Supporting children's recovery from bushfires: Stakeholders' views about the impact of a community-based intervention program on children.

Introduction: A multidisciplinary Bushfire Recovery Program was developed by Royal Far West focused on reducing the short- and medium-term impacts of the 2019-2020 bushfires in Australia on children's wellbeing and resilience.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of the Program's psychosocial groups on children's wellbeing and resilience.

Design: A two-phase mixed method approach was used, involving post-intervention surveys and interviews of children impacted by the 2019-2020 bushfires in Australia who participated in the Bushfire Recovery Program, their parents/carers, teachers, and the facilitators of the workshops.

10 Year Longitudinal Evaluation of the Spilstead Model of Milieu Intervention.

Although international research has defined best-practice intervention for children from vulnerable families as integrated and comprehensive, limited implementation and longitudinal evaluation of this approach has been conducted. The Spilstead Model (SM) of early years milieu intervention provides a uniquely integrated one stop shop model of care incorporating a comprehensive range of best-practice programs within a trauma-informed approach. Results from an initial evaluation involving 23 families (mean child age 3.

The impact of climate-related disasters on children's communication and wellbeing: Addressing Sustainable Development Goals.

Purpose: Natural disasters can significantly impact children's health, development, and wellbeing, as well as their access to education and support services (including speech-language pathology). Children's needs are often overlooked in the urgent aftermath of natural disasters. This is especially true for children with communication difficulties.

Flourishing or Languishing? The Relationship Between Mental Health, Health Locus of Control and Generalised Self-Efficacy.

Mental health is a core component of overall wellbeing and can contribute to positive functioning and purpose in life. Mental health is purportedly related to the constructs of generalised self-efficacy (GSE) and health locus of control (LOC). Most research, however, has explored GSE and LOC and their relationship with psychopathology, or defined mental health as a lack of psychopathology indicators.

Symbiosis or Sporting Tool? Competition and the Horse-Rider Relationship in Elite Equestrian Sports.

The horse-rider relationship is fundamental to ethical equestrianism wherein equine health and welfare are prioritized as core dimensions of sporting success. Equestrianism represents a unique and important form of interspecies activity in which relationships are commonly idealized as central to sporting performance but have been largely unexplored in the sport psychology literature. Horse-rider relationships warrant particular consideration in the elite sporting context, given the tension between constructions of "partnership" between horse and rider, and the pragmatic pressures of elite sport on horse and rider and their relationship.

Journalists and Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Literature Review.

Mental health research focusing on journalists has largely tended to give precedence to trauma exposure and subsequent symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, there are several occupational factors that may be associated with the development of depressive symptoms in journalists. This systematic literature review aims to provide a concise, comprehensive, and systematic review of the quantitative literature relating to journalists' experiences of depressive symptoms.

Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia.

Unlabelled: CHAPTER 1: RETAIL INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE THE HEALTHINESS OF FOOD ENVIRONMENTS IN RURAL, REGIONAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES: Objective: To synthesise the evidence for effectiveness of initiatives aimed at improving food retail environments and consumer dietary behaviour in rural, regional and remote populations in Australia and comparable countries, and to discuss the implications for future food environment initiatives for rural, regional and remote areas of Australia.

Study Design: Rapid review of articles published between January 2000 and May 2020.

Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE (EBSCOhost), Health and Society Database (Informit) and Rural and Remote Health Database (Informit), and included studies undertaken in rural food environment settings in Australia and other countries.

Journalists and substance use: A systematic literature review.

Background: Journalists' exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), high levels of job stress, and anecdotal reports within the industry seem to suggest that journalists are at greater risk than the general population to experience substance use disorders. The present systematic literature review (SLR) aims to provide a concise, comprehensive, and systematic review of the quantitative literature relating to journalists' experience of substance use.

Methods: The systematic review method adopted within the present study was based on that prescribed by Fink in the 2010 book, Conducting systematic literature reviews: From the internet to paper, 3rd ed.

Trial of interpersonal counselling after major physical trauma.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to determine if interpersonal counselling (IPC) was effective in reducing psychological morbidity after major physical trauma.

Methods: One hundred and seventeen subjects were recruited from two major trauma centres and randomized to treatment as usual or IPC in the first 3 months following trauma. Measures of depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic symptoms were taken at baseline, 3 months and 6 months.

An integrated approach to general practice mental health training: the importance of context.

Objective: The high prevalence of mental disorders and the barriers to detection and treatment of these in general practice are well recognized. As such, the government has placed great emphasis on training general practitioners (GPs) in primary care mental health and on the provision of support for GPs in the delivery of such services. The current paper aims to evaluate a local, rural training program in mental health for GPs.

Primary care psychiatry: taking consultation-liaison psychiatry to the community.

Objective: To assist psychiatrists who work closely with general practitioners (GPs) at the primary/secondary care interface.

Conclusion: The role of primary care psychiatrists can be enhanced by a sound appreciation of the general practice context, knowledge of the local mental health services and an understanding of the educational and clinical support needs of GPs.

Therapeutic group programme for women with postnatal depression in rural Victoria: a pilot study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a therapeutic group programme, provided by community health workers, in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms associated with postnatal depression (PND) among women living in a rural setting.

Method: A prospective repeated measures design was used. Women reporting difficulties in the postnatal period were recruited through community health services.

A model of supervision in mental health for general practitioners.

Objective: If general practitioners (GPs) are to provide effective ongoing care to patients with mental health difficulties, it is argued that they need access to effective supervision. This paper aims to describe a specific framework for the provision of supervision to GPs involved in mental health-related work in a rural area.

Conclusions: An innovative model of supervision is currently being trialled with GP practices in the Bendigo area of country Victoria.

Introducing a professional development programme to a rural area mental health service: the importance of context.

Objective: To describe the introduction of an ongoing professional development programme for clinicians in a rural area mental health service. The programme involved a series of workshops delivered by clinical psychologists. The training component of each workshop focused on discrete cognitive behavioural strategies, targeted at the amelioration of anxiety and mood symptoms.

Rural Integrated Primary Care Psychiatry Programme: a systems approach to education, training and service integration.

Objective: To describe the development of a rural primary care psychiatry programme, within a stepped collaborative care model.

Conclusion: Development of a system-wide approach to the provision of mental health services offers the opportunity to increase the proportion of people with mental health problems who receive effective treatment. In addition, it enables allocation of resources and matching of interventions to patient preference and clinical need.

Changing places: the impact of rural restructuring on mental health in Australia.

Significant demographic, social and economic change has come to characterise much of rural Australia, with some authors arguing there are now two sharply differentiated zones, one of growth and one of decline. This restructuring process, which has been similar to other western nations, has had a profound impact upon rural places-socially, economically and physically. Findings from research investigating the relationship between health, place and income inequality suggest that rural 'desertification', which is characterised by decline of the agricultural sector, net population loss and the deterioration of demographic structures, may negatively influence mental health outcomes in these areas.

Dual relationships in mental health practice: issues for clinicians in rural settings.

Objective: This paper aims to provide an overview of the literature on non-sexual dual relationships, and to discuss these in the context of rural mental health practice in Australia.

Method: An internet-driven literature search was undertaken using OVID databases, which include MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE: Psychiatry. Ethical codes of practice for the mental health professions of psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy, social work and nursing were referred to.

Rurality and mental health: the role of accessibility.

Objective: The absence of an agreed definition of "rural" limits the utility of existing research into a possible relationship between rurality of residence and mental health. The present study investigates the bipolar dimension accessibility/remoteness as a possible correlate of mental health.

Method: A continuous area of non-metropolitan Australia was selected to provide a range of scores on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA).

Interpersonal counselling in general practice.

Background: Interpersonal counselling (IPC) derives from interpersonal psycho-therapy (IPT) but is briefer in the number and duration of sessions and is particularly suited to the primary care setting. While depression and other psychological symptoms are not necessarily 'caused' by interpersonal problems, they do occur in a social and interpersonal context. Problem areas commonly associated with the onset of depression are unresolved grief, interpersonal disputes, role transition and interpersonal deficits such as social isolation.

Training case managers to deliver focused psychological strategies.

Anxiety and mood disorders are prevalent in the Australian community and can be functionally disabling. Access to treatment for these disorders can be difficult, particularly in rural areas where there is limited availability of specialist mental health practitioners such as psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. One way to address this problem is to improve the skills of local mental health practitioners in recognizing and providing treatment for these disorders.

First year of practice visits for the Rural Depression Anxiety Research and Treatment General Practice program.

Objective: To describe the first 12 months activities of a key component of a General Practice Psychiatry program - the GP practice visit.

Design: Questionnaire to evaluate effects on participating general practitioners practice.

Setting: Rural group general practices.

The mental health of rural Australians: developing a framework for strategic research.

This paper argues that lack of adequate research is a barrier to the long-term improvement of the mental health and well-being of rural Australians. Following from national mental health policy, potential research avenues in four broad domains (prevention and early intervention, pathways to care, outcome of illness and aetiology) are defined. These four broad domains are interdependent and research into them can be brought together into a simple framework or model.

Does one size really fit all? Why the mental health of rural Australians requires further research.

In this paper the need for further investigation into the mental health of rural Australians will be discussed. It will be argued that while research to date has yielded valuable information, the volume and scope of existing studies has been inadequate to address the needs of the diverse and dynamic communities in non-metropolitan Australia. The diversity that exists within rural Australia is examined and the potential effects of this diversity on mental health status are highlighted.

High prevalence disorders in urban and rural communities.

Objective: High prevalence disorders (anxiety, depressive and substance use) are generally assumed to be more common in urban than rural dwellers. The aims of this paper are (i) to critically review studies measuring prevalence in rural as opposed to urban location, and (ii) to argue the need to look beyond the 'quantity' question to the quality question: how does urban or rural place influence mental health?

Method: A literature review (Medline and PsychLIT) was carried out using the words 'rural, urban, mental/psychiatric, illness/disorders and prevalence', as well as a review of relevant papers and publications known to the authors.

Results: Many studies examining urban/rural differences in the rate of high prevalence disorders have been reported.