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Useful Resources

There are too many useful resources to list here, and more become available every week. So, we have identified the names of authors, networks, and publications you may wish to check out or subscribe to, to stay up to date with a critical and holistic approach to mental health, alcohol and other drug use and criminal justice involvement. There will be links to other individuals, organisations and documents within the links below, so happy exploring!
We have prioritised authors and researchers who offer a critical perspective and who promote or draw on lived experience expertise in their work.

MENTAL HEALTH

Individual leaders, authors and researchers
Peter Bullimore is a voice hearer who delivers training internationally on Hearing Voices, Paranoia and Childhood Trauma.  He is the founder of the National Paranoia Network in England. www.nationalparanoianetwork.org/peter-bullimore
Ron Coleman has drawn on his own experiences of the psychiatric services to develop recovery focussed services along with his wife Karen.  www.workingtorecovery.co.uk
Dr Eleanor Longden’s TedTalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syjEN3peCJw entitled ‘The Voices in my Head’ has been viewed nearly 2.5 million times
Dr Joanna Moncrieff, British psychiatrist, and academic. www.joannamoncrieff.com
Dr Gabor Maté is renowned for his expertise on trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development.  www.drgabormate.com
Dr Rachel Perkins OBE spent 30+ years with the National Health Service, UK as a clinical psychologist and Director and drawing on her own experiences of accessing mental health services. www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Rachel-Perkins-2107988478
Approaches and Frameworks
The British Psychological Society’s Power Threat Meaning Framework provides a conceptual alternative to psychiatric classification (for example, under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 – DSM5) in relation to distress and troubled or troubling behaviour. www.bps.org.uk/member-networks/division-clinical-psychology/power-threat-meaning-framework
Emotional CPR: ‘Emotional CPR (eCPR) is an educational program designed to teach people to assist others through an emotional crisis by three simple steps: C = Connecting, P = emPowering, and R = Revitalizing’.    www.emotional-cpr.org
Hearing Voices Network: ‘The Hearing Voices approach is the peer-led recovery model for people who hear voices, see and sense things around them that others do not.  This training aims to provide tools to assist people to alleviate distress associated with voice and work towards a meaningful life’ –  Centre for Mental Health Learning, Victoria www.cmhl.org.au
www.perthvoicesclinic.com.au/resources-for-voice-hearers-and-carers
Open Dialogue:  www.opendialogue.org.au   The Open Dialogue approach is an innovative, researched approach which originated in Western Lapland, for people experiencing mental health challenges and their families/networks. www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/open-dialogue/7174084
Social and Emotional Wellbeing is a holistic approach used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to describe a person’s social, emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing. www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/learn/health-topics/social-and-emotional-wellbeing
Networks and journals
The Critical Psychiatry Network was founded in 1999 by a group of UK psychiatrists.  Critical psychiatry challenges some of psychiatry’s most deeply held assumptions. www.criticalpsychiatry.co.uk
Mad in America’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for rethinking psychiatric care in the United States and with its global affiliates.  It produces webzines, podcasts and offers educational programs.  www.madinamerica.com
Peak bodies and key organisations
The Aboriginal Health Council of WA (AHCWA) is the peak body for Aboriginal health in Western Australia which works to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal people and their communities. www.ahcwa.org.au
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre is the first such initiative in Australia and internationally. The Centre is ‘designed to elevate the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lived experience to contribute to the development of culturally safe, trauma-informed services, care, and programs’. www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/education-services/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-network
Consumers of Mental Health in WA (CoMHWA) is the independent, state-wide peak body for people with lived / living experience of mental health issues (consumers). www.comhwa.org.au
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (the Embrace project) is run by Mental Health Australia and ‘provides a national focus on mental health and suicide prevention for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.   www.embracementalhealth.org.au
International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS) Australia is part of a broader international  organisation originating in  Europe in the 1950’s. ISPS offers ‘messages of hope that it is possible to be supported through extreme states’. www.ispsaustralia.com
Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Services, based in Mirrabooka, WA  provides holistic services to women from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds.  www.ishar.org.au
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is a peak health organisation for LGBT and intersex organisations in Australia.  A not-for-profit company, it was established in August 2007 and provides contemporary, relevant information across health, mental health.  www.lgbtiqhealth.org.au
Linkwest is ‘the Western Australian peak body for Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres’ and supports the Centres to develop ‘vibrant, inclusive and connected communities’ in WA.  www.linkwest.asn.au
Living Proud (WA) is a non-profit organisation which aims to promote the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and other sexuality, sex and gender diverse people in Western Australia.  www.livingproud.org.au
Mental Health Commission (WA) is responsible for planning and purchasing mental health, alcohol and other drug services.  This website contains lots of links, resources and information about servi ce availability in WA.   www.mhc.wa.gov.au
National Mental Health Commission provides ‘evidence and advice on ways to continuously improve Australia’s mental health and suicide prevention system, and act as a catalyst for change to achieve those improvements’.  www.mentalhealthcommission.org.au  
National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) is a ‘combined national voice for mental health consumers and carers.  We listen, learn, influence and advocate in matters of mental health reform’. www.nmhccf.org.au
The WA Association for Mental Health is the peak body for community mental health in Western Australia and has membership options for community organisations and lived experience individuals and family members  www.waamh.org.au
TransFolk of WA offers a peer support service for transgender people and their loved ones in WA. www.transfolkofwa.org

ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG USE

MHM2 promotes harm minimisation approaches to alcohol and other drug use. Harm minimisation focuses on reducing harm to the person using the drug, rather than banning or preventing use of the drug. Under this approach, people using drugs may access programs such as Needle & Syringe programs and opioid replacement therapies such as Methadone or Suboxone. Abstinence, or recovery approaches include peer programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs. These programs are common across the globe.
As in the Mental Health section above, delving into the documents and links below will bring you to additional resources and information which we hope you find useful.
Alcohol and other Drug Consumer and Community Coalition (AODCCC) is the peak body for alcohol and other drug consumer-driven systemic advocacy in Western Australia.  Its aim is ‘to empower the voices of consumers, their families and supports, ensuring the health and wellbeing of our community’,  We’re proud that MHM2 was one of a number of agencies and individuals who helped to found the AODCCC in 2018.  www.aodccc.org
Alcohol and other Drug Foundation (ADF) delivers evidence-based approaches to minimise alcohol and other drug harm.  www.adf.org.au
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) state their ‘primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety’.  AA is peer-based with about 18,000 members in Australia who meet in over 2000 local meetings spread around the country.  For help or to find a local meeting check out www.aa.org.au.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet Alcohol and other Drug Knowledge Centre provides ‘the evidence base to reduce harmful AOD use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’.  www.aodknowledgecentre.ecu.edu.au
Johann Hari, TED Talk Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong. The opposite of addiction is not sobriety.  The opposite of addiction is connection. https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong?language=en
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is ‘a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem.  NA comprises recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. www.na.org.au
Parent and Family Drug Support Line (WA) offers a range of telephone, online and face-to-face services for families. www.mhc.wa.gov.au/about-us/our-services/alcohol-and-drug-support-service/parent-and-family-drug-support-line
Peer Based Harm Reduction (Perth) www.harmreductionwa.org  PBHWA provides non-judgmental, friendly peer based support, information and education, advocacy and harm reduction services to the WA community.
Self-help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) is a peer-based organisation in Victoria in which most of their ‘volunteer roles are filled by people who have lived experience of being impacted by substance use’. www.sharc.org.au

LANGUAGE

Language is dynamic and ever-evolving.. The words we use and the way in which we use them can hurt, harm or heal and offer hope. Let’s use our words for good.
Language Matters Resource The Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA) and NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA) developed the Language Matters Resource for the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) sector https://nada.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2021/01/language_matters_-_online_-_final.pdf
LGBTIQA+ Inclusive Language guide (2023) developed by the LGBTI Legal Service in Queensland. www.lgbtilegalservice.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Language-Guide-2023-as-at-April-2023.pdf
MINDFRAME Guidelines for Language Use www.mindframe.org.au/our-words-matter-guidelines-for-language-use
Recovery Oriented Language Guide (3rd Edition) for mental health and human services. www.mhcc.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2022/10/Recovery-Oriented-Language-Guide-3rd-edition.pdf

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

MHM2 is committed to approaches which prevent and divert individuals with mental health, personal alcohol, and other drug use from detention or prison.
Where imprisonment is an outcome, MHM2 advocates for people in prison and particularly those with disability and or mental health challenges to be treated with dignity and respect and for effective services to be easily available to them.
Australian Human Rights Commission is ‘an independent third party which investigates complaints about discrimination and human rights’. www.humanrights.gov.au
Community Legal WA (CLWA) is the peak body for 26 community legal centres in WA. If you are outside of WA, find your nearest service at www.clcs.org.au.  Community legal centres offer support with Tenancy, Family and Domestic Violence, Credit/Debt problems, Employment, Centrelink and a range of other legal needs. www.communitylegalwa.org.au
Deadly Connections is a New South Wales based Aboriginal Community-led, not for profit organisation that ‘breaks the cycles of disadvantage and trauma to directly address the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the child protection and justice system/s’. www.deadlyconnections.org.au
Incarceration Nation tells the powerful story of the ongoing systemic injustice which leads to the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system. www.incarcerationnation.com.au

The Justice Health Group at Curtin University are dedicated to doing research to help and improve policy and practice in the area of justice health. They provide excellent resources including webinars from a range of experts which can be accessed from their Youtube Channel

The Justice Reform Initiative is an alliance of people who share long-standing professional experience, lived experience and/or expert knowledge of the justice system, who are further supported by a movement of Australians of goodwill from across the country and across the political spectrum. www.justicereforminitiative.org.au.  Jailing is failing.
Justice Reinvestment Network Australia.  Justice Reinvestment is about returning power and resources to communities to lead their own solutions.  www.justicereinvestment.net.au
Legal Aid WA is the ‘largest provider of legal aid services in Western Australia, with around 300 lawyers and support staff in 9 offices covering Perth and regional WA.  www.legalaid.wa.gov.au
The Mental Health Law Centre WA (MHLCWA) offers ‘free legal advice for people with mental illness’.  www.mhlcwa.org.au
The National Principles for Forensic Mental Health in Australia project (2022) MHM2 led the lived experience consultations for this national project – the first time people with lived/living experience have been consulted on this topic. www.qcmhr.org/research/research-streams/forensic-mental-health/current-forensic-mental-health-projects/national-principles/
The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (OICS) ‘oversees the way people in custody are managed’.  OICS staff conduct ‘regular inspections and reviews of prisons, work camps, court custody centres and the detention facility holding young people’. OICS is independent and reports directly to Parliament.  Its reports are available at www.oics.wa.gov.au

Start Court is a Magistrates Court (Perth CBD) which specialises in working with individuals who have mental health challenges.  Individuals who are accepted onto the program have the benefit of receiving support from a multidisciplinary team.   The Links program at Perth Children’s Court supports young people (under 18) with mental health challenges. www.magistratescourt.wa.gov.au/s/start_court.aspx

WEPHREN (The Worldwide Prison Health Research & Engagement Network) is an open access collaborative forum for everyone interested in prison health globally, aiming to improve the health of people in prison through the equitable development of the evidence base and through capacity building initiatives for health. https://wephren.tghn.org/

 

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