Evaluation of a mental health literacy training program for junior sporting clubs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe and evaluate a training program designed to improve mental health literacy in junior sporting club coaches and leaders. It was anticipated that participants would demonstrate an improvement in knowledge, confidence, and attitudes in relation to mental disorders and help seeking. Methods: A training program called Read the Play was delivered to 40 participants from junior AFL football and netball leagues in the Barwon region of Victoria. The effects of the training were evaluated using pre- and post-questionnaires. Results: The course led to significant improvement in knowledge about mental disorders, increased confidence in helping someone with a mental disorder and more positive attitudes towards people with mental disorders. Conclusions: Training programs delivered within sporting settings may be effective in improving mental health literacy. Future evaluations would benefit from assessing whether these changes are sustained over time and whether trainees subsequently assist young club members to seek appropriate professional help.

Developing services for first-episode psychosis and the critical period.

BACKGROUND: Providing specialised services to individuals experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP) is a relatively new endeavour. AIMS: To overview developing services for newly diagnosed cases of FEP and the context in which they develop. METHOD: This paper describes five model multi-element FEP programmes, outlines recent evaluation studies of FEP services, discusses current evidence gaps relating to the evaluation of complex interventions and specific interventions for FEP and illustrates attempts to examine aspects of clinical work practised at the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) in Melbourne, Australia. RESULTS: Considerable progress has been made in terms of influencing practice in the assessment and treatment of early psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: There is need for quality clinical and research efforts to inform and accelerate progress in this burgeoning field.

Does screening high school students for psychological distress, deliberate self-harm, or suicidal ideation cause distress--and is it acceptable? An Australian-based study.

BACKGROUND: Programs designed to detect students at risk of depression and suicidality have shown success (Shaffer et al., 2004). AIMS: The current study sought to examine whether or not such a program was acceptable to participants and whether or not it caused distress. METHODS: Participants were boys aged 14 to 16. Participants were assessed using an on-line questionnaire; acceptability was measured via postal questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 272 participants, 31 (11.4%) were considered at-risk; 13 required ongoing support, 8 of whom had not previously sought help. Overall screening did not appear to cause significant undue distress, although some differences were evident between at-risk and not at-risk students. All participants found the program acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: When conducted carefully, early detection programs can be an effective and acceptable method of identifying at-risk adolescents.

Identifying the ultra-high risk (prodromal) population: evaluation of training workshops with mental health services.

OBJECTIVE: Recent years have witnessed widespread interest in the early phase of psychotic disorders. The most widely used approach to identify individuals in the prodromal phase is the ultra-high risk (UHR) approach, which combines known trait and state risk factors for psychotic disorder. The Personal Assessment and Crisis Evaluation Clinic introduced the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States (CAARMS) in order to assess UHR status. A training DVD and manual in the use of the CAARMS was recently developed in order to assist with UHR identification. The current paper reports the outcome of a series of training workshops with mental health professionals based around this DVD. The research aim was to investigate whether the training workshops assisted mental health professionals in their confidence and ability to accurately identify UHR cases and distinguish these from non-UHR and first-episode psychosis (FEP) cases. METHOD: A total of 137 mental health workers participated in the training sessions across eight training sites. The training sessions consisted of four modules: theoretical background; rating written vignettes for UHR, non-UHR or FEP status; viewing and discussing the CAARMS Training DVD; and re-rating matched written vignettes for UHR, non-UHR or FEP status. RESULTS: Participants' confidence in identifying UHR cases and in using the CAARMS increased as a result of the workshop. Participants' ability to correctly identify UHR-positive cases did not improve as a result of the workshop. This may have been the result of a ceiling effect due to the baseline ability to identify UHR-positive cases being high. But there was a trend for participants' ability to correctly identify UHR-negative cases to improve as a result of the workshop. CONCLUSIONS: UHR training workshops are a valuable means of increasing mental health workers' confidence in identifying UHR patients. Future UHR training programmes with experienced mental health professionals should pay particular attention to the correct identification of UHR-negative cases.