WAAMH is pleased to announce the appointment of Rod Astbury as Executive Director. He will take up his appointment from Monday 21 May.

Rod comes with previous experience in the mental health sector. He has been working in a mentoring role with CoMHWA on behalf of WAAMH since 2011 and also has been consulting to CMOs on mental health projects. He worked for a period in the Mental Health Division (2000 - 2002) and has been a Board member of Clan WA since 2004.

He was Operations Manager WA/NT for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service from 2003-2011 and prior to that worked in the Disability Services Commission and the Department of Community Services. His tertiary qualifications include an MBA (2006), Master of Arts (Public Policy) 1993,  Bachelor of Social Work (1980) and Bachelor of Arts (1976).

A recently-released discussion paper is the beginning of the process that aims to implement a recovery-oriented framework for mental health service delivery at a national level.

Individuals and organisations are invited to provide input via online surveys, written submissions and attending public consultations.

Public consultations are being held nation-wide with the first one to be held in Perth on Monday 21 May 2012.

To attend the Perth session, please RSVP by Wednesday 18 May 2012 to (02) 4625 7777 or Ross.Craze@bigpond.com

Further information about the project, the full discussion paper and monthly newsletters can be seen at www.crazelateralsolutions.com

Are you an advocate for Recovery?

A friend of RFWA?

Are you inspired by the achievements of people on the journey?

RFWA is entering a new era of promoting Recovery.  We aim to lift awareness of the work we do and the achievements of our consumers have had and need your help.

RFWA is increasing its activity in the online realm to tap into powerful social networks and help spread the word about Recovery.

How can you help?

If you are a friend of RFWA and believe that People Can and Do Recovery from mental illness, please become a ‘Like’ on our Facebook page or ‘Follow’ our 2012ASPAC Twitter profile.

In return, we will be circulating inspirational and critical information to support the cause and demonstrates how powerful the Recovery model is.

Together we can build momentum for Recovery, potentially create a widespread cultural shift and affect a genuine change in mental health treatment to one that embraces the individual and enables them to live a happy more fulfilling life.

We thank you for your participation!

We are now pleased to release the final paper Recovery and Western Australian community managed mental health organisations

Mental health is receiving significant attention in Western Australia and the State Government has made a strong commitment to reform. The Mental Health Commission has undertaken wide-spread consultation to develop the recently-released Mental Health 2020:making it personal and everybody’s business.  Mental Health 2020 highlights the importance of the recovery approachthroughout the document.

Recovery is an idea whose time has come. At the heart is a set of values about a person’s right to
build a meaningful life for themselves, with or without thecontinuing presence of mental health symptoms …

Recovery is a personal journey, prescribed by the individual. It is not linear nor does it neatlyfit one definition – one person’s recovery is unique as the individual themself; it morphs andchanges as the journey progresses.

However the common elements of recovery that we have identified – experiences likehope and healing, processes like social inclusion, self-management and the personal strengths that are re/discovered along the way like resilience, do not just have individual application.

For organisations to truly be ‘recovery-oriented’, for an organisation to improve its own health and wellbeing, it too must tread the recovery path.

Recovery is a key part of the National Mental Health Standards and the WA Mental HealthCommission is also committed to recovery. The WA community managed mental health sector has also indicated a strong commitment to recovery oriented service delivery. This is a positive step and one that is important as the reforms to the mental health both at a state and national level commence.

The full paper is available by clicking this link or the cover image above.

 Recognising that WAAMH was unable to provide comprehensive input on all matters in the Draft Bill, we chose to focus on the recommendations of the Henderson Report and a series of priorities that were identified through consultations with individuals and families.

 As noted above, WAAMH sought the expertise of the HRLC to assist it to make its submission on the Draft Bill. The HRLC had this to say about the broad alignment of the Draft Bill with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

On a general level, the Bill retains a ‘regulatory’ approach to the provision of mental health services, which does not have the effect of empowering individuals who have a mental illness.  In this sense, the overall emphasis of the Draft Bill is not consistent with the core principle of the CRPD being to achieve the ‘full and effective participation and inclusion in society’ of people with disability.

 The HRLC advice to WAAMH also reflects a viewpoint that the community managed mental health sector in WA has been championing for some years: That the emphasis in the Draft Bill on the medical model of disability is at odds with contemporary wisdom on the issue of mental health. Furthermore, that a ‘paradigm shift’ is required to bring the Draft Bill in line with contemporary standards on autonomy and non-discrimination.

 WAAMH looks forward to the next stage in the development of the Bill. Working with other agencies and with individuals and families to positively influence the development of the proposed legislation is priority for WAAMH in the coming year.

In the context of this, WAAMH has made attached submission to the Mental Health Commission.

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