Caring for Carers

Caring for Carers

In 2019, Alaya’s Master Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainer rolled out a training program for carers, family and friends of clients in the Primary Mental Health Clinical Care Coordination (PMHCCC) Program. PMHCCC is a Murray PHN funded program supporting people with moderate to severe mental illness. The PHN funded this training to build the community’s capacity to support mental illness.

Alaya recommended the Standard MHFA as it teaches people how to support others experiencing mental health symptoms or a mental health crisis. The course included:

  • Evidence based information to guide effective support
  • Clear guides for signs and symptoms of mental illness
  • An action plan to guide community members
  • Manuals from BeyondBlue and MHFA Australia.

The community’s response to this training exceeded both Alaya’s and the PHN’s expectations. Within 2 weeks of our first advertisement, we had to close registrations and create a waiting list!

The need for this type of support is highlighted by the heartfelt gratitude expressed by carer participants:

“The benefits of [the course] will last a lifetime, and I have already used what I learned, many times, since finishing the course.”

“I like the idea of having people around Shepparton trained to connect with others when they are struggling and unable to ask for help. I think there is certain emotional processing techniques that can be learnt by everyone. You could take the burden off emergency and train carers and workers with these techniques.”

“Best thing I ever done. Helps me not only with supporting and assisting others but also with my own mental health. Great content.”

An unanticipated outcome from holding the course is that consumers began sending requests to participate, having heard from their loved ones how MHFA helped them to better understand how to articulate their needs and feelings to others.

Building a community’s capacity to better respond to and support people with a mental illness through courses like Mental Health First Aid is an investment for any organisation or community group – private sector employers, local councils, community groups and governments.

Contact us to discuss hosting a Mental Health First Aid course.

Image Credit: Push Doctor via Flickr Creative Commons
SWSPHN’s e-Mental Health Toolkit

SWSPHN’s e-Mental Health Toolkit

Alaya’s consultants were commissioned by South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN) to develop an e-Mental Health Toolkit for consumers, carers and PHN funded mental health services within the region.

For our first step, we reviewed available e-Mental Health interventions including telephone support, online chat support, peer forums, structured online interventions and mobile apps, categorising each on their suitability for different cohorts:

  • Adults
  • Children and young people
  • Parents and families
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
  • Culturally and Linguistically diverse (CALD)
  • LGBTIQ communities

Each intervention was assessed within the stepped care model framework, identifying interventions suitable for people with mild – moderate or moderate – severe mental illness.

We consulted the sector on their use and knowledge of e-Mental Health resources and platforms. Through clinicians providing input via face-to-face, teleconference or telephone interviews and an online survey, we identified barriers to clinicians adopting e-Mental Health resources as an adjunct to face-to-face interventions:

  • Clinician’s time, capacity and awareness of resource
  • Lack of skills, experience and confidence in using e-Mental Health interventions
  • Difficult to easily identify reputable, evidenced-based resources
  • Lack of cohort-specific resources.

We summarised our work to date in the e-Mental Health Scoping and Consultation Report for SWSPHN. Armed with this report, SWSPHN built the e-Mental Health Toolkit, a user-friendly online navigation resource for consumers, carers and the sector.

Image Credit: Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker via Flickr Creative Commons