TheMHS Summer Forum – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s mental health and emotional wellbeing

Current topic
Published in the HealthBulletin Journal
Posted on:
10 January, 2008
Dean Miller, Neville Highfold, Paul Senior and Clyde Rigney Jane Havelka Cherie Kana and Jenny Cardno

The title of the 2008 Mental Health Services (TheMHS) Summer Forum was ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s mental health and emotional wellbeing’, and had the theme: ‘time to listen, time to act’. The forum was held on 21 – 22 February 2008, at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney . The Forum was attended by 190 people, ranging from consumers to researchers to representatives from the health workforce.

The welcome to country was provided by Uncle George Fisher, with live Didjeridu music by Nathan Scott. The Forum welcome was provided by Kevin Kellehear, chairperson. Tom Brideson provided the introduction to the Forum.

Presentations included:

  • Calma T. Human rights, Indigenous communities and social and emotional well-being
  • Milroy H. Children, transgenerational trauma and the well-being of Indigenous communities
  • Milne M. Maori mental health: past, present, future
  • Hunter E. Promoting mental health and wellbeing in remote communities: overcoming the digital divide
  • Ober C. Workforce development and capacity building: considerations for the future
  • Brideson T. Lessons from the current roll out of the Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce Program
  • Phillips N. From the edge of nowhere to the eye of the storm: Gubbah psychiatrist talks about Indigenous mental health
  • Roberts R, Sanders T. What are the key elements of a good service?
  • Harris V. The Social and Emotional Wellbeing Program within the Co-operative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health
  • Dudley M. Suicide prevention
  • Wieland B, Dodd Z, Wilmott Elder J, Krieg A. A learning guide: a process of cultural respect within a mental health service
  • Rosen A. What can the wider community learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?
Carole Maraku and Dr. Leonie Cox Barbara Ahmat Kara Eddington and Neville Highfold

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid training and research program was launched at the conference.

Some of the presentations will be made available on the TheMHS website. TheMHS will also attempt to make the presentations available in audio form on a CD. Please contact TheMHS to obtain your copy of this CD.

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet staff member Ineke Krom ran a HealthInternet café at the conference.

We’d like to thank the conference participants who provided written permission for us to display their photos here (click on the photos to enlarge).

Subscribe to the Bulletin today!

Receive weekly updates of "what's new" straight to your inbox

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

We welcome submissions of original unpublished articles and are seeking papers from researchers and practitioners that address key issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Visit the Journal

This journal replaced the HealthBulletin Journal in December 2020