school link term 1 2015 (4)

Contact DetailsFiona Lo / Helen AstolfiSchool-Link CoordinatorGateway Centre, Suite 1, Level 2237 Mann St, Gosford 2250Ph: (02) 4328 [email protected]

TERM 1 2015 | VOL: 9 | ISSUE 1

CENTRAL COAST

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

From the School-Link Coordinators

School-Link Services

Teen Triple P & SKIPS

Youth Health Forum

Harmony Day

Ngaruki Gulgul - NG Central

Online Safety for Children

NSW Syllabus - Headstrong

Climate Schools

Evidence Based Practice

Yarnsafe - headspace National

Programs for Students & Families

Central Coast Mental Health Line

From the School-Link Coordinators

PrincipalCounsellorsHead TeacherDeputy PrincipalYear Advisors

HT Welfare

LS Team

Staff Room

PD/H/PE

CIRCULATION

ADMIN Team

Welcome to 2015. We hope everyone had an enjoyable and well deserved break over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Over here at ycentral, we have already sprung into the year with lots of exciting projects and initiatives for schools happening throughout 2015.

The ycentral website (www.ycentral.com.au) is currently undergoing a revamp, the website is more user friendly and we have changed it to a more modern and clean look.

The website is a great way to keep you updated on the latest information, training and resources available. Teachers can access loads of resources from the website and work with students around mental health issues within the classroom setting.

We would also like to thank everyone that has completed our School-Link End of Year Survey. We have received a lot of great feedback and suggestions. Your feedback will help guide us on future planning for School-Link.

School-Link have two professional development opportunities organised for March, the Youth Health Forum, titled “Still deadly: Building on the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Young People” on the 11th March 2015. This forum is in partnership with CCLHD Youth Health and is coordinat-ed by NSW Kids and Families. The forums were very successful in 2014 with excellent speakers, these forums are a great opportunity for school staff.

We are also holding a presentation to celebrate Harmony Day, “Working with CALD Young People & Mental Health” presented by Transcultural Mental Health Centre on the 19th March 2015. See inside this edition for more infor-mation and how to register.

We are also excited to announce the first Central Coast Student Mental Health Forum which will be held on the 6th May 2015. We are inviting student repre-sentatives from years 8 and years 9 to attend a one day forum which aims to increase awareness in mental health and the services available. We hope all schools will be supportive of this initiative. For this exciting forum information will be sent out to the Principal and Head Teacher Welfare very soon. We look forward to working on all these exciting initiatives this year and hope to see many of our schools participating.

Regards Helen & Fiona

Please email us through any stories for the newsletter or enquires

at [email protected]

Mental Health Line 1800 011 511

New School Requests Booking System

Children and Young People’s Mental Health and headspace Gosford have developed a new online booking system for schools to make the following requests:

• Resources;• Presentations for Student and Staff;• Workshops for Student and Staff;• Information Stalls;• Other events.

Schools can access the booking form on the ycentral or headspace Gosford websites. The use of this form can help us collect the information we require to assess your request based on our criteria and avail-ability. All requests received will be processed and you will be contacted by phone. Please note that we require a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice. Urgent requests can be considered, however it will still be subjected to our criteria and availability.

The School-Link Consultation Line is still available for consultation, enquiries and other requests. Schools can contact the School-Link Consultation Line to discuss your school request before completing the form.The new system aims to make it easier for schools to make a school request through a central contact point. If you do have any questions, contact the School-Link Consultation Line on 0414 193 139.

The School-Link Consultation Line does not replace the usual referral process but is available to discuss any queries or clinical issues regarding a student/young person.

School-Link Services

For referral to Children and Young People’s Mental Health contact the Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511


Supporting Kids in Primary Schools (SKIPS)

Teen Triple P and SKIPS

FREE The Power Of Positive ParentingChildren and Young People’s Mental Health is pleased to offer parents of young people this evidence based seminar series. There are three 2 hour seminars in the series which will be held on three consecutive Wednesday evenings at Erina Community Health Centre. You can attend just one or all three seminars.

The program does not address the management of mental health problems in teens, however many parents have found the program useful in reducing the everyday conflict and stress associated with parenting teens.

DATES: 11TH MARCH – RAISING RESPONSIBLE TEENAGERS

18TH MARCH – RAISING COMPETENT TEENAGERS

25TH MARCH – GETTING TEENAGERS CONNECTED

TIME: 6PM – 8PM

VENUE: ERINA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE, 169 The Entrance Road, Erina 2250

PRESENTERS: Ruth Phelan and Jo Heap

BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL:

To book into our seminars or for more information, please phone Children & Young People’s Mental

Health on 4328 7350 and ask for Ruth or Jo

SKIPS is an award winning mental health promotion program that educates primary school communities about mental health.

Schools that have run the SKIPS program report that it increases knowledge and under-standing about positive mental health and mental health problems, and helps teachers to support children.

SKIPS respects the privacy of families, but offers supportive information to all children in year 6.

Contact Fiona Lo, School-Link Coordinator on 0414 193 139 or email [email protected]

SKIPS Student Sessions

Session 1 (lhr) - Health, mental health and mental illness• General health/illness spectrum• Mental health and illness continuum (well to unwell) – similarities to physical illness and things that help

people move along the continuum• Brief introduction mental illness

Session 2 (lhr) - Nature and impact of mental illness• Appropriate language of mental illness• Mythbusters – breaking down myths about causes and symptoms of some common mental health

problems

Session 3 (lhr) - The person behind the illness• DVD – one story as told by a 12 year old boy in a documentary about his family.

“Great DVD, fun activities and interesting discussion” (year 6 student)


Youth Health Forum

Youth Health Forums are stimulating half-day forums cover a wide range of adolescent health and well-being issues, appealing to health, education, community, welfare pro-fessionals and students. The Forum provides opportunity for attendees to meet, update knowledge and skills, exchange information and strengthen the youth health network, in order to provide the best possible support for young people in NSW.

‘Resilience and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People’

Date: 11th March 2015

Time: 8:40am - 12:30pm

Venue: Auditorium, Gosford Conference Centre, Gosford Hospital Level 2, Main Building, Gosford Hospital

Cost: Free

RSVP Monday 10 March 2015.

Please phone Youth Health on (02) 4356 9333 oremail: [email protected]

Program includes:

• Building and evaluating Indigenous youth empowerment and resilience programs;• Confidence, community, culture: supporting resilience through the Aboriginal Girl’s Circle;• Boys to Men Program;• Listening to what Aboriginal young people want and need;• Voice of youth;• Panel discussion.


Harmony Day - 2015

Please Register on the link below.http://www.eventbrite.com/e/harmony-day-cald-young-people-mental-

health-presentation-tickets-15658749742

21 March is National Harmony Day

Harmony Day is held every year on 21 March to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The message of Harmony Day is everyone belongs. It’s a day to celebrate Australia’s diversity – a day of cultural re-spect for everyone who calls Australia home.

This year is the15th anniversary of Harmony Day across Australia.

Join the celebration of this important milestone by registering your event and get free Harmony Day promotional material.There are also educational resources available for teachers and students to celebrate Harmony Day in schools.

Find out about Harmony Day events in your area, register an event and order Harmony Day resources go tohttp://www.harmony.gov.au/

Come and celebrate Harmony Day at ycentral


Ngaruki Gulgul - NG Central

Ngaruki Gulgul is a registered and accredited, non-government, special assistance school specifically designed for the inclusion of young people who are not succeeding in their studies in mainstream schools. Founded in January 2014 we aim to be a successful model for many young people on the Central Coast who are ready and willing to try some-thing new and have a passion for either the hospitality, automotive or agri-food sectors.

Additional VET qualifications create pathways into further study, school continuation and employment. They also ex-plicitly address employability skills and assist potential employees and young people in making more informed choices about careers.

Ngaruki Gulgul offers participants a Board of Studies school curriculum as found in any other traditional school with the addition of pathways that focus on two key industries. The difference lies in the “earn and learn” balance to the delivery of educational programs through participation in social enterprise initiatives.

Places are limited to allow participants greater opportunity to identify their strengths and work to improve the areas in which they lack confidence. Enrolments are accepted during the year, however, in selecting any student to fill a vacan-cy, we give special consideration to young people and their families where there is a demonstrated commitment to the school and its underlying philosophy.

Ngaruki Gulgul provides the opportunity to learn in an environment which helps participants to develop the skills and values they need to fulfil their unique destiny and find their place in the world. It is an education option designed for participants in Years 9 and 10 working towards a Record of School Achievement (RoSA), and students in Years 11 and 12 not wanting an HSC ATAR but an alternative education pathway into a trade or further vocational education and training. We are not politically or religiously affiliated.

• We believe everyone is unique and accept you the way you are.

• Real vocational pathways are accessible and tailored to current industry stand-ards.

• You attend because you have a desire to make a difference to your future and impart purpose and direction to your life.

• You have the opportunity to make choices about your role as a student.

• Stronger support is available if who need it.

• You and teachers are on a first name basis.

• Smaller class/school size means we get to know you as an individual.

• The harder you work, the more you get.

• There are no school uniforms, school bells or school assemblies.

http://www.youthconnections.com.au/

To create a dynamic, enterprising

learning environment for young

people who need a new perspective

on what it means to have skills and

knowledge.

Why Ngaruki Gulgul?

Online Safety for Children


Enhancing Online Safety for Children

Prior to the federal election in September 2013, the Coalition released its Policy to Enhance Online Safety for Children, with a view to specifically address these risks in relation to children, so that content and cyber-bullying concerns are handled faster; children can quickly access assistance with online safety concerns; Commonwealth criminal laws relating to cyber-bullying are appropriate and effective; and there is clear and expert leadership in online safety.

The policy sets out the commitment to:

• Establish a Children’s e-Safety Commissioner to take the lead across government in implementing policies to improve the safety of children online.

• Develop an effective complaints system, backed by legislation, to get harmful material down fast from large social media sites.

• Examine existing Commonwealth legislation to determine whether to create a new, simplified cyber-bullying offence.

A few tips:

• Educate yourself on some of the online technologies available to your child - such as Facebook, Messenger, chat rooms, social networking sites, and blogs.

• Be sure the internet is available in a public area of the home, rather than allowing children to access it from their bedroom or behind a closed door.

• Make it clear it’s okay for them to confide in you if something happens (for instance, if they’re approached by a stranger who makes them feel uncomfortable) and this won’t result in their internet privileges suddenly being revoked or limited. Make it clear it’s not their fault.

• Implement reliable security software on your family PC that tracks and logs which websites are visited, allows you to allocate specific time frames for internet usage, and blocks unsuitable content.

• Use the internet alongside your child and show you’re interested.

• Educate children that the ‘facts’ they find online might not be genuine. Let them know that this can also apply to the new ‘friends’ they meet online - they might not always be who they say they are.

Text speak

It’s hard to protect your children if you don’t know what they’re saying. The growing popularity of mobiles - and the internet - has given rise to a whole new ‘language’ favouring shorthand and code. Below are some meanings of a few common examples of this code to help you work out what’s being said.

LOL = Laughing Out Loud

AML = All My Love

BRB = Be Right Back

KEWL = Cool

OMG = Oh My God

P911 = Parent Alert

Managed and monitored correctly, there are several ways you can help ensure children stay safe online.


The Black Dog Institute is proud to present HeadStrong, the creative way of thinking, talking and teaching about mood disorders. Aligned to the Health & Physical Education state and territory curriculum’s and the Australian Cur-riculum for Years 9-10, HeadStrong includes 5 modules that are split into a series of ready to use classroom activities and teacher development notes. Each module links directly to curriculum outcomes, and is supported by a series of engaging class room presentations by best-selling author and illustrator, Matthew Johnstone.

New South WalesThe HeadStrong teaching and learning activities are divided into 5 modules that link directly to NSW syllabus out-comes and content from Stage 5 PDHPE syllabus

NSW syllabus - HeadStrong

Module 1: Mood and mental wellbeing

Module 2:

Module 3:

Module 4: Helping yourself

Module 5: Making a difference

This module is an introduction to the concepts of mental health and well-being, values, perceptions,the dynamic nature of mental health, and stigma. For classes with limited learning in mental health.

Exploring the nature of moods, indicators of a mood disorder,and misinformation and misunderstanding relating to stigma.A student analyses attitudes, behaviours and conse-quences related to health issues affecting young people.

Seeking help, supporting someone you care about, and accessing services.The student analyses attitudes, behaviours and conse-quences related to health issues affecting young peopleCritical analysis of health information, products, and health services.

Building resilience and exercising the mind - good mental health and well-being is not merely the ab-sence of illness.A student learns how they can support their own and others’ sense of self.

Proposing, developing and implementing local ac-tions to raise awareness, dispel myths and reduce stigma.Students analyse factors that contribute to positive, inclusive and satisfying relationships.Students analyse influences on health decisions-mak-ing and propose strategies to promote health and safe behaviours.

http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/education

The low down on mood disorders

Reaching out - helping others


We Care - Young Carer Teacher ChallengeClimate SchoolsClimate Schools

Climate Schools provides health education courses which aim to empower students to gain knowledge about their health and wellbeing. This knowledge will assist them in making good choices. Students learn about ways to avoid harm and to optimise their physical and mental health.

Prior to registering your school, you can preview the Climate Schools course material. You can view a section of the cartoons for the Alcohol module, Alcohol & Cannabis module, and Psychostimulant & Cannabis module. These interactive student lessons will provide a preview before your school registers for full access to the Climate Schools programs.

Who is Behind Climate Schools?

Climate Schools is the work of researchers and practitioners from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia.

Course Benefits

Our research shows that Climate Schools programs improve student outcomes by:

• Reducing alcohol consumption

• Reducing binge drinking

• Reducing the frequency of cannabis use

• Increasing knowledge about alcohol and cannabis

• Improving attitudes towards alcohol

Access to the courses

Climate Schools can be accessed over the internet by teachers and their students. All of the Climate Schools cours-es address health and personal development syllabus outcomes, especially those concerned with mental health and well-being.

Courses We Offer

We currently offer Climate Schools modules aimed at students in Years 8-10 (approximate ages 13-16 years) for the following health and well-being topics:

• Alcohol Education (Years 8 or 9)

• Alcohol and Cannabis Education (Years 8 or 9)

• Psychostimulant and Cannabis Education (Year 10)

What’s in a Climate Schools Module?

Each Climate Schools module addresses a particular topic, e.g. alcohol education, and has been developed to address health and personal development syllabus outcomes. The modules are designed to be easily implemented across one school term and are made up of six core lessons. Each lesson runs for approximately 40 minutes and consists of 2 parts. Read the abstract on Climate Schools research study and to find out more detail and register go to the website below.

https://www.climateschools.com.au/



Mental health first aid training for high school teachers: a cluster randomized trial

Anthony F Jorm, Betty A Kitchener, Michael G Sawyer, Helen Scales, Stefan CvetkovskiJanuary 2010, BMC Psychiatry; 2010, Vol. 10, p51.

Abstract

Background: Mental disorders often have their first onset during adolescence. For this reason, high school teachers are in a good position to provide initial assistance to students who are developing mental healthproblems. To improve the skills of teachers in this area, a Mental Health First Aid training course was mod-ified to be suitable for high school teachers and evaluated in a cluster randomized trial.

Methods: The trial was carried out with teachers in South Australian high schools. Teachers at 7 schools received training and those at another 7 were wait-listed for future training. The effects of the training on teachers were evaluated using questionnaires pre- and post-training and at 6 months follow-up. The questionnaires assessed mental health knowledge, stigmatizing attitudes, confidence in providing help to others, help actually provided, school policy and procedures, and teacher mental health. The indirect ef-fects on students were evaluated using questionnaires at pre-training and at follow-up which assessed any mental health help and information received from school staff, and also the mental health of the student.

Results: The training increased teachers’ knowledge, changed beliefs about treatment to be more like those of mental health professionals, reduced some aspects of stigma, and increased confidence in pro-viding help to students and colleagues. There was an indirect effect on students, who reported receiving more mental health information from school staff. Most of the changes found were sustained 6 months af-ter training. However, no effects were found on teachers’ individual support towards students with mental health problems or on student mental health.Conclusions: Mental Health First Aid training has positive effects on teachers’ mental health knowledge, attitudes, confidence and some aspects of their behaviour.

ConclusionsThe findings raise issues about the role of teachers in supporting the mental health of their students. In South Australia, educators have an obligation to provide safe and healthy work environments, taking all reasonable measures to eliminate the risk of harm. All workers can access first aid training and provide a basic first aid response. Given the high prevalence of mental health problems in adolescents, it can be argued that teachers need to be able to take action to support students in this area. Just as convention-al first aid training and child protection training is considered important, Mental Health First Aid training needs to be considered as a standard component of pre-service or in-service teacher training. However, this training will only be effective if students see teachers as a likely source of initial help for mental health problems. In the present study, only around a quarter of students said they would seek help from a teacher if affected by a mental health problem, compared to around 80% who would seek help from a close family member. Similarly, an Australian national survey of adolescents has found that family and friends are seen as the most important sources of initial help for mental health problems and that teachers do not feature as prominently [11,25]. However, even if students do not see teachers as a first line of help, teachers can still play an important role as a source of mental health information, as the present trial has found. Toget optimal benefits for adolescents, it may be necessary to offer Mental Health First Aid training to parents as well as teachers.

For more information on Youth Mental Health First Aid training contact Helen Astolfi on the School Link Consultation Line 0414 193 139



A universal harm-minimisation approach to preventing psychostimulant and cannabis use in adolescents: a cluster randomised controlled trialLaura Elise Vog1, Nicola Clare Newton2, Katrina Elizabeth Champion2 and Maree Teesson2

1National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 22-32 King Street, Randwick 2031, New South Wales, Aus-tralia. 2National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 22-32 King Street, Randwick 2031,New South Wales, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Psychostimulants and cannabis are two of the three most commonly used illicit drugs by young Aus-tralians. As such, it is important to deliver prevention for these substances to prevent their misuse and to reduce associated harms. The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the universal comput-er-based Climate Schools: Psychostimulant and Cannabis Module.

Methods: A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted with 1734 Year 10 students (mean age = 15.44 years: SD = 0.41) from 21 secondary schools in Australia. Schools were randomised to receive either the six lesson com-puter-based Climate Schools program or their usual health classes, including drug education, over the year.

Results: The Climate Schools program was shown to increase knowledge of cannabis and psychostimulants and decrease pro-drug attitudes. In the short-term the program was effective in subduing the uptake and plateauing the frequency of ecstasy use, however there were no changes in meth/amphetamine use. In addition, females who re-ceived the program used cannabis significantly less frequently than students who received drug education as usual. Finally, the Climate Schools program was related to decreasing students’ intentions to use meth/amphetamine and ecstasy in the future, however these effects did not last over time.

Conclusions: These findings provide support for the use of a harm-minimisation approach and computer technol-ogy as an innovative platform for the delivery of prevention education for illicit drugs in schools. The current study indicated that teachers and students enjoyed the program and that it is feasible to extend the successful Climate Schools model to the prevention of other drugs, namely cannabis and pyschostimulants.

Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000492752.

Keywords: School, Harm-minimisation, Computer-based, Universal, Psychostimulant, Cannabis, Prevention

https://www.climateschools.com.au/


Generation Next

How to talk to teens who don’t want to talkDo you have a teenager who isn’t interested in talking with you? Do you get monosyllable answers to your questions? If so, you – and they – are normal. But don’t give up trying to have a good quality conversation with your teen. Teens don’t want to be having long, deep and meaningful conversations with adults on a daily basis – but it is important they share their thoughts and feelings with adults occasionally.

Here are a few ideas to help the process:

1. Talk while doing something else at the same time

Try having conversations in the car, while walking the dog, cooking and so on. Create spots in your house that a teenager can sit and eat or look at magazines, and talk to you while you are also doing something.

2. Express less intense emotion (positive and nega-tive) while talking to the young person

Young people will ‘turn off’ if they notice stress, worry, frustration and excitement in an adult’s voice. Try to be as neutral as possible in conversations with uncommu-nicative teens. Express interest and care but stay non-chalant, casual and ‘mild’ with words and body lanuage.

3. Try closed questions

If open ended questions (How was your day?) aren’t getting you anywhere, try closed questions with just a few options. For example, “What did you like most, ‘this’ or ‘that’?”, “What was the hardest bit, ‘this or that’?”, or “On a scale of 1-10, how good/bad/worrying/fun/upset-ting/easy is this/was that?”. These are often easier for teens to answer.

4. Try written communication

Excellent teen-adult communication often happens via email, texts, notes left on pillows and Facebook posts (yes, even if they are in the next room!). Teens often feel less embarrassed and vulnerable communicating in writing, and they can do it in their own time.

5. Sharing your own experiences

Don’t make conversation just about interrogation. Share your own thoughts, daily experiences and feelings. Talk-ing idly about things helps increase their own sharing in the long term.

6. Try addressing the uncommunicative behaviour directly

Sometimes, it can work to be upfront about the difficul-ties in communicating. Say: “I know you don’t always feel comfortable talking about this stuff, and I really will try not to bug you, but I need to know a couple of things”. Or try humour: “Here we go again, I’m going to pester you for information, I know it’s a pain, but just five minutes and then I’ll stop talking”.

7. Offer options for communicating with someone else

Help teenagers find opportunities to talk with another adult they trust. Organise for an aunt/family friend/older cousin to take the teen out for coffee or be with them and initiate conversation. Set up counselling sessions with a GP/school counsellor/psychologist. Communi-cation that happens between a teenager and adult can have positive outcomes.

8. Don’t get frustrated, just try again tomorrow

If the teenager still doesn’t want to talk, don’t take it per-sonally. It’s not your fault – or theirs. It’s just the teen-age brain focussing on other things. Try again tomorrow. And the next day. Never give up on showing care and interest. Eventually they will start to talk, often when you least expect it.

Kirrilie Smout, Clinical Psychologist Specialising

in supporting Kids and Teens

Generation Next is working towards tackling the myriad of social, cultural and emo-tional challenges affecting young people in today’s increasingly complex world. Our goal is to increase public awareness and understanding about the key issues that children and young people face, and to promote and inspire tangible change, through the provision of authoritative, up to date, and practically-relevant informa-tion, strategies and advice.

http://www.generationnext.com.au/


headspace National Yarn Safe

Need help working out what is going on in the world of social media and technology? This resource provides information to help you navigate your way around the A - Z of technology and provides practical advice.

Powerful music video for young people launchesTo encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to talk about mental health and wellbeing, communities in the Northern Territory have worked with headspace and Indigenous Hip Hop Projects to create the ‘Got a lot going on’ music video.

The hip hop video, written and performed by Aborig-inal and Torres Strait Islander young people, captures the broad range of issues they are facing, including rac-ism, stress, drugs and isolation, but stresses there is ‘no shame in talking about it’.

The video was created over nine days in late 2014, with music and dance workshops held with young people in Rockhole, Katherine, Beswick and Belyuen.

Starting with just a beat, young people worked with IHHP and headspace to write song lyrics, learn hip hop dance moves and film the unique music video.

Dion Brownfield, Indigenous Hip Hop Projects, said nothing is more powerful than a resource made for young people, by young people.

“It’s in their language, it’s talking first hand about their experience and it’s about them expressing themselves. The sense of connection to the final product is so strong.”

“Communities will be able to relate and connect to the powerful messages in the lyrics. Indigenous young peo-ple do have many challenges living in community and they do have a lot going on, this music video is a tes-tament to the power of culture, music and dance for change,” Mr Brownfield said.

The most recent statistics released in the Australian In-stitute of Health and Welfare report (3/12/14) found su-icide rates are almost twice as high among people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.

In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females aged 15-24 years are 5.2 times more likely to die due to intentional self-harm than other children and young people in the same age range.

headspace CEO Chris Tanti said the video has helped to bring the messages of the Yarn Safe campaign to life.

“As well as creating something that reach young peo-ple across the country, this has been an opportunity for headspace to learn more about the issues facing young Aboriginal and Torres Strait, particularly in these com-munities.”

“The young people loved the process of using song and dance to express feelings and emotions. They wer-en’t afraid to talk about what’s going on for them even though they were touching on some really sensitive is-sues,” Mr Tanti said.

The project is part of the ‘Yarn Safe campaign’, which aims to educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people about mental health and encourage them to get help at headspace centres located around the country, eheadspace online and telephone counselling service or other appropriate mental health services.

‘Yarn Safe’ is the first youth-led national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth mental health campaign of its kind. The campaign was developed with a group of 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people from across Australia, including Elcho Island, Brisbane, Darwin, Broome, Melbourne and Perth.

View the music video here

http://www.headspace.org.au/yarn-safe/yarn-safe-news/powerful-new-yarn-safe-

video-launches


Programs for students and families

The Central Coast NSW Medicare Local

Youth Leadership ProgramMale Aboriginal Youth 16 -26 years of age

Family Wellbeing Program will allow participants to take control of their lives and help showcase their leadership by focusing on:

• Leadership: we all need to play leadership roles in our family, working life and in our community.

• Basic Human Qualities: understand the changes you need to make in order to achieve your leader-ship goals in life.

• Life Journey: where do I want to go with my life?

• Relationship: having the choice and ability to have positive relationships no matter what your situation is.

• Conflict Resolution: learning new ways to under-stand and deal with conflict in the family, workplace and community.

• Emotions: understanding the purpose of emotions and strategies for dealing with emotions.

• Crisis: understanding the meaning and purpose of crisis.

• Loss & Grief: understanding ways of dealing with loss and grief.

• Belief and Attitudes: their effects on the way we see the world or think or act.

• Developing a leadership style: develop a vision for own leadership qualities.

• Project Work: planning and making changes in per-sonal and community life.

The program aims to help local Aboriginal youth in the following areas:

• Improve communication with loved ones, family and children.

• Improve positive relationships at home and at work.

• Have a clear direction for their future.

• How to deal with emotions and avoid conflict.

• The ability to make more effective decisions and set goals for their lives.

The goal of the program is to help participants build communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution and other life skills to enable them to take greater con-trol and responsibility for family, work and community life.

For more information contact;

Nigel Millgate, Program Coordinator 4365 2294 or email [email protected]

Brad Webb, Project Support Officer 4365 2294 or email [email protected]

The Family Wellbeing Program aims to assist and support community members in understanding and meeting their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. The skills and knowledge in per-sonal development and foundation counselling have been designed to address both indigenous and non-indigenous communities experiencing complex social, emotional and historical problems.


No Cost Youth Health Clinics

Talk Less Listen More: an e-course that makes parenting easier.• Parents of 2-12 year olds learn simple ways to deal with common parental

frustrations.• Parents feel more confident and use less corporal punishments to gain a

child’s cooperation.• Children learn to manage their impulses better and therefore do better at

school.• The whole family is more able to enjoy life together.

Great features accessible anytime - anywhere

• Parents can access immediate help online 24 hours a day.• They can master the program of 15 short lessons in less than 3 hours.• It can be viewed from the privacy of their own home.• It is affordable and costs less than similar forms

of parenting assistance.

http://www.parentshop.com.au

MondayNurse Clinic (appointments preferred)Youth Health Service, Ground Floor,Wyong Central Community Health Centre,38a Pacific Highway, Wyong.4356 9333

Tuesday AfternoonNurse Clinic (appointments preferred)Youth Health Service, Ground Floor,Wyong Central Community Health Centre,38a Pacific Highway, Wyong.4356 9333

Wednesday (3-5pm)Youth GP Clinic (drop in)Kincumber Youth Centre(behind Kincumber Shopping Centre)* School term only

Wednesday (10am-2pm)Youth GP Clinic (appointments preferred)Lake Munmorah High SchoolCarters Rd, Lake Munmorah* School term only

Youth Health Service (10am-1pm) Dr available every second WednesdayYouth Health Service, Ground Floor,Wyong Central Community Health Centre,38a Pacific Highway, Wyong.4356 9333*appointments preferred*School term only

Friday (9.30-12 midday)Links Youth ServiceEpicentre - San Remo Neighbourhood CentreBrava Rd, San Remo (opposite Northlakes HS)Phone Corrina for appointment4390 7888

For more information about the CCLHD Youth Health Service - (14-24yrs) and programs provided, please call 4356 9333 during business hours - or go to

http://www.somazone.com.au/help-support/central-coast-youth-health-service.html.


You will be asked questions about the person you are referring. We want your contact with us to be easy and useful. The more information you can provide us, the better the assessment and referral options can be.

If you are concerned about the mental health of a young person, remember you can make a referral by calling the Mental Health Line.

You will be asked a number of questions. So make sure you are prepared.

These are some of the questions that may be asked by the Mental Health Line Team • Contact details, eg: name, DOB, address,

phone number.

• Referring person’s details, eg: name, address, phone number, organisation.

• GP name and contact details.

• Contact details for next of kin/family/carer.

• Cultural Background, e.g Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander background or CALD.

• Language/s spoken

• Do you need an interpreter?

• What is the reason for the referral?

• What is happening for the person right now? How long has the person been feeling this way?

• Is the person having thoughts of suicide or self-harm? Is their intent to act on these thoughts, e.g. a plan or the means available?

• Is the person on any medication? What are they? What is the current dose?

• Current and past physical health problems

• Is the person consenting to the referral?

• Is the person agreeable to an assessment?

• Does the person have a history of/or current misuse of alcohol and/or drug use?

• Is the person currently physically and/or ver-bally aggressive towards others?

• Is the person willing to participate in treat-ment?

Handy hints for calling the

Mental Health Line

The Central Coast Mental Health Service sees people with moderate to severe mental health issues. The Mental Health Line makes accessing Mental Health Services easier by pro-viding a central point of contact for all referrals across NSW. The Mental Health Line is a 24 hour telephone line which operates 7 days a week.

If you, one of your students, or someone else you know needs help with a mental health problem, call the Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511. By following the prompts, you will be connected to your lo-cal mental health service, in this instance, the Central Coast Mental Health Service. If the Central Coast Mental Health Service is appropriate, your referral will be forwarded to the appropriate mental health team. When the Central Coast Mental Health Service is not appro-priate, information will be provided about other specialised health and community services to better meet your clinical needs.

The Central Coast Mental Health Service is NOT an emergency service. If an emergency

response is needed, call 000

The Mental Health Line is not a telephone counselling service.

Telephone counselling options include:

Lifeline

Mensline Australia

Kids Help Line

13 11 14

1300 78 99 78

1800 55 1800

Central Coast Mental Health Line

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