Mental health and wellbeing interventions

Advancing the understanding and effective implementation of disaster-related mental health, wellbeing and recovery interventions and programs.

Mission

To advance understanding and effective implementation of disaster-related mental health, wellbeing and recovery interventions and programs for governments, organisations, communities and individuals.

Objectives

  • To conduct research that improves the effectiveness, scalability and sustainability of disaster-related mental health and wellbeing interventions across all levels of the stepped care approach .
  • To develop, trial and implement new interventions and capability strengthening programs for improving the mental health and wellbeing outcomes after disaster.
  • To translate evidence to ensure governments, organisations and communities are prepared to meet disaster-related mental health and wellbeing needs through improved policy, workforce capabilities, services and interventions.
  • To build collaborations to enable a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of disaster-impacted communities.

Capabilities

Phoenix Australia is an independent not-for-profit organisation and registered charity affiliated with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Psychiatry. We are Australia’s National Centre of Excellence in Posttraumatic Mental Health, and for more than 25 years we have been a national and international leader in the field of understanding, prevention and recovery from trauma. We have more than 75 staff, including researchers, clinicians and specialists in psychology, psychiatry and social work, and we work across streams of research, policy and service development, training and workforce development and clinical services.

Impacts

Phoenix Australia are the authors of the National Health and Medical Research Council endorsed Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD. We have also led development of the Disaster Mental Health Hub and Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) intervention. We were awarded the 2022 Resilient Australia Mental Health and Wellbeing Award for our capability strengthening program that trained more than 4000 people in the aftermath of Black Summer bushfires.

Unit lead