MHPN Online
"I was impressed how well built the online forum appears to be – certainly easy enough to navigate. If I could book a psychology lab at the university for a future meeting, everyone could set up their online profiles and have a mock discussion just to get the hang of it in a facilitated environment... food for thought." Michelle Aniftos Toowoomba /Darling Downs coordinator.
Networks
“I think people have continued to come as it’s great to network with people working in the same area. Private practice can be lonely if you are working on your own most days. Also I have had clients who I have needed to refer on and this has been a good way of building a referral network. The other benefits are being able to discuss cases and get some peer supervision.”
Workshops
"As a GP facilitator, I found the workshops very helpful. It was also a great way for GPs to explain to non-GPs how general practice works in this era of medicare and care plans, and psychologists then discussed ways in which they could make life easier for GPs.” Dr Monica Moore, GP, Miranda NSW
"I found the workshop quite useful - I was able to meet clinicians that I had only spoken by phone or emailed before. Also, the broad range of available services and their unique role/s was demonstrated in a very practical manner. Brainstorming the scenario illustrated that many of the clinicians have a similar approach to meeting client needs, and there was a sense of a 'common treatment pathway', that was achievable at a local level, despite the ongoing resource limitations of the area. A heartening night out." Kerry Knights, Mental Health Nurse, Bairnsdale Vic
“It provided me the opportunity to meet with and participate in an interesting and lively case discussion with fellow mental health professionals.
As the only social worker at the meeting, I was pleased to be able to explain about the different approaches I use, particularly Narrative Therapy, and highlight the social, community, political and cultural aspects of social work intervention. It was a worthwhile evening – however it would have been interesting to have heard from more social workers and OTs”. Josie McSkimming, Mental Health Social Worker, Bondi Junction NSW
"As a result of the workshop, through information sharing, I found out about different initiatives/programs in our local area network that are available and I met some new faces that could be supportive in the future". Susan Athaide, Psychologist, Brighton Vic
"The workshop created a fantastic opportunity for the clinicians to finally meet or get to know other mental health professionals in the area. The main outcome was that the group decided to continue meeting on a regular basis. MHPN provided a professional and seamless service to ensure the focus of the workshop remained on networking.
I would encourage any other clinics to take up the opportunity to meet with other mental health professionals in and around your area - it can only enhance the service provided to your clients." Marie Cox, Private Practice Manager
"I can say that it was a pleasure facilitating a workshop with GPs, pyschologists and nurses and believe the opportunity for cross-discipline networking is invaluable. All of the professionals are very busy people and respond very well to the rare opportunity to learn from peers and colleagues about how they can assist in providing more comprehensive care for their patients/clients. Private practice can be a lonely experience."
Bonnie McKenzie, Director and Business Psychologist, Pivot Person Marketing Pty Ltd.
"I currently work as a Job Capacity Assessor with Centrelink and from that perspective have found the MHPN meetings to be useful in meeting health professionals from different services in my working area, that I may have interactions with or may refer clients to. I feel that the relaxed format of meetings has encouraged networking and sharing of ideas for improved communication, as well as increased awareness of the differing roles & services available".