evaluated the process in a carefully designed trial format. The aim of the work was to develop, evaluate, and make readily available a set of training materials and organisational change tools that would facilitate all these services to work together to successfully deliver recovery-oriented practice.
The findings were endorsed by a positive commentary published in the same Lancet issue - Rogers, E. S. (2019). Recovery-oriented practices need innovative research. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(2), 82–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30476-0 - and a blog post on the Mental Elf, which reached thousands on Twitter (79,000 followers): https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/refocus-pulsar-recovery-training-in-specialist-mental-health-care/
PULSAR publications
- Kakuma, R., Cajethan, O. U., Shawyer, F., Edan, V., Wilson-Evered, E., Meadows, G., & Brophy, L. (2024). A qualitative evaluation of the questionnaire about the process of recovery (QPR) in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 20(1), 88-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-05-2023-0042
- Enticott, J. C., Shawyer, F., Brophy, L. M., Russell, G., Mazza, D., Wilson-Evered, E., . . . Meadows, G. N. (2021). REFOCUS-PULSAR Recovery-Oriented Practice Training in Adult Primary Mental Health Care: Exploratory Findings Including From a Pretest–Posttest Evaluation. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12(101).
- Meadows, G., Brophy, L., Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. C., Fossey, E., Thornton, C. D., Weller, P. J., Wilson-Evered, E., Edan, V., & Slade, M. (2019). REFOCUS-PULSAR recovery-oriented practice training in specialist mental health care: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(2), 103-114. doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(18)30429-2
- Edan, V., Brophy, L., Weller, P. J., Fossey, E., & Meadows, G. (2019). The experience of the use of Community Treatment Orders following recovery-oriented practice training. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 64, 178-183. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.04.001
- Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. C., Brophy, L., Bruxner, A., Fossey, E., Inder, B., Julian, J., Kakuma, R., Weller, P., Wilson-Evered, E., Edan, V., Slade, M., & Meadows, G. N. (2017). The PULSAR Specialist Care protocol: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized control trial of a training intervention for community mental health teams in recovery-oriented practice. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 172. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1321-3
- Enticott, J., Shawyer, F., Brophy, L., Russell, G., Fossey, E., Inder, B., Mazza, D., Vasi, S., Weller, P. J., Wilson-Evered, E., Edan, V., & Meadows, G. (2016). The PULSAR primary care protocol: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial to test a training intervention for general practitioners in recovery-oriented practice to optimize personal recovery in adult patients. BMC Psychiatry, 16(1), 451. doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1153-6
- Edan, V., Meadows, G., Brophy, L., Weller, P., & Thornton, C. (2015). PULSAR research: making mental health services more recovery-orientated. Psychiatric Disability Services of Victoria (VICSERV) New Paradigm, 2015(Summer), 46-48.
PULSAR manuals
PULSAR manual for Secondary Care.
PULSAR manual for Primary Care.
PULSAReveryday Personal Recovery Workbook.
Contributions to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System
The PULSAR team, in formal submissions and invited witness statements to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, recommended that the Victorian government invest in recovery-oriented practice training using the now evidence based PULSAR training. We also recommend that the government invest in high quality research in Victoria that has the potential for such high impact and translation into practice, such as PULSAR.
Direct Care/Support Delivery participants
Agencies and people involved in the support of people with a mental illness who were associated with the PULSAR Recovery project include:
- Mind Australia
- ermha
- Monash Health
- Primary Health Care - GP’s were directly engaged with the project with support through time by Medicare Locals and divisions.
The direct care participants are also key research participants in the project.
PULSAR Research team, partners and contributors
Original Project Investigators
Named investigators on the application with their affiliation at the time (which in many cases has now changed):
Prof. Graham Meadows Principal Investigator: Southern Synergy (Adult Psychiatry Research, Training and Evaluation Centre), School of Psychiatry, Monash University Mr Umit Agis Director, Adult Mental Health Services, Southern Health Adj Associate Prof. Jakqui Barnfield Director of Nursing Mental Health, Southern Health Dr. Joanne Brooker Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University Dr. Lisa Brophy Director of Research, Mind Australia
Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics,
Melbourne School of Population Health, The University of MelbourneProf. David Clarke Professor, School of Psychology and Psychiatry Head, Discipline of Psychiatry (Acting)
Deputy Head of School (Acting)
Clinical Director, Community, Access & Partnerships, Mental Health Program, Southern HealthMs Vrinda Edan Director Consumer and Carer Relations, Southern Health Dr. Ellie Fossey Senior Lecturer - Higher Degrees Research and Postgraduate Courses Coordinator, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University Dr. Margaret Grigg General Manager Research, Development and Advocacy, Mind Australia Prof. Brett Inder Professor, Department of Econometrics, Monash University Mr John Julian Southern Synergy, School of Psychiatry, Research Fellow and Senior Trainer, SPLASH, Monash University Dr Ritsuko Kakuma Senior Research Fellow, Centre for International Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne Prof. Danielle Mazza Head, Department of General Practice, School of Primary Health Care, Monash University. Associate Prof. Iraklis Harry Minas Director, Centre for International Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population Health,
The University of MelbourneProf. Brendan Murphy Unit Head, Youth Mental Health, Early in life Mental Health Service (ELMHS) Prof. Grant Russell Head of School of Primary Health Care
Professor of General Practice Research, Monash UniversityProf. Mike Slade Professor of Health Services Research
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, London REFOCUS teamMs Christine Thornton-Gaylard Director Service Development, Eastern Regions Mental Health Association (ERMHA) Dr. Penelope Weller Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University, Melbourne Dr. Elisabeth Wilson-Evered Associate Professor, School of Management and Information Systems, Faculty of Business and Law, Victoria University If you are not listed here and feel you have contributed to the PULSAR project please contact us e: pulsar.admin@monash.edu
PULSAR Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP)
We acknowledge the contribution of the following people to our LEAP: Vrinda Edan (Chair), Ellie Fossey (co-chair), Salome Argyropoulos, Katrina Clarke, Priscilla Ennals, Michelle Kehoe, Julien McDonald, Peter McKenzie, Wendy Muller, Joanne Sheedy, Michael Sillekens and Lorelle Zemunik.
Project Staff
We acknowledge the work of the following contributors to the PULSAR project:
PULSAR research staff: Dr Frances Shawyer, Dr Joanne Enticott, Ms Annie Bruxner, Ms Kimberly Buck, Dr Lisa Chaffey, Ms Michelle Kehoe, Dr Mehmet Özmen, Dr Shiva Vasi.
PULSAR fieldwork staff: Mr Jaspal Bhogal, Ms Jennifer Bibb, Ms Zelal Bircan, Ms Kimberly Buck, Dr Lisa Chaffey, Ms Angela Chen, Ms Sharon Clifford, Mr Andrew Davis, Ms Jessie Fay, Ms Leanne Gordon, Ms Annemarie Hindle, Ms Jackie Jenkins, Ms Maria Katergaris, Ms Michelle Kehoe, Ms So-An Lao, Ms Milsa Kamusoko, Mr Julian Matthews, Ms Valentinna Mehdizadeh, Mr Tony Mowbray, Ms Sarah Mumford, Ms Kristi-Ann Villagonzalo, Ms Lorelle Zemunick.
PULSAR trainers: Ms Leonie Davey, Mr Richard Kasperczyk, Ms Michelle Kehoe, Ms Nita Mahbubani, Ms Lisa Reed, and Ms Zoe Smith.
PULSAR administration staff: Ms Sharon Clifford, Ms Debbie Lang and Ms Rachel Rodrigues.
Following the trial, Michelle Kehoe, Nita Mahbubani and Graham Meadows also supported the further development of the training materials for the purpose of dissemination, including train-the-trainer.
Students
Student Associates: Jeremy Lim & Bill Nguyen.
International Advisors - REFOCUS team
Dr Victoria Bird, Dr Mary Leamy, and other members of the REFOCUS team.
PULSAR training is based on an adaptation of a set of training materials and organisational change techniques first used in the UK Refocus program and we acknowledge this lineage. The following groups and people contributed to discussions or commented upon drafts of the original Refocus Manual produced at Kings College in London by the Refocus team:
REFOCUS steering group: Tony Coggins, Tom Craig, Joanna Fox, John Larsen, Morven Leese, Paul McCrone, Rachel Perera, Vanessa Pinfold, Shula Ramon, Zoe Reed, Gabrielle Richards, Guy Saward, Geoff Shepherd, Jerry Tew, Graham Thornicroft
REFOCUS International Advisory Board: Simon Bradstreet, Larry Davidson, Courtney Harding, Mark Hayward, Marianne Farkas, Lindsay Oades, Tom O’Brien, Glenn Roberts
Psychosis CAG: Fran Bristow, Philippa Garety, Fiona Gaughran, Patrick Gillespie, Lou Hellard, Phillip McGuire, Ros Ramsey
2gether local steering group: Raj Choudhury, Nathan Gregory, Jane Melton, Rob MacPherson, Mathew Page, Genevieve Riley, Andrew Telford
REFOCUS LEAP
REFOCUS Virtual Advisory Black and Minority Ethnic panel.
Management and advisory structure
The PULSAR project developed a module based approach to undertaking the work, supported by an advisory structure to manage and guide its development.
Project Steering Group
2013 2014 2015 Graham Meadows, Christine Thornton, Jakqui Barnfield, Margaret Grigg, Vrinda Edan.
Graham Meadows (Chair), Vrinda Edan, Jakqui Barnfield, Christine Thornton, Glen Prewett, Margaret Grigg.
Graham Meadows (Chair), Vrinda Edan, George Osman, Alys Boase, Glen Prewett, Margaret Grigg.
2016 2017 Graham Meadows (Chair), Vrinda Edan, Hugo Steinbergs, Alys Boase, George Osman, Shane Price.
Graham Meadows (Chair), Lisa Brophy, Vrinda Edan, Hugo Steinbergs, Alys Boase, Paula Hakesley, Shane Price, Frances Shawyer, Joanne Enticott, Graham Meadows, David Clarke, Michael Harrison.
Module structure
PULSAR project was managed through a project steering group (Chair: Prof Graham Meadows), and Project Management Office managed by Professor Meadows. Each of the 4 modules has a task group and chairperson.
The module task groups and chairs are:
- Adaptation Module (Chair's: John Julian, Christine Thornton & Graham Meadows)
- Implementation Module (Chair: Penny Weller)
- Research module (Chair: Lisa Brophy)
- Dissemination module (Chair: Vrinda Edan)
Current Dissemination task group
Members of the PULSAR team are continuing to meet and engage in dissemination activities. Current members with affiliations are:
Chair
Prof Lisa Brophy
Professor and Discipline Lead in Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University; Honorary principal research fellow, Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.
Regular group members
Ms Vrinda Edan
PhD Candidate, Consumer Academic, Medicine, Dentistry and Health sciences, The University of Melbourne
Dr Joanne Enticott
Senior Research Fellow, Biostatistician, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation; Southern Synergy, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University
Prof Ellie Fossey
Professor, Head of Department and Graduate Research Co-ordinator, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University;
Adjunct Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University
Prof Graham Meadows
Adjunct Professor, Schools of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health and of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University; Director, Southern Synergy, Monash University; Honorary Professor, Centre for Mental Health, School of Global and Population Health, University of Melbourne; Consultant Psychiatrist, Monash Health
Dr Frances Shawyer
Deputy Director, Southern Synergy, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University
Prof Penny Weller
Professor, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT
Prof Elisabeth Wilson-Evered
Professor, Institute of Health and Sport, Sport Business Insights Research Group
Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Group, Victoria University
Other participants
Brett Inder
Professor and Deputy Head, Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics, Monash University
Ritz Kakuma
Associate Professor in Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
Danielle Mazza
Professor and Head, Department of General Practice,
School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University
David Clarke
Program Director Mental Health, Monash Health
Grant Russell
Professor of Primary Care Research, Department of General Practice; Director Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit, Monash University
We have only listed names of those who have given permission to be included. If you are not listed here and feel you have contributed to the PULSAR project please contact us e: pulsar.admin@monash.edu
Newsletters
CALD newsletters:
PULSAR Newsletters
- May 2020 (pdf, 312 kb)
- June 2017 (pdf, 471 kb)
- April 2017 (pdf, 795 kb)
- January 2017 (pdf, 721 kb)
- October 2016 (pdf, 468 kb)
- July 2016 (pdf, 294 kb)
"PULSAR study on the cross-cultural relevance of a mental health recovery questionnaire (the QPR) - Executive summary"
Click here to download the summary (pdf.113 KB)
PULSAR Everyday
PULSAReveryday is a supplementary research project nested within the PULSAR project and is funded by South East Melbourne Partners In Recovery (SEMPIR). The PULSAReveryday project has developed this workbook along with other materials in consultation with consumers, carer’s and families.
The downloading and use of this document implies acceptance of the terms of the following license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/'
Download PULSAR Everyday Workbook here.
Contact
Phone: + 61 3 9902 9696
Email: pulsar.admin@monash.edu -
A long-standing interest of the Centre has been to pursue research activities oriented towards supporting better understanding of and attention to issues of equity in service needs and delivery responses in Australia and elsewhere. We have worked with survey and activity data sets to pursue research questions in this area to produce the publications listed below. In recent years, we have also made a practice of annual contributions to ‘The Conversation’.
Socio-economic disadvantage and resource distribution for mental health care
Equitable mental health resource distribution is a major gap in the Australian National Mental Health Services Planning Framework (NHMSPF). In a paper published online in Australasian Psychiatry October 2020, we proposed a resource distribution formula to complement NMHSPF outputs in order to help address this gap. The preprint is available here, and this also with an accompanying conversation piece.
More mental health care money is not changing prevalence - why?
In a viewpoint paper published in the ANZJP in late 2019 with a wide international collaborative group we set out a proposition about why we are not seeing positive changes in mental health problem prevalence despite increased expenditure and we are now pursuing the research questions set out there.
Mental health services utilisation - A national equity investigation
Australia provides national health insurance funding for psychological treatment services, and this funding has increased substantially since 2006. Concerns have been raised as to whether these funded services are distributed equitably. We assessed whether adult utilisation of mental health services subsidised by Australian federal national health insurance (Medicare) varies by measures of socio-economic and geographic disadvantage between July 1st 2007 and June 30th 2011. The results, published in 2015 in the Medical Journal of Australia as per details below, clearly show significant disparities in non-GP mental health Medicare funded services, whereby people residing in lower socio-economic areas are utilisation services at much lower rates compared to advantaged areas.
For further information view Health Services Research MBS Study
Mental health services utilisation by postpartum mothers - an equity investigation (confirmed 2021 Honours project)
It has already been observed that access to the Medicare-subsidised mental health services by Australians shows significant disparities such that those living in the least disadvantaged one-fifth of areas in Australia access 2-3 times more services than those living in the most disadvantaged one-fifth. Currently we don’t know if these significant area disparities in the utilisation of MBS mental health services also affects mothers in the postpartum period. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge by examining a large longitudinal dataset of women in the ALWHS with linked MBS and PBS data. Increasing understanding of the determinants of mental health is necessary to strengthen the support system for postpartum mothers. We will investigate the potential disparities in access to resources, stratifying access by the mother’s income, location, race and ethnicity to underpin structural and area-related barriers to care.
Equity publications
Journal articles
Meadows, G., Shawyer, F., Dawadi, S., Inder, B. & Enticott, J. (2020). Socio-economic disadvantage and resource distribution for mental health care: a model proposal and example application for Victoria, Australia. Australasian Psychiatry, online 8 October 2020.
Meadows, G. N., Prodan, A., Patten, S., Shawyer, F., Francis, S., Enticott, J., Rosenberg, S., Atkinson, J.-A., Fossey, E., & Kakuma, R. (2019). Resolving the paradox of increased mental health expenditure and stable prevalence. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 53(9), 844-850.
Isaacs, A. N., Enticott, J., Meadows, G., & Inder, B. (2018). Lower Income Levels in Australia Are Strongly Associated With Elevated Psychological Distress: Implications for Healthcare and Other Policy Areas. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9(9), 536.
Enticott, J. C., Lin, E., Shawyer, F., Russell, G., Inder, B., Patten, S. & Meadows, G. (2018). Prevalence of psychological distress: How do Australia and Canada compare? Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52(3), 227-238.
This paper was awarded the Editor's best pick.Enticott, J. C., Meadows, G. N., Shawyer, F., Inder, B. & Patten, S. B. (2016). Mental disorders and distress: Associations with demographics, remoteness and socioeconomic deprivation of area of residence across Australia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(12), 1169-1179.
Meadows G, Enticott J, Inder B, Russell G, Gurr R. (2015). Better access to mental health care and the failure of the Medicare principle of universality. Medical Journal of Australia, 202(4),190-5.
Meadows, G., Enticott, J., Russell, G., Inder, B., & Gurr, R. (2015). Private Psychiatry as funded through medicare considered in terms of social equity. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(S1), 69.
Pieces in The Conversation
Meadows, G., Inder, B., Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. (2020). Greater needs, but poorer access to services: why COVID mental health measures must target disadvantaged areas. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/greater-needs-but-poorer-access-to-services-why-covid-mental-health-measures-must-target-disadvantaged-areas-146306
Meadows, G., Cichello, A., Isaacs, A. N., & Shawyer, F. (2019). When it’s easier to get meds than therapy: how poverty makes it hard to escape mental illness [Press release]. Retrieved from: http://theconversation.com/when-its-easier-to-get-meds-than-therapy-how-poverty-makes-it-hard-to-escape-mental-illness-114505
Meadows G, Enticott J, Rosenberg S (2018). Three charts on: why rates of mental illness aren’t going down despite higher spending. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-why-rates-of-mental-illness-arent-going-down-despite-higher-spending-97534. This piece had extensive media attention including being discussed in the New York Times.
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This work began with a Monash Health funded study investigating mental health problems in local clinics and is now extended to work with a major national dataset.
Two published papers described the protocol for the Monash Health study and the results from it; further work is underway based on the Building a New Life in Australia data set.
Refugee study published papers:
Cooper, S., Enticott, J. C., Shawyer, F., & Meadows, G. (2019). Determinants of Mental Illness Among Humanitarian Migrants: Longitudinal Analysis of Findings From the First Three Waves of a Large Cohort Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10(12). doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00545
Enticott, J., Buck, K., & Shawyer, F. (2018). Finding "hard to find" literature on hard to find groups: A novel technique to search grey literature on refugees and asylum seekers. Int J Methods in Psychiatr Res., e1580. doi:10.1002/mpr.1580
Enticott JC, Shawyer F, Vasi S, Buck K, Cheng I-H, Russell G, Kakuma R, Minas H, Meadows G. A systematic review of studies with a representative sample of refugees and asylum seekers living in the community for participation in mental health research. BMC Medical Research Methodology. 2017;17(37):16.
Shawyer F, Enticott JC, Block AA, Cheng I-H, Meadows GN. The mental health status of refugees and asylum seekers attending a refugee health clinic including comparisons with a matched sample of Australian-born residents. BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(76).
Shawyer F, Enticott JC, Doherty AR, Block AA, Cheng I-H, Wahidi S, Meadows G. A cross-sectional survey of the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers attending a refugee health clinic: A study protocol for using research to inform local service delivery. BMC Psychiatry. 2014;14(1):2-11.
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Australia provides national health insurance funding for psychological treatment services, and this funding has increased substantially since 2006. Concerns have been raised as to whether these funded services are distributed equitably such that populations characterised by poorer socio-economic status, where mental health typically is poorer, receive greater servicing. Alternatively the situation might be more one of operation of an inverse-care law where the better off receive more services. The results clearly show significant disparities in non-GP mental health Medicare funded services, whereby people residing in lower socio-economic areas are utilisation services at much lower rates compared to advantaged areas.
Publications
Meadows G, Enticott J, Inder B, Russell G, Gurr R. Better access to mental health care and the failure of the Medicare principle of universality. Medical Journal of Australia. 2015;202(4):190-5.
Meadows G, Enticott J, Rosenberg S. Three charts on: why rates of mental illness aren’t going down despite higher spending 2018. The Conversation.
This piece has had extensive media attention including being discussed in the New York Times.
Prevalence of psychological distress: How do Australia and Canada compare?
Enticott, J. C., Lin, E., Shawyer, F., Russell, G., Inder, B., Patten, S. & Meadows, G. 1 Mar 2018 In : Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 52, 3, p. 227-238 12
This paper was awarded the Editor's best pick.Mental disorders and distress: Associations with demographics, remoteness and socioeconomic deprivation of area of residence across Australia. Enticott, J. C., Meadows, G. N., Shawyer, F., Inder, B. & Patten, S. B. Dec 2016 In : Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 50, 12, p. 1169-1179 11
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This involves the application of modelling technology to inform mental healthcare change management by incorporating epidemiological, service activity and budgetary data into pragmatic and relevant decision analysis and support tools.
Key Southern Synergy staff are members of the National Mental Health systems Modelling Network which is co-ordinated from the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research.
Background
Mental health services managers must take into account multiple factors when making decisions about the most effective way to deliver care to clients. Currently, however, evidence to support decision-makers in choosing from a range of proposed mental health service configurations is commonly lacking. The increasing availability of epidemiological and service use data for mental illness and advanced modelling technology has made feasible the exploration of possible changes in the service system in a constructed simulation before resources are committed to the changes.
While simulation methods are widely used in epidemiology in policy research related to cardiovascular disease, public health preparedness and epidemic modelling, to date the application of simulation modelling in mental health care has been very limited. The work has been restricted to models depicting operational processes within individual components of mental health care systems, such as institutions or clinical services.
The focus of this research was on the development of modelling tools aiming to assist mental health services managers and policymakers in their work. The models aimed to be tailored to desired scenarios from managers and policy makers and allow scenarios regarding the delivery of mental health services to be simulated, enabling predictions to be made about the cost and quality of care of these services and allowing policy alternatives to be explored safely and inexpensively.
A critical aspect of the work was the examination of the impact of the project on health services management involved. Reviewers in the ARC funding process requested we put more emphasis on this aspect of the project and we followed through on that. Especially important here has been the work of Katrina Long as a PhD student working with the project. As her systematic review has established, implementation and impact assessments of models in mental health care are very limited in number and typically in scope. This work has advanced knowledge and understanding of how various modelling techniques may interact in their application with the real world of mental health care management.
Project team and partnerships
This work received funding from Monash University, Monash Health, and the Australian Research Council. Partnerships through time have involved Deakin University and the University of Calgary; more recently including collaborations with staff from the University of Western Sydney, the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, and The Sax Institute also based in Sydney.
Mental Health Services: Prof. Graham Meadows (Project Leader), Mr Peter Gibbs Health Economics: Prof. Brett Inder Modelling Technologies: Prof. Scott Patten, Dr Lee Gordon-Brown, Dr Mehmet Ozmen, Dr Ante Prodan, Dr Jo-An Atkinson Information Technology: Dr Joarder Kamruzzaman, Dr Gour Karmakar Social Work: A/Prof. Fiona McDermott Organisational Psychology: Dr Simon Albrecht, Dr Katrina Long Project Management: Dr Joanne Brooker Industry Engagement: Dr John Morrison Funding support to the research program
- 2010-11. Monash Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, strategic grant. $48,125.
- ARC linkage 2011-2014. ARC contribution $184,000 with further support from Partners.
Presentation summarising work to date on one of the models
This link will take you to a powerpoint presentation concentrating on the model relating to Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.
References
- Long, K.M., McDermott, F., & Meadows, G.N. (2019): Factors affecting the implementation of simulation modelling in healthcare: A longitudinal case study evaluation, Journal of the Operational Research Society, DOI: 10.1080/01605682.2019.1650624
- Long, K. M., McDermott, F., & Meadows, G. N. (2018). Being pragmatic about healthcare complexity: our experiences applying complexity theory and pragmatism to health services research. BMC Medicine, 16(1), 94. DOI:10.1186/s12916-018-1087-6
- Long, K. M., & Meadows, G. N. (2018). Simulation modelling in mental health: A systematic review. Journal of Simulation, 12(1), 76-85. DOI:10.1057/s41273-017-0062-0
- Long K, Meadows GN, Simulation modelling for psychiatric service planning: a mixed methods protocol. JMIR Research Protocols. 2018; accepted - reprint available on-line. DOI: 10.2196/11119
- Patten SB, Gordon-Brown L, Meadows G. Simulation studies of age-specific lifetime major depression prevalence. BMC Psychiatry. 2010;10(85).
- Patten, S. B. and G. N. Meadows (2009). Population-Based Service Planning for Implementation of MBCT: Linking epidemiologic data to practice. Psychiatric Services 60(11): 1540-1542. DOI: 10.1176/ps.2009.60.11.1540
- Meadows G, Gielewski H, Falconer B, Kelly H, Joubert L, Clarke M. The pattern of care model: A tool for planning community mental health services. Psychiatric Services. 1997;48(2):218 - 223.
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This area of health system design and evaluation has been long standing interest in the key staff of the centre.
The CLIPP Model
This approach to service delivery, led for ten years by Professor Meadows in North West Melbourne, continues to play a role as a model for services developments at various sites in Australia and overseas.
Publications
Meadows GN, Harvey CA, Joubert L, Barton D, Bedi G. Best practices: the consultation-liaison in primary-care psychiatry program: a structured approach to long-term collaboration. Psychiatric Services. 2007;58(8):1036-8.
Meadows GN. Overcoming barriers to reintegration of patients with schizophrenia: developing a best-practice model for discharge from specialist care. Med J Aust. 2003 May;178 (9) Suppl 5:S53-S6.
Meadows GN. Establishing a collaborative service model for primary mental health care. The Medical Journal of Australia. 1998;168(4):162-5.
Final reports
Two final reports are available here from externally funded research related to the CLIPP program:
- Examination of clinical and associated outcomes through two years of shared care (pdf, 357kb)
- Impact of being a carer for people with mental health problems, including carers of people cared for in the CLIPP program (pdf, 419kb)
Key Centre Staff: Prof Graham Meadows (Monash University).
Key Collaborators: Dr Lynette Joubert (University of Melbourne), Dr Carol Harvey (University of Melbourne), A/Prof Philip Hegerty (Deakin University), Prof Siaw-Teng Liaw (University of Melbourne), A/Prof Krishna Vaddadi (Monash University), Dr David Haslam (London Ontario), Dr Jack Heggerty (Thunder Bay Ontario).GUPI (General-practise Users Perceive-need Inventory
Screening and assessment instrumentation for Primary Care
The research group now working in Southern Synergy conducted the development, supported by a grant from beyondblue the National Depression initiative of a novel instrument for screening and assessment of mental health problems in primary care (the General-practice Users Perceived-need Inventory or GUPI). This built on the development of the Perceived Need for Care Questionnaire used in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing and adapted the structure from that survey instrument towards the primary care setting.
Reports
Download our:
Publications
McNab, C. & Meadows , G. (2005) The General-practice Users' Perceived-need Inventory ('GUPI'): a brief general practice tool to assist in bringing mental healthcare needs to professional attention. Primary Care Mental Health, 3, 93-101.
- Non-commercial use of this material is encouraged. Please email us for permission.
- Further information is available at beyondblue.
About us
Key Centre Staff: Catharine McNab, Prof Graham Meadows
Key Collaborator: beyondblue -
In this secondary data analysis we assess whether adult utilisation of mental health services subsidised by Australian federal national health insurance (Medicare) varies by measures of socio-economic and geographic disadvantage between July 1st 2007 and June 30th 2011. Australia provides national health insurance funding for psychological treatment services, and this funding has increased substantially since 2006. Concerns have been raised as to whether these funded services are distributed equitably such that populations characterised by poorer socio-economic status, where mental health typically is poorer, receive greater servicing. Alternatively the situation might be more one of operation of an inverse-care law where the better off receive more services. The results clearly show significant disparities in non-GP mental health Medicare funded services, whereby people residing in lower socio-economic areas are utilisation services at much lower rates compared to advantaged areas.
Figure 1. Mental health service activity rates (y-axis) for two contrasting metropolitan areas of Melbourne. PTS, Psychological therapy services provided by a Clinical Psychologist. FPS, Focussed psychological strategies provided by allied mental health (i.e. Social workers, Occupational therapists and General Psychologists).
The City of Bayside (blue) is an affluent area that is ranked in the top decile for socio-economic advantage in Australia. Whilst the City of Greater Dandenong (red) has areas with marked disadvantage, and overall is in the bottom 2.5 ranking for socio-economic advantage.
Principle Investigator
Investigators
Prof. Graham Meadows, Dr Frances Shawyer, Prof.Brett Inder, Prof. Grant Russell, Associate Prof. Roger Gurr
Melbourne example
Rate of service use per 1000 people
Population
in 2011IRSAD Median
IRSAD decileMedian weekly
household incomeCity of Bayside 82,077 1,111 10 $1,826 City of Greater Dandenong 157,423 945 2.5 $953 We know that mental illness prevalence is higher in areas with high socio-economic disadvantage, yet the activity rates of Medicare funded mental health services is markedly higher in the City of Bayside compared to the City of Greater Dandenong. For example, Psychiatry services are used at a rate of 180 (per 1000 people) in Bayside and less than half, 81 (per 1000 people) in Dandenong.
Read more about this equity analysis of 4 years of Medicare data at: Meadows GN, Enticott JC, Inder B, Russell GM, Gurr R. Better access to mental health care and the failure of the Medicare principle of universality. Medical Journal of Australia. 2015;202(4):190-5.
Mindfulness
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Events
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Southern Synergy is part of the team involved in hosting the second International Conference of Mindfulness (ICM) Asia Pacific in 2022 from 15-18 November. We are also planning to offer a one day retreat on Saturday 19th November.
By way of background, the very first ICM conference was held in Rome in 2013 and since 2016 has been running biennially in Europe. The 2020 conference was due to be held in Denmark in July 2020 but, due to the COVID pandemic, was rescheduled to July 2021 and delivered in a live online format. The inaugural ICM Asia Pacific conference, the first “local” version of this conference, was held in Auckland, New Zealand in February 2019 and the third ICM Asia Pacific conference will be held in Hong Kong in 2024.
The theme for ICM Asia Pacific 2022 is: “Contemplative practice for the 21st Century”.
At this stage, we have come up with five strands:
1. Spiritual, Cultural, Philosophical
2. Social, Political & Environmental
3. Intrapersonal, Interpersonal & Investigative
4. Technology, Education & Media
5. Conversation, Challenge & Reconceptualization - Weaving strands togetherWe think the theme will provide an appropriate signpost and the strands a useful vehicle for achieving our aspirations for the conference. These are: to further the understanding and practice of mindfulness in contemporary times; engage diverse perspectives and work with controversy; bring together traditional discipline silos; and consider global challenges.
To keep abreast of developments, please visit the conference website at www.icmmelbourne2022.org
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We are currently exploring the possibility of running the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Professional Training program in 2024.
Please fill out this form if you wish to be advised of updates.
The Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) Professional Training program has been run annually through Monash University since 2005. The program was suspended in 2011 in order to enable a comprehensive review of the program to take place. This review was completed in 2013 and we drew on UK practice guidelines in order to develop a new three level format. Details of the program along with course fees for Level 3 are provided below.
Overview
Professional training in (MBCT) is a certificate course provided through Southern Synergy. The program follows the MBCT group format developed by Segal, Williams and Teasdale (2002; 2013). The aim is to provide comprehensive training in the instruction of MBCT group therapy in order to prepare clinicians to provide this therapy in the community.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
MBCT is a manualised group-based intervention designed to reduce rates of relapse of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and most commonly applied with people who have had multiple previous episodes of depression. This is an important area for attention because at least 60% of people who have had one episode of major depressive disorder will have another, mostly within two years of the index episode. Seventy percent of those who have had two episodes will have a third, and 90% of those with three episodes will have a fourth.
MBCT integrates aspects of cognitive therapy with components of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. It teaches clients to become more aware of, and to relate differently to, thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations; in particular, to view thoughts and feelings as passing events in the mind rather than as necessarily reflecting reality. The program teaches skills in disengagement from habitual (automatic) dysfunctional cognitive routines, especially depression-related ruminative thought patterns as a way to reduce risk of relapse and recurrence of depression. Clinical course participants develop personal documentation detailing warning signs and related action plans, as well as considering how to maintain practices and habits they have found helpful. Its efficacy in reducing risk of recurring depression has been demonstrated in multiple randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses. It is included in the UK Government's National Institute of Clinical Excellence Guidelines for prevention of depressive recurrence for patients who have experienced three or more episodes of depression. In the Australian context it features in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders and beyondblue recommended treatment options for depression.
MBCT is a radical innovation within mental health care. MBCT is grounded in traditional spiritual practice, brining ancient meditation skills and approaches to life into psychotherapeutic practice. These practices are nevertheless collected into MBCT in a way consistent with highest standards of evidence-based practice, scientific psychological enquiry and rigorous clinical method.Course Details
Level 1: Introduction to Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Professional Training
Description
Level 1 training involves participation in an eight-week course that is a variation of the MBCT therapy group adapted for the training situation plus attendance at a 6 hour Day of Mindful Practice. There are regular homework and diary-keeping tasks, particularly guided meditations, amounting to about 45 minutes a day, 6 days/week, for the duration of the course. It is expected that trainees will attend all 8 sessions and commit to home practice. A half-hour interview between trainees and the course instructor will occur prior to the course commencing. A period of at least two months is allowed between the end of the course and the training day to enable participants to consolidate their personal practice and associated learning from the eight sessions.
Level 2: Exploration of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Professional training
Description
Level 2 training is intended to provide clinicians with intensive training in the instruction of MBCT. It involves a four-day residential Instructor Development Retreat (IDR) that emphasises intensive personal practice as well as concentrated and closely supervised practice in leading small to medium group meditations and follow-up discussions. Preparatory activities include study of a provided set of lesson plans and some directed exploration of relevant Buddhist philosophy. The retreat builds on this covering intensive personal practice, the approach to initial interviews, then closely supervised practice leading small-medium group meditations, inquiry, and setting and dealing with homework tasks.
Level 3: Consolidation of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Professional training
Description
Level 3 training provides participants with the opportunity to consolidate their mindfulness-based instructor training, under the supervision of experienced MBCT instructors from the teaching faculty. Trainees continue developing their MBCT instructor skills through initially working alongside an experienced co-facilitator conducting an MBCT group therapy course and then later independently conducting the course while receiving supervisory coaching. Level 3 training involves 44 contact hours on the part of the trainee with 32 hours from the supervisor, including shared delivery of MBCT or supervision.
UK network good practice guidelines for mindfulness-based courses
This MBCT professional training program at Southern Synergy has been constructed in alignment with the UK network for mindfulness-based teachers good practice guidelines. As such it offers:
- Personal participation in the mindfulness-based course that trainees will be learning to teach, including an in-depth personal experience of all the core meditation practices.
- An in-depth, rigorous mindfulness-based instructor training programme over a minimum 12 month period.
- Knowledge of the relevant underlying psychological processes, associated research and evidence-base practices required of a mindfulness-based instructor.
- Regular and personalised supervision by an experienced mindfulness-based teacher throughout the three levels of the mindfulness-based training program.
The revision and construction of the course in alignment with these guidelines, which have become generally available since we established earlier versions of the course, creates a sound reference point for the updated course content and process. Participants can be assured of receiving a training program which is consistent with sound training practices.
The role of a personal mindfulness practice
You do not need to be a meditator to enter this course. However, the expectation and requirement for delivery of MBCT is that participants either come to the course with familiarity with a mindfulness practice which they are willing to further explore, or alternatively be willing through the course to develop and maintain a personal mindfulness practice. We also strongly advocate retreat time as an important way to develop and consolidate mindfulness into your life, so enhancing the skill and authenticity you can bring to working with MBCT. Along with maintenance of a regular mindfulness practice, it is probably wise to assume that taking part in one or more week long retreats will likely be necessary to be able to demonstrate the relevant skills assessed in Level 3 of this program, those being providing good evidence of proficiency for clinical practice with MBCT.
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General purpose
Commenced in 2011, the purpose of this group is to provide a reflective peer supervision support for mental health professionals who have completed training in MBCT or significant training in another established mindfulness-based intervention and are facilitating groups in the community. The focus of the group is on MBCT group practices, processes and issues and the application of mindfulness theory and philosophy.
Activities
Activities may include:
- Discussion of clinical issues arising from practice
- Review of research articles and books
- Case presentations
- Open discussion of topical issues
- Review of videotaped session material
- Discussion of practical and administrative issues in running an MBCT group in private practice
- Opportunity to practice leading meditations
- Promotion of conferences and upcoming events relevant to the practice of mindfulness and training opportunities in this area
- Feedback from workshops/seminars
Examples of topics discussed:
- For whom is MBCT best suited?
- The pre-group interview
- Promoting adherence to MBCT
- Encouraging maintenance of practice
- The role of relaxation in mindfulness and MBCT
- Mindfulness in acute settings
- Mindfulness and suicide
- Booster groups
Cost
Free of charge
Venue
Zoom: Please email: southern.synergy@monash.edu for a link to be sent.
Day/Time
First Wednesday of the month, 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Dates for 2024 MBCT Peer Supervision
- Wednesday 7 February
- Wednesday 6 March
Mindfulness at Monash Health
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Monash Health staff, patients, family and community members are warmly welcome to attend our weekly mindfulness meditation sessions. Sessions are free and involve a variety of gentle movement, mindfulness and compassion practices.
For staff, some familiarity with mindfulness meditation can be helpful in maintaining personal equilibrium and in supporting an empathic approach to clients and patients. For patients and family members, mindfulness can assist in coping with the stress and pain of illness.
Sessions are facilitated by team members from Monash Health Spiritual Care and Southern Synergy.
Day: Every Thursday
Time: 2.30-3.00pm
Venue: Dandenong Hospital Sacred Space (near the main foyer on Level 2).There is no need for registration, please feel free to come.
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2022
- March 2022 (3.4mb, pdf)
- June 2022 (55mb, pdf)
- September 2022 (4.8mb, pdf)
- December 2022 (5.7mb, pdf)
2021
- March 2021 (4.4mb, pdf)
- September 2021 (4.4mb, pdf)
- December 2021 (3.8mb, pdf)
2020
- December 2020 (1.2 mb, pdf)
- September 2020 (573 kb,pdf)
- June 2020 (2.1 mb, pdf)
- March 2020 (510 kb,pdf)
2019
- December 2019 (834 kb,pdf)
- September 2019 (515 kb,pdf)
- June 2019 (481 kb,pdf)
- March 2019 (424 kb,pdf)
2018
- December 2018 (335 kb,pdf)
- September 2018 (248 kb,pdf)
- June 2018 (222 kb,pdf)
- March, 2018 (248kb,pdf)
2017
2016
2015
Mindfulness research
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About the DARE Project
This was a large study in the form of a randomised controlled trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for people recruited from community settings who had at least 3 previous major depressive episodes.
The primary aim was to examine the effectiveness of MBCT on reducing participant experience of major depressive episodes compared with people receiving a supported self-monitoring program only. MBCT was delivered by practitioners recruited and trained in a manner feasible for adoption in regular clinical services.
Publications
Kearns NP, Shawyer F, Brooker JB, Graham AL, Enticott JC, Martin PR, et al. Does rumination mediate the relationship between mindfulness and depressive relapse? The British Psychological Society. 2016;89:33-49.
Shawyer F, Enticott JC, Ozmen M, Inder B, Meadows GN. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for recurrent major depression: A ‘best buy’ for health care? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2016;50:1001-13.
Meadows GN, Shawyer F, Enticott JC, Graham AL, Judd F, Martin PR, Piterman L, Segal Z. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for recurrent depression: A translational research study with 2-year follow-up. The final definitive version of this paper has been published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 48(8):743-755, August 2014. You can also access the accepted version of the manuscript.
Shawyer F, Meadows GN, Judd F, Martin PR, Segal Z, Piterman L. The DARE study of relapse prevention in depression: design for a phase 1/2 translational randomised controlled trial involving mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and supported self monitoring. BMC Psychiatry. 2012 Jan 19;12:3.
Project status
The study is concluded and we are no longer recruiting participants.
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Background
Work-related stress is highly prevalent and constitutes a growing challenge for employees, employers and the wider community. In addition to having a detrimental impact on staff themselves, elevated stress among human services workers (e.g., disability support staff, mental health care workers) has been found to have an adverse impact on client-staff interactions and client wellbeing. Beyond human costs, workplace stress can adversely affect organisations through absenteeism, presenteeism, staff turnover, reduced job performance, counter-productive work behaviours, and compensation claims. (Presenteeism refers to the loss of productivity that occurs when employees attend work but perform below their usual capacity because of physical or mental illness).
Mindfulness programs are now a widely researched and a well-established method of dealing with work-related stress, anxiety and depression. The core program of Occupational Mindfulness (OM) uses many components from the evidence-based programs of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, as well as compatible elements of positive psychology. The core program is designed to accommodate customised "add-ins" for specific workforces, including frontline and workshop floor staff as well as executive staff.
An evaluation of Occupational Mindfulness for disability services staff
In 2010, a demonstration study was undertaken to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of the Occupational Mindfulness Training program in the Victorian disability sector.
This significant collaboration on ‘Occupational Mindfulness’ began in 2009 with a project exploring the effects of mindfulness training on staff effectiveness in residential settings for people with intellectual disability. The Office of the Senior Practitioner commissioned this work with the role of this office in oversight, commissioning, and monitoring of services for people in Victoria with intellectual disabilities. Initial negotiations on this project were carried out between the Office of the Senior Practitioner and John Julian from Southern Synergy while Graham Meadows took the role of oversight of research quality and integrity in management of the work including reporting as applicable to the arising contracts. The resulting program combining as it does elements of positive psychology, occupational stress management and mindfulness was developed and initially piloted during 2009. The findings from this study are described in the two papers described below, both published in Mindfulness.
Brooker, J., Julian, J., Webber, L., Chan, J., Shawyer, F., Meadows, G. (2013). Evaluation of an Occupational Mindfulness program for staff employed in the disability sector in Australia. Mindfulness, 4 (2), 122-136. (Special Issue: Mindfulness and Acceptance in Developmental Disabilities). doi: 10.007/s12671-012-0112-7. IF: 3.024; Q1; SJR: 1.132.
Brooker, J.E., Webber, L., Julian, J., Shawyer, F., Graham, A.L., Chan, J. Meadows, G. (2014). Mindfulness-based training shows promise in assisting staff to reduce their use of restrictive interventions in residential services. Mindfulness 5(5), 743-755. doi: 10.1007/s12671-014-0306-2. IF: 3.024; Q1; SJR: 1.132.
An evaluation of Occupational Mindfulness for mental health services staff
In further exploratory work, we subsequently conducted an evaluation of Occupational Mindfulness for mental health services staff. This specific study aimed to consider the impact of Occupational Mindfulness in the mental health field in a pilot for a cluster RCT-style evaluation. In particular, it considered the specific issues and impact of attempting to introduce such a program to a mental health ward setting and secondly, the issues involved in attempting to undertake a pragmatic and low cost RCT styled evaluation of a work place training program. The OM project was the setting for work of a Bachelor of Psychological Science and Business (Honours) student during 2013, who investigated the perceived stress of mental health services employees following an Occupational Mindfulness intervention at 3 hospital wards.
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About the Mindfulness and Medication Alliance
Background of the project
This exploratory project received competitive grant funding from the Victorian Centre for Excellence in Depressive Disorders from 2003 to 2006, with supplementary funding and support from Southern Health as well as from other Southern Synergy resources. This pilot study, set within a 2x2 factorial intervention design has been conducted with the Middle-South and Dandenong Primary Mental Health Teams.
The achievements of the pilot project
To establish capacity to deliver two novel clinical interventions; to establish capacity to conduct clinical trials research with these interventions including developing a bank of research assessors and to conduct pilot research involving both of the interventions. These experiences and findings provided preliminary data that was important in the success of an application for NHMRC project grant funding. The two interventions are each approaches to psychological treatments within comprehensive treatment and long term care of depression. Medication Alliance Therapy for Depression (MAT-D) was developed by Dr Mitchell Byrne and others at the University of Wollongong in collaboration with this group. It extends work the Wollongong team have been doing for some years with clinical case managers and treatment of schizophrenia so as to be applicable for responding to the needs of people with depression particularly in collaboration with primary care. MAT is intended as an intervention for delivery by primary care nursing staff.
Key findings of the pilot study
There presently are major organisational obstacles are in place in the way of engaging these practitioners in this kind of work, that the intervention in this setting would best be tested in a cluster randomised design and that the inclusion criteria for testing the intervention are different from those of MBCT.
Reforms currently planned by the Commonwealth Government may well change the workforce picture and the strategy at present with this intervention is to monitor developments through implementation of these reforms and then at a timely point make grant submissions to facilitate further examination of the technique. It is planned to introduce a version of the MAT package into training for registrars and medical officers in Southern Mental Health.
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy is a group instruction technique developed in North America and the United Kingdom that involves a combination of specific meditation practices and cognitive therapy techniques. Key achievements of the pilot study were the establishment of strong collaborative links with the University of Toronto team working with MBCT, the establishment of a clinical program and a training scheme of the highest quality for clinical instructors here in Victoria, and the acquisition of pilot data that contributed to the success of a NHMRC grant application.
Key Centre Staff: Amanda Favilla, Annette Graham, Catharine McNab, Professor Graham Meadows.
Key Collaborators: Victorian Centre of Excellence in Depressive Disorders, Dandenong and Middle South Primary Mental Health Teams, Professor Wendy Cross, Dandenong and Middle South Divisions of General Practice, Anthony Cichello, Professor Zindel Segal (Toronto).
Final Report 2010
Project status
This project was funded as a pilot for a complex study.
We are no longer recruiting to the project but information on the project processes is left here for interest. The project served a critically important function in advancing research agendas around mindfulness research and also alliance therapies.
Further information
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- Hickey, T., Nelson, B., Enticott, J., & G, M. (2020 (in press). A mindfulness and compassion program for youth with psychotic symptoms: A pilot study. Early Intervention in Psychiatry.
- Francis, S., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B., Enticott, J., & Meadows, G. (2020). Correction to: Study protocol for a randomized control trial to investigate the effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy (MiCBT) transdiagnostic group intervention for primary care patients. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 136. doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02534-y
- Frances, S., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B., Enticott, J., & Meadows, G. (2020). Study protocol for a randomized control trial to investigate the effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy (MiCBT) transdiagnostic group intervention for primary care patients. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 1-13. doi:10.1186/s12888-019-2411-1
- Hickey, T., Pen Name, E., Nelson, B., & Meadows, G. (2019). Mindfulness and compassion for youth with psychotic symptoms: A description of a group program and a consumer’s experience. Psychosis, 11(4), 342-349. doi:10.1080/17522439.2019.1639800
- Hickey, T., Buck, K., Lao, S.-A., Nelson, B., & Meadows, G. (2019). The use of formal criteria to assess psychological models of hallucinations: a systematic review. Psychosis, 11(3), 238-247. doi:10.1080/17522439.2019.1607892
- Shawyer, F., Farhall, J., Thomas, N., Hayes, S. C., Gallop, R., Copolov, D., & Castle, D. J. (2017). Acceptance and commitment therapy for psychosis: randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychiatry, 210, 140-148. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.116.182865
- Meadows, G., & Shawyer, F. (2017). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy delays depressive relapse across demographic subgroups. Evidence Based Mental Health, 20(1). doi:10.1136/eb-2016-102526
- Hickey, T., Nelson, B., & Meadows, G. (2017). Application of a mindfulness and compassion-based approach to the at-risk mental state. Clinical Psychologist, 21(2), 104-115. doi:10.1111/cp.12132
- Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. C., Ozmen, M., Inder, B., & Meadows, G. N. (2016). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for recurrent major depression: A ‘best buy’ for health care? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50, 1001-1013. doi:10.1177/0004867416642847
- Meadows, G., & Shawyer, F. (2016). Mindfulness- and Meditation-Based Healthcare Approach Implications for Prevention, Detection, and Treatment in Cardiology. In M. E. Alvarenga & D. Byrne (Eds.), Handbook of Psychocardiology (pp. 1023-1041).
- Lao, S.-A., Kissane, D., & Meadows, G. (2016). Cognitive effects of MBSR/MBCT: A systematic review of neuropsychological outcomes. Consciousness and Cognition, 45, 109-123. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.017
- Kearns, N. P., Shawyer, F., Brooker, J. B., Graham, A. L., Enticott, J. C., Martin, P. R., & Meadows, G. N. (2016). Does rumination mediate the relationship between mindfulness and depressive relapse? The British Psychological Society, 89, 33-49. doi:10.1111/papt.12064
- Advocat, J., Enticott, J., Vandenberg, B., Hassed, C., Hester, J., & Russell, G. (2016). The effects of a mindfulness-based lifestyle program for adults with Parkinson's disease: a mixed methods, wait list controlled randomised control study. BMC Neurol, 16, 166. doi:10.1186/s12883-016-0685-1
- Shawyer, F., & Farhall, J. (2015). Acceptance-based CBT for command hallucinations: rationale, implementation, outcomes and reflections from the TORCH project. In B. A. Guadiano (Ed.), Incorporating Acceptance and Mindfulness in the Treatment of Psychosis (pp. 108-149). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Prowse, P. D., Meadows, G. N., & Enticott, J. C. (2015). An Exploratory Study into the Effectiveness of Fidelity Scales in the Delivery of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1401-1410. doi:10.1007/s12671-015-0412-9
- Prowse, P.-T. D., Nagel, T., & Meadows, G. N. (2015). The Development of a MBCT Self-Assessment Scale. Journal of Depression and Anxiety, 4(4), 1-7. doi:10.4200/2167-1044.1000201
- Thomas, N., Shawyer, F., Castle, D. J., Copolov, D., Hayes, S. C., & Farhall, J. (2014). A randomised controlled trial of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for psychosis: study protocol. BMC Psychiatry, 14, 198. doi:10.1186/1471-244x-14-198
- Meadows, G. N., Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. C., Graham, A. L., Judd, F., Martin, P. R., . . . Segal, Z. (2014). Mindfulness-Based cognitive therapy for recurrent depression: A translational research study with 2 -year follow-up. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 1-13. doi: 10.1177/0004867414525841
- Brooker, J. E., Webber, L., Julian, J., Shawyer, F., Graham, A. L., Chan, J., & Meadows, G. (2014). Mindfulness-based Training Shows Promise in Assisting Staff to Reduce Their Use of Restrictive Interventions in Residential Services. Mindfulness, 5(5), 598-603. doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0306-2
- Thomas, N., Morris, E. M. J., Shawyer, F., & Farhall, J. (2013). Acceptance and commitment therapy for voices. In E. M. J. Morris, L. C. Johns, & J. E. Oliver (Eds.), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Psychosis (pp. 95-111). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Shawyer, F., Thomas, N., Morris, E. M. J., & Farhall, J. (2013). Theory on voices. In E. M. J. Morris, L. C. Johns, & J. E. Oliver (Eds.), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Psychosis (pp. 12-32). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Farhall, J., Shawyer, F., Thomas, N., & Morris, E. M. J. (2013). Clinical assessment and assessment measures. In E. M. J. Morris, L. C. Johns, & J. E. Oliver (Eds.), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Psychosis (pp. 47-63). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Shawyer, F., Meadows, G. N., Judd, F., Martin, P. R., Segal, Z., & Piterman, L. (2012). The DARE study of relapse prevention in depression: design for a phase 1/2 translational randomised controlled trial involving mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and supported self monitoring. BMC Psychiatry, 12(3), 1-10. doi:1471-244X-12-3 [pii]
- Shawyer, F., Farhall, J., Mackinnon, A., Trauer, T., Sims, E., Ratcliff, K., . . . Copolov, D. (2012). A randomised controlled trial of acceptance-based cognitive behavioural therapy for command hallucinations in psychotic disorders. Behav Res Ther, 50(2), 110-121. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.11.007
- Farhall, J., Harvey, C., Kazantzis, N., King, R., Meadows, G., O’Hanlon, B., . . . Young, J. (2012). Psychological Therapies. In G. Meadows, J. Farhall, E. Fossey, M. Grigg, F. McDermott, & B. Singh (Eds.), Mental Health in Australia: Collaborative Community Practice (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
- Brooker, J., Julian, J., Webber, L., Chan, J., Shawyer, F., & Meadows, G. (2012). Evaluation of an Occupational Mindfulness Program for Staff Employed in the Disability Sector in Australia. Mindfulness, 4, 122-136. doi:10.1007/s12671-012-0112-7
- Patten, S. B., & Meadows, G. N. (2009). Population-Based Service Planning for Implementation of MBCT: Linking epidemiologic data to practice. Psychiatric Services, 60(11), 1540-1542. doi:10.1176/ps.2009.60.11.1540
- Academic Mindfulness Interest Group, M., & Academic Mindfulness Interest Group, M. (2006). Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapies: A Review of Conceptual Foundations, Empirical Evidence and Practical Considerations. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40(4), 285-294. doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01794.x
- Meadows, G. (2003). Buddhism and psychiatry: confluence and conflict. Australiasian Psychiatry, 11(1), 16-20. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1665.2003.00517.x
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- Professor Graham Meadows discusses the use of 'mindfulness' in practice with implementation into psychological clinical interventions and gives an overview of the challenges and controversies mindfulness-based Interventions encounter in terms of translational research into mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression:
- Meadows, G., Cichello, A., Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. Mindfulness based cognitive therapy and depression: A policy translation challenge considered in Australia. Presented by Professor Meadows at the 2nd International Conference on Mindfulness in Rome, Italy, May 2016.
- Meadows and Maura Kenny discuss "Mindfulness: finding calm in the chaos" in 2014 at RiAus (Royal Institution of Australia):
09/08/2017 - Mindfulness - Lost in Translation? From efficacy to effectiveness, economics, implementation and dissemination in the science of mindfulness based interventions.
https://obrieniph.ucalgary.ca/events/chsobrien-seminar-series
Professor Meadows and other collaborators mentioned in the introduction assert the right to the intellectual property in this presentation.
- In 2013, Southern Synergy was actively involved in hosting the Mindfulness, Science and Practice conference in Melbourne. The conference included a video-presented interview with Stephen Batchelor recorded for the conference based on questions around the conference themes followed by a live Q&A session with Stephen via video-conferencing from France. The recorded interview can be accessed below. Although the content is not of professional standard, being pre-recorded during a trip to India, the content may be of interest and value.
YouTube video (52.08 min) Prof Graham Meadows interviews Stephen Batchelor on the topic of Mindfulness -
Mindfulness and compassion for youth with early, subclinical or brief psychotic symptoms - Tara Hickey
Tara’s thesis by publication completed in 2021 centrally involved developing and evaluating a group-based mindfulness and compassion program (MAC-P) for youth with early psychotic experiences. Participants experienced reduced self-criticism, large improvements in self-compassion, acting with awareness, in positive psychotic symptoms and a reduction in distress associated with these. Tara is actively pursuing further publications from this work.
Publications
- Hickey, T., Nelson, B., Enticott, J., & G, M. (2021). The MAC-P program: A pilot study of a mindfulness and compassion program for youth with psychotic experiences. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 15 (5), 1326-1334.
- Hickey, T., Nelson, B., Enticott, J., & Meadows, G. (2022). [Letter to the Editor] The potential role of self-criticism in distress related to attenuated symptoms and the implications for clinical trajectory. Schizophrenia Research, 243: 298-299.
- Hickey, T., Buck, K., Nelson, B. & Meadows, G. (2019). The use of formal criteria to assess psychological models of hallucinations: a systematic review. Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches, 11(3), 238-247.
- Hickey, T., Pen Name, E., Nelson, B., & Meadows, G. (2019). Mindfulness and compassion for youth with psychotic symptoms: A description of a group program and a consumer’s experience. Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches, 11(4), 342-349.
- Hickey, T., Nelson, B. & Meadows, G. (2017). Application of a mindfulness and compassion-based approach to the at risk mental state. Clinical Psychologist, 21(2) 104-115.
Evaluation of Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behaviour therapy (MiCBT) as a transdiagnostic group intervention for depression and anxiety in a primary care setting - Sarah Francis
MiCBT is trans-diagnostic intervention for the treatment of psychological issues which integrates cognitive behaviour therapy strategies with mindfulness techniques. It has a particular emphasis on the development of interoceptive awareness (awareness of body sensations), metacognitive awareness (awareness of thinking) and equanimity which are developed independently and simultaneously. MiCBT is a promising intervention but under-researched, particularly in the transdiagnostic context for which it was developed. The aim of Sarah’s project is to evaluate the effectiveness of MiCBT in a “real life” clinical setting of private practice for a range of psychological conditions. The secondary aim is to examine mechanisms underpinning MiCBT. Sarah is in the final stages of her PhD.
Publications
- Francis, S., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B., Enticott, J., & Meadows, G. (2020). Erratum: Study protocol for a randomized control trial to investigate the effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy (MiCBT) transdiagnostic group intervention for primary care patients BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), [136]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02534-y
- Frances, S., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B. et al.(2020). Study protocol for a randomized control trial to investigate the effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy (MiCBT) transdiagnostic group intervention for primary care patients. BMC Psychiatry 20, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2411-1
- Francis, S.E.B., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B.A., Enticott, J., Meadows, G. (2022). Group mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy (MiCBT) reduces depression and anxiety and improves flourishing in a transdiagnostic primary care sample compared to a treatment-as-usual. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13: 815170. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.815170
Under review
- Francis, S.E.B., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B.A., Grabovac, A., Meadows, G.N. Differentiating Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MiCBT) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) clinically: the why, how, and what of evidence-based practice. Frontiers in Psychology.
Workforce programs
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This cluster activity ceased in early 2020. The following provides some historical information about the program.
About the Workforce Program - South East Education and Training Cluster
LAMPS (Latrobe Regional Hospital Mental Health Services, Alfred Psychiatry, Monash Health, Peninsula Health Psychiatric Services, Southern Synergy)
In mid-2004 the Victorian DHS Mental Health Branch initiated projects across the State to explore potential advantages in collaborations across broad working groups of mental health services. Southern Synergy carried out the first round of consultation and needs assessment in this cluster leading to a report to DHS in July 2004. This initial needs assessment process developed into the workforce development initiative called South East Education and Training Cluster. The South East Education and Training Cluster includes Monash Health, Alfred Psychiatry at Bayside Health, Peninsula Health Psychiatric Services and Latrobe Regional Hospital Mental Health Services.
Activities of the cluster varied from year to year. The cluster took a project and developmental perspective in most years. Throughout the development of the cluster work plan there has been continued commitment for the establishment of balanced and equitable partnerships between participating agencies. Within the cluster Steering Group, it is acknowledged that participating health services each have particular strengths to contribute to the cluster and that all services have something to gain by this involvement. As a tangible commitment to this principle, leadership of projects is shared across the cluster with each member taking various lead roles.
LAMPS ceased at the end of March, 2020. For the time being we are keeping this page for archival purposes.
If you wish to attend any mental health training, please go to the Centre for Mental Health Learning.