Dr Jan Ormans

Managing bipolar disorder is challenging for patients and practitioners alike. Making the diagnosis in the first place is often a challenge, but once it’s made many patients and their health care practitioners are unaware that there’s more to managing bipolar disorder than juggling the medications and doing the blood tests. Listen to the podcast and read the blog.

Is that a typo in the title? Should it say hugs? Well, “hugs” is getting close but not really quite there.

Do you feel comfortable about using computers to help people with their mental health? If not you are not alone and this might give you some insight into why you feel that way. Earlier this year I read a book called The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North, a pseudonym belonging to British author Catherine Webb. The story revolves around two interesting ideas.

Recently on a social media group someone asked if TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) really was a treatment for depression or just another “alternative therapy hoax”. Here’s some information to update you on TMS...

Black Dog Institute’s Lifespan integrated suicide prevention research project includes an arm of mental health education in schools. The schools-based program is a local adaptation of Youth Aware Mental Health (YAM), a program developed at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. The YAM program has, in longitudinal analyses, been shown to be effective in reducing depression, negative emotional symptoms, conduct problems and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts.

Podcasts are a great way to get a dose of education or relaxation without having to stop whatever else it is you are doing. I listen to This American Life on long drives from one workplace to another, to the BBC Comedy shows while exercising

“Cognitive bandwidth” is a term you may not have heard but a concept that makes sense from the minute you encounter it. We all know that referring a seriously depressed patient for “talking” therapy is probably not going to be very useful. In severe depression, and severe anxiety for that matter, concentration and focus are sufficiently impaired that any attempt to try to think differently, (as cognitive behavioural therapy requires) is fairly futile.

Do you know the other professionals working in mental health in your area? Working in isolation in mental health is a great way to get burnt out. We all need support while we work to support the mental health of others.

In clinical practice many of us see the sad results of homophobia and prejudice. Marriage aside, as GPs we need to know how to help members of the LGBTI community who are experiencing mental health problems.

As websites for adolescents go BITE BACK is a little different. It contains information and psychoeducation seen on the other websites, but has a focus on the positive aspects of life and a level of interactivity not seen elsewhere.

The tag line for the ReachOut site “Help with tough times, sex, friends and drugs” gives a clear indication of its expected user population.

Not every adolescent you see with “adolescent angst” or behavioural problems has a diagnosable mental illness. That doesn’t mean they don’t need your help.

In this webinar about Perinatal Wellbeing we discuss the impact of perinatal distress on women, their babies, their relationships and their wider families. We will look at ways in which online tools can be used to prevent, detect and treat distress in the perinatal period.

Are technical problems preventing your patients from accessing eMH?  I've discovered that you don't have to be very far from the city in Australia to have problems with your internet connection.

Unfortunately many doctors feel the need to manage their own health (or more often not manage it) in the absence of other professional advice. It’s as though they see it as a personal & professional failure to have to ask for help.

Here’s a great new idea in online education in mental health designed to support a very good cause.

In this fast moving world, medical practitioners and other health professionals are looking for new ways of keeping up to date; ways that use the available technology and that allow them to learn at their own pace, in their own time and even while they are doing something else at the same time!

Ever thought you’d like to know more about mental health care and CBT but haven’t had the time to do the training? eMH programs can help.

One of the biggest challenges of internet-based therapy is to improve the poor rates of adherence. An article by Johansson et al published in 2015 in the journal Internet Interventions reported a

Through July you might notice an advertising campaign beginning that talks about a new digital service from Reach Out to support parents of teenagers. This may well be as close to the “parenting

Mindfulness based therapies have developed out of the growing body of evidence to support the use of regular mindfulness practice to improve both physical and mental health. Mindfulness can be

My mother, a woman I loved dearly but who was sometimes very wrong about things, used to say that it was important to think and say all the bad things about yourself before anyone else had a chance to do so.

If you've completed the eMHPrac online learning modules you may already be a convert to the joys of online learning. One of the big advantages of online learning is that it allows you to undertake

Statistics released in March this year show the suicide rate in 2014 at its highest level since 2003. Here’s what the National Mental Health Commission said about it:

Foraging around recently looking for online material to support indigenous mental health I found some terrific videos on the KidsMatter website KidsMatter is funded by the Federal Government.

THIS WAY UP, the online mental health service of St Vincent’s Hospital and UNSW, has recently released its well-regarded evidence based self-help programs as apps suitable for use on mobile devices. 

Dr Daniela Solomon PhD Women in pregnancy and postpartum have an increased vulnerability to depression and anxiety disorders. Depressive and/or anxiety symptoms in pregnancy are often not recognised

Do you have a special interest in mental health and a need to find like-minded others? - Joining a networking organisation or attending the 2016 Unconference might help.There are two groups there

Last week I went to Wodonga at the invitation of Dale Skinner, one of our wonderful Black Dog Institute volunteers, to speak at a community forum on bipolar disorder. The meeting was organised by a

Doctor and writer Jocelyn Lowinger wrote a great article for the Medical Republic a few weeks ago about doctors and depression. (If you missed the article here’s a link to it

How do you recommend an eMH program? - Just say it? - Show them the website? - Write it on a sticky note? - Hand over a flyer? - Send them an SMS? - Give them a trifold wallet card with all the

You are probably aware of the formal safety planning strategies used with people at risk of suicide. Safety planning involves identifying warning signs, increasing the safety of the environment,

Juliette Thomson from the Butterfly Foundation has provided with some information about some of the services they offer for Patients suffering from eating disorders:   “The Butterfly Foundation’s

One of the biggest challenges of internet-based therapy is to improve the poor rates of adherence. An article by Johansson et al published in 2015 in the journal Internet Interventions reported a

GPs don’t need to be told about the distress that comes with a diabetes diagnosis. You probably know, for example, that people with diabetes are three times more likely to experience depression than

The emotional toll of diabetes can make it hard for patients to manage the challenges of the disease, and the health consequences of poorly managed diabetes are significant. Using funding provided by

We are all shocked by the recent steep and unexpected rise in suicide rates in Australia. Studies involving broad community-based interventions based on a “systems approach” have been influential in

The pressure is on for GPs to prescribe and refer less and provide more psychological support themselves but it’s hard for GPs to get the time to learn more about psychological therapies. With this in

If you're doing a lot of mental health work in primary care you may be wishing you had some supervision.

Have you seen the apps and online tools section of Reach Out’s professional website?

If you haven’t seen it yet take a minute to explore the new look This Way Up website. https://thiswayup.org.au/?utm_source=clinician&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec2015 It’s easy to read and

Many people have no idea what to expect from an e-mental health treatment program. These ten tips will give you helpful ideas to share with anyone who is undertaking or thinking of undertaking an e-mental health treatment program.

A recent article in the BMJ by Gilbody et al of the REEACT trial (BMJ 2015; 351:h5627) reported that this large RCT had failed to show any benefit from the use of online CBT for patients with

Have you ever had trouble with motivation?  I’m not just talking about your own motivation but also about motivating your patients.  We know that the biggest issues in eMH are engagement and

Are you interested in learning more about PTSD and its treatment? There are probably more people in your practice suffering from PTSD than you realise.

Federal Government’s new plan for mental health care in Australia expects much greater and more rational use of online mental health resources and treatment programs in the future. The fine print on

The increasing use of smartphones has researchers at the Black Dog Institute interested in the role they may play in assisting young adults with bipolar disorder with self-management. Understanding the

It's been a busy year and like all years in general practice there has been a lot to do and a lot to learn. All this stuff about online metal health resources is the least of it!I hope you all get

Free, convenient, online and it works! Yes it works! The thought of referring patients to an online treatment feels very different to referring patients to a face to face meeting with a counsellor.

You don’t expect your patients to respond if all you do is give advice like “Lose some weight” or “Stop smoking” without some motivational conversation and support to go with it. In the same way your

By Dr Daniela Solomon PhD Health Economics MScMed genetics BSc genetics Trial manager and research assistant, Black Dog Institute Not only does depression have a negative impact on overall quality of

Researchers at the Black Dog Institute’s Digital Dog are harnessing smart phone technology to track social interaction as a way of detecting the social withdrawal that may indicate the onset of

Australian health professionals’ attitudes towards and frequency of use of internet supported psychological interventions.

Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst young Australians, and the first few days after a suicide attempt are particularly high risk. Researchers at the Black Dog Institute are developing a

The core psychopathology of Eating Disorders involves an overvaluation of control over weight, shape and eating. The leading evidence-based treatment for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder is

If you read with interest the New York Times article that we linked to in the “eMH in the media” thread of the forum last week, you may also be interested in what Jennifer Nicholas, one of the

Are you, as a medical practitioner, uncertain about where to go for help with your own mental health problems?

ThisWayUpClinic courses for anxiety and depressive disorders are very powerful – but there is no magic.

Sliding quietly onto the myCompass program this week – a new module designed specifically for people with diabetes.

This piece was the winning entry to the eMHPrac writing competition. Congratulations Eszter Fenessy!!

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIWH) report into causes of death in Australia contained good news and bad news.

MindSpot provides a world-class, therapist assisted online and telephone assessment and treatment services for Australian residents aged 18 years and over with anxiety or depression.

Black Dog Institute (www.blackdoginstitute.org.au) recently amalgamated and expanded its technology-based research activities under the banner “Digital Dog”.

In 2005 the Royal Australian College of GPs published Keeping the Doctor Alive: A Self Care Guidebook for Medical Practitioners.

It’s National Mental Health Week leading up to World Mental Health Day on 10th October.  It’s a good time to think about the service we provide as general practitioners for patients with mental health

BITE BACK (http://www.biteback.org.au) is the very first online positive psychology program aimed at improving the overall wellbeing and happiness of young Australians between the ages of 12 and 18, with particular emphasis on 14-16 year-olds.

Many people struggling with worry, stress, anxiety, or depression refuse to see a psychologist or counsellor. No matter how many referrals they receive, they never make it into a clinic.

In a survey of health professionals conducted by the National eTherapy Centre, 70% of health professionals surveyed were using internet interventions with patients, but this was focused on referring clients to self-help and educational web-based interventions.

Since 2012, 17,000 people have signed up to use Black Dog Institute’s web-based ‘myCompass’ program. What is it?

It’s an old story rising up again. What do doctors do when they experience mental health problems?

Attendees are expressing two big areas of concern in the eMHPrac webinars: suicide and internet security. On each of our webinars our experts have answered these questions as they apply to their own programs.

Yesterday I almost cried in the middle of a consultation. I was just back from 2 weeks holiday and one of my regular patients, a young woman  with a big problem with self-harm, came to tell me that...