Dear CEH Friend

I think I’m a little late for new year greetings as we are almost into April, but I do sincerely wish you a productive year ahead.  It has been a busy start for most of us at the Centre as it has been grant writing season, a time when we write proposals to request funding for research projects.

With the Federal Government still considering its options about continued mental health funding, Professor Nick Titov, CEH member and Director of MindSpot Clinic spoke to ABC Country Hour and news.com.au, about the potential risks of losing online services for Mindspot's large rural client base and others in need. 

The largest non-government funder of mental health research in Australia is Australian Rotary Health.  This year, we are again lending our support to the North Ryde Fun Run, a fundraising event to raise awareness about youth mental health, organised by Rotary.  In collaboration with Rotary we will also be running two information evenings, one in May and one in June, to discuss child and adolescent anxiety. Details about the events will be sent via email and posted on our website once dates and particulars have been confirmed.

I have been informed that we had unprecedented interest in our Cool Kids Workshop held in March with many school counsellors, psychologists and community service workers missing out on the March event. For those who did miss out, you’ll be happy to know we will be hosting two Cool Kids workshops in June. The first on Friday, 12 June  and the other on Friday, 19 June.  I will be running the Cool Kids with Complex Cases workshop on Friday, 7 August and encourage you to ‘save the date’ as there will only be 40 seats available.  If you have worked with children who don't respond well, or at all, to the standard Cool Kids program, then I encourage you to bring your own cases along for discussion. Registration will open in the coming months and an invitation will be sent via email.

For all those interested in parenting information, this article on Recognising Mental Health Issues in Kids may be of interest.

Finally, I’m very pleased to announce that in 2015 the Centre welcomes a new ambassador, Erin Hoare.  Erin is a semi-professional netballer who is busy travelling Australia and NZ competing in netball tournaments whilst also completing her PhD which will evaluate the impact of physical activity and nutrition choices on adolescent depression. Erin is currently supporting our researchers to promote the Chilled Plus online program, a treatment for adolescents with anxiety and depression.

All the best for the coming months.

Kind regards
Professor Ron Rapee
Director, Centre for Emotional Health

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