The Turnbull Government has launched a new research hub focused on preventing anxiety and depression.
The Prevention Hub is benefiting from $5 million in Government funding. It is collaboration between the Black Dog Institute and Everymind and brings together research, clinical education and policy experts to work on prevention strategies.
The Hub will implement and evaluate preventive strategies for anxiety and depression across three settings - workplace, education and healthcare.
The workplace strategies will include rolling out and testing online mental health tools and e-mental health and peer support programs to reduce mental health problems in the workplace.
Education strategies will focus on children, teenagers and their families by increasing the capability of educators and providing online prevention screening and referral tools.
Healthcare strategies will include an extension of an online screening mental health platform for GPs and the development of a framework to improve the mental health of our medical workforce.
Mental illness does not discriminate and is far more prevalent than most people realise.
Nearly half of all Australians will experience mental illness in their lifetime. About one million adult Australians suffer from depression.
Research has shown around 20 per cent of all cases of depression and anxiety could be prevented by delivering evidence-based prevention programs.
This could potentially prevent thousands of cases of depression and anxiety each year.
The Turnbull Government continues to make mental health a priority by investing an additional $338 million in this year’s Budget.
This includes $73 million for suicide prevention to directly help people struggling with mental health challenges and more than $120 million for mental health research.