| Mental Health Professionals Network |
Welcome to the MHNPThe Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN) is dedicated to supporting mental health professionals working together in local interdisciplinary networks. Here mental health professionals can register their interest to participate in, or facilitate, our MHPN workshops. There are also announcements, news, regular features and case studies. Helpful contacts of all MHPN project officers are also provided. We invite mental health professionals across Australia to use this resource and help foster successful networks.
Facilitators WantedThe MHPN is searching for facilitators to run interdisciplinaryworkshops for mental health professionals. MHPN willprovide supportand resources to facilitators and will organiseparticipant recruitmentand workshop venues.
History of the MHPN initiativeMental Health Professionals Network has been contracted to roll out collaborative workshops across Australia and began operations in August 2008. The project will draw on knowledge gained from an environmental scan commissioned by the Mental Health Professionals Association (MHPA) and a number of pilot workshops. The MHPA was convened in early 2006 as a way of supporting a coordinated and collaborative forum for issues affecting key professions providing mental health care. The MHPA was engaged by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to develop a resource package for mental health professionals. The MHPA provided the support required to facilitate use of the new and existing mental health Medicare items and funding in an appropriate, effective and efficient manner. Pilot Workshops Six pilot workshops were held in a mix of metropolitan and rural regions and involved over 80 participants from a range of mental health professions. These workshops were consistently rated as valuable by participants, and established a basis for the rollout of the current Mental Health Professionals Network workshops.The benefits that workshop participants cited included better understanding of the respective mental health professions, improved access to local resources, more up-to-date clinical knowledge and the anticipated ability to make more efficient and appropriate referrals. These benefits were seen as likely to improve outcomes for clients by generating greater collegial support and networks which would in turn have additional flow-on effects.
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