Media release
From: Australian Science Media Centre****A Full recording of the briefing can be found in the links section below****
BRIEFING ALERT: Drugged and depressed: Mental health in country Australia
BACKGROUND BRIEFING – Thursday 3 September at 12:30PM AEST
Rural Australians are far more likely to suffer from depression than those from metropolitan areas, and regional cities have much more trouble with drug abuse. With nearly a third of our population living outside our major cities, are we doing enough to help those in need? Join us for this online media briefing when experts will discuss why suicide and substance abuse is such problem in rural Australia, and what is being done to help those struggling with mental health and drug problems around the country.
The briefing will discuss the following issues:
· Suicide and suicide prevention
· Depression
· Alcohol & drug use
· Mental wellbeing
· New and upcoming technologies and services
SPEAKERS:
· Dr Fiona Shand – Senior research fellow and clinical psychologist, The Black Dog Institute
· Dr Liz Temple – Lecturer in psychology and expert in cannabis and other substance use, Federation University
· Associate Professor Jane Burns – driving positive change and development in the mental health sector, Founder and CEO of the Young and Well CRC
DATE: Thurs 3rd September 2015
START TIME: 12:30pm AEST (Briefing concluded - Full recording available below)
DURATION: Approx 45 min
VENUE: Online
NB: The AusSMC generally runs two different types of media briefings:
NEWS BRIEFINGS – Where new research or data will be released as part of the briefing
BACKGROUND BRIEFINGS – Where experts discuss an issue which is in the news or an issue we consider newsworthy, but no new research or data is being released