Mental health research takes to the road
The audience was attentive to every word delivered by Associate Professor Darryl Maybery.
Associate Professor Darryl Maybery, Director of MUDRIH, has delivered the first of Mildura’s 2013 lecture series to a wide audience of medical and local community members.
Darryl’s topic was ’Breaking the generational cycle of mental illness’, and coincided with the launch and promotion of a new DVD titled Family Focus.
One in five children has a parent with a mental illness; the aim of the Family Focus program is to empower families to start a conversation about the problems, with the intended outcome to reduce the risk of children getting the same illness as their parent. The chance to talk about these illnesses helps children realise that the depression and anxiety they see in their parents is not their fault.
Information about the event was circulated through flyers to health organisations and individuals, radio announcements, and advertisements in local newspapers. Consequently 70 registrations were received from a mixture of health clinicians and public, which packed the lecture room to capacity.
In a one-hour lecture, Darryl summarised the background research and statistics which led to the development of the DVD and associated website which have been devised by Children Of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI). The DVD is freely available via the Family Focus website.
Head of School, Professor Judi Walker, was in Mildura on the day of the lecture, as were Associate Professor Leigh Kinsman, Cathy Ward, Hilton Gruis, Dr Anton Isaacs, and Graham Allardice. All joined the audience.
Future topics for the Mildura Lecture series include:
- Close the Gap in conjunction with the Mildura Aboriginal Health Service (March)
- ASPREE launch (April)
…and also a hit in Bendigo
Darryl also presented the lecture at Mercy St, Bendigo to health professionals, medical students and members of the public, again speaking about his research into the generational cycle of mental illness.
He outlined to the group how children of parents with a mental illness are at a high risk of developing learning difficulties, relationship problems, substance abuse or low self-esteem as well as a mental illness. Current research shows that children’s resilience can be boosted through appropriate interventions.
Darryl spoke of the practical measures that are being investigated for parents and health professionals to significantly reduce the risk of children developing the same mental illness as the parent.
Leigh Kinsman, Director of Research (left) and Darryl Maybery after the lecture in Bendigo