Conference addresses youth mental health

Around 170 education and mental health professionals gathered at USQ recently for a conference addressing youth mental health.

The Building Resilience in Communities and Schools (BRICS) Showcase Conference was an opportunity for participants to hear from specialists in the area of mental health regarding problems faced by today's youth.

'The Conference came about through the Building Resilience Interest Group (BRIG), who applied for funding through the State Government's Access to Pathways program,' Conference organiser and USQ Education lecturer Stephen Hughes said.

'Through the Conference we were trying to find a way to ensure that young people with mental health problems have access to appropriate services.

'There were about 170 there in attendance, including the regional executive director of Education Queensland, people from child and mental health services, many teachers, youth workers, chaplains, psychologists and USQ academics.'

Topics included eating disorders, anxiety and depression, relationships and bullying, with Toowoomba Interagency Education and Support and the Toowoomba Education Coalition also sponsoring the event.

Held over one day, those in attendance not only heard from a number of guest speakers, but were also introduced to some of the mental health providers in the region.

'Professor Graham Martin, who is the Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Queensland was the keynote speaker and he talked about the role that schools play in presenting mental health,' Mr Hughes said.

'There were also at least 20 or so displays that were put on by local services, which showed what community resources are available to young people.'

USQ Education Associate Dean Dr Marian Lewis, who attended the Conference, said that it connected the various groups who were determined to improve the standard of mental health care for young people.

'I thought it was excellent and so many different people who work with youth were brought together,' she said.

'Many common issues were discussed and it was for the benefit of youth in Toowoomba.'

Similar Conferences are planned for the future at the University, with organisers keen to keep youth mental health issues in the public consciousness.

'The funding for the Conference was given to the BRIG for three years, but I have to re-apply each year, which I will do.

'This is a community capacity building exercise and is an opportunity for local organisations to get information off one another.'

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628