Mental Health Policy & Consumer Perspectives

Self-directed online training

Event description

What is mental health policy? How does it work, or not work? Has mental health policy bettered the lives of people with lived experience?

As consumer workers, we work in imperfect mental health systems. These systems continue to limit and sometimes breach human rights. Importantly, these systems were not designed by consumers. If you are reading this, you may want to change the mental health system.

This e-learning course aims to give people with a lived experience of Victorian public mental health services a foundational knowledge about mental health policy and considerations for involvement in reform activities.

Victoria's mental health system is undergoing many reform processes. Consumers and consumer workers are being pulled into a range of different consultations. This is both an opportunity and a risk. Sometimes the policy processes government and other organisations run are not effective in hearing from consumers and are not safe. Opportunities exist now, but the window for influencing policy may close in 2-3 years...

In this course Simon Katterl shares information and some lessons from his studies, writing and experience (lived and professional) which may not have been open or accessible to all consumer workers. With this course he hopes to help people with a lived experience of Victorian public mental health services, as a collective, influence the greatest change possible.

*note this course has been written with consumers and consumer workers. Some but not all aspects may be applicable to family/carers and the family/carer workforce.