Category Archives: Research

Talking Point Free Seminar Series August to November 2023

 

Talking Point – August to November 2023 – save the dates

Talking Point is a regular series of publicly available lectures that aim to inspire, inform and challenge our notions of what we know about addiction and its impact across society. Health and social sector professionals and the general public are all welcome to attend.

16th August 2023, TODAY – 1pm – 2pm
Recovering Assemblages: Unfolding Sociomaterial Relations of Drug Use and Recovery, presented by Dr Aysel Sultan – for details and to register click here 

13th September 2023, 1pm – 2pm
Neuroplastic Wrap: The non-pathologising, ecological alternative to diagnostic labels, presented by Dr Hayley Packham – for details and to register click here

18th October 2023, 1pm – 2pm
Treating trauma & addiction: from innovation to implementation, presented by Associate Professor Shalini Arunogiri – for details and to register click here

15th November 2023, 1pm – 2pm
Young men’s anxiety: The blind spot in men’s mental health and why it matters, presented by Krista Fisher, PhD Candidate Orygen, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne – for details and to register click here

Talking Point presentations are recorded and available to view on the Turning Point website – click here to view previous Talking Point presentations
If you have enquiries regarding registration
please email tp@turningpoint.org.au or call (03) 8413 8413.

Talking Point Free Seminar Series

How Three Sides of the Coin performances
empower people with lived experience of gambling harm
to educate the community and professionals.

Presented by Judy Avisar, Catherine Simmonds OAM,
Anna Bardsley and Fiona Read

Deakin University in collaboration with Three Sides of the Coin (3SOC) evaluated the use of lived experience performances as an education tool for professionals. Three Sides of the Coin empowers people with lived experience of gambling harm to educate the community and professionals about gambling harm and its intersection with alcohol and other drug use, mental health, family violence and crime.

This presentation will explore how being fully immersed in the lived experience of gamblers and affected others through performance was a powerful way for professionals to connect with the issues at an emotional and cognitive level. The evaluation showed there was an increase in the understanding of gambling harm, as well as changes in attitudes and practice among professionals including a greater empathy and confidence to ask about gambling, and a willingness to discuss gambling harm and support those affected. The research findings will be complemented by a short 3SOC Recovery Gamble video story, crafted artfully with animation and music, exemplifying the power of lived experience stories in understanding the intersectionality of gambling addiction.

Presenters: Judy Avisar, Catherine Simmonds OAM, Anna Bardsley and Fiona Read.

Judy Avisar, (from SHARC Self Help Addiction Resource Centre VIC) has coordinated Three Sides of the Coin gambling harm project since its inception 11 years ago. Judy has passionately carved a pathway for 3SOC over 11 years so that today it is recognized as a successful model for Professional Development in allied sectors (mental health, drugs, alcohol, family violence, criminal justice). Judy established the partnership with Deakin University and oversaw the data collection. https://threesidesofthecoin.org.au/

Catherine Simmonds, OAM is the artistic director of 3SOC. Her focus is the space between the ‘lived experiences’ of communities and the language of art. For 3 decades she has provided people with a creative space in which to ‘discover the need to speak and speak the unspoken’. She works together with participants to transform their stories into performance. https://actinconnection.com/

Anna Bardsley, a retired businesswoman, lost ten years of her life to poker machines. Her work as an advocate for reform began ten years ago. She is a founding member of Three Sides of the Coin and is committed to changing the conversation about gambling harm in Australia by elevating the voices of people with lived experience. Anna has numerous television and speaking credits including the ABC production ‘You Can’t Ask That’, podcasts, radio and television interviews.

Fiona Read, Senior Manager, Health Promotion and Engagement, Access Health and Community. Fiona coordinated the research, supporting the study design and ethics with Deakin University, and reviewed the evaluation from a public health perspective when working at Link Health and Community.

Date: Wednesday 19th April 2023
Venue: Online
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm AEST
Cost: Free
Register: click here to register
If you have enquiries regarding registration please call (03) 8413 8413.

Article from Mental Health Australia CEO Weekly Update 30 March 2023

Tandem eNews 23 March 2023

Dear members and supporters,

Ramadan Kareem to all of our Muslim families beginning their Ramadan celebrations today!

We are sending a special edition of eNews today to ask for your input into our advocacy work on the NDIS Review.

If you have experiences of the NDIS as a family member, carer or supporter, please complete our survey.

We’re interested in understanding the impact of the NDIS on you as the family member, carer or supporter – rather than on the person you support – so please keep this in mind as you answer the questions.

We also encourage you to make your own statement to the NDIS Review, which you can do by either answering some questions, or by uploading a written, audio or video submission. The person you support can make a statement too.

Did you miss out on asking the Minister your question?

Thanks again to everyone who attended our Members’ Meeting in March. If you attended but did not get a chance to ask Minister Williams your question, please email it to us and we will follow up, as promised on the day.

You can access the Tandem eNews via this link: Tandem eNews March 2023

Talking Point Free Seminar Series 22 March 2023

 

Talking Point – Wednesday 22nd March 2023, 1pm – 2pm

Lived experience & academic partnerships: a case study of meaningful collaboration demonstrated through the AOD patient journey project, presented by Amelia Berg & Dr Leanne Francia

These days there is a lot of talk in research about co-design with lived experience consumers.  This Talking Point will present on recently completed project in the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, as a case study that demonstrates meaningful partnerships between lived experience and academic researchers. The presenters will go behind the scenes to identify what worked in the collaboration; the development of tangible findings as they related to those with lived experience; and the effective implementation of knowledge translation as a staff education program rolled out to local health services.

Presenters:
Amelia Berg, BA (Criminal Justice Administration)
Leanne Francia: PhD, BSocSc (Psych)(Hons), BSocSc (Psych), AssocDegLaw (Paralegal)
Amelia Berg currently works at the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) as a lived experience peer worker. Amelia has worked in harm reduction for over ten years and has experience working with people who use drugs in an outreach capacity and in research.  Amelia is currently working on Fuse Initiatives in partnership with Harm Reduction Victoria to expand and support the Living Experience Peer Workforce in Victoria.

Dr Leanne Francia is a researcher at Turning Point and the Monash Addiction Research Centre. Leanne’s qualitative research centres on the lived experiences of those endeavouring to seek help from and engage with healthcare services, the systems and organisations with which they interact, and program evaluation. Leanne has a broader background in researching vulnerable and sensitive populations including people who use violence, victim survivors of family violence, and sexual offenders in the criminal justice system.

Date: Wednesday 22nd March 2023
Venue: Online
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm AEST
Cost: Free – Talking Point is a free seminar series but registrations are essential
Register: click here to register

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If you have enquiries regarding registration please call (03) 8413 8413.