It’s with great pleasure that I announce that, in February, we’ll be running the Mental Health 2.0 Unconference, which will be held at Gasworks in Melbourne on Friday the 25th of February.
This is my invitation to you to feel free to come along, and share in the discussions about the intersection of technology and our mental health. The event will be attended by a mix of people – from those working on the web and, to those working for Mental Health organisations throughout Australia. We’re really excited about the conversations that will ensue, and the outcomes that will surely stem from them.
From the site:
It is estimated that within 18 months, half of all website views will come from mobile devices.1 in 6 minutes spent online are currently spent on social media sites. Rapid developments are occurring in the broad field of electronic health, including e-mental health. Governments, consumers, health care providers and others are working on a range of projects and activities to harness the new technologies to improve the range and quality of health services and information available to the public. What is happening already and what are the future possibilities? What are the concerns? What about privacy? What is the impact of 24/7 connectedness?
I’m really excited about the day, and am really excited to be working with @edwardharran and @janethopkins and Lantern to make this all happen. As with all unconferences, the focus will be on participation and mixing between the diverse ideas and skills there on the day. With so much changing in our world, I look forward to the great conversations about how we can leverage technology to change the way we assist those of us with Mental Illness all over the planet.
The Squiggly Line 
What aspects of mental health do you think can gain the most benefit from the 2.0 Steve? I’m a MH newbie.
Hi Ross,
One of the biggest issues for people who experience mental illhealth is isolation. Often people feel very alone and do not talk about their illness because of stigma. People sometimes do not realise how many others out there are feeling the same. It seems that 2.0 offers a place where it can be easier to reach out for help and to seek out information and support. What we hope and what I understand the early signs are showing, is that this first step to seeking help on-line will lead to connecting up with the appropriate supports and services needed off-line.
From the positive psychology angle, if we were to look at the Five Ways to Wellbeing* – Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give: all of these can be enhanced through the use of 2.0 technologies…actually putting together examples of this might be a nice project! I feel a new presentation coming on…
*( the UK NEF developed set of evidence-based actions to improve personal well-being commissioned by the Government’s Foresight project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing)
will there be any sessions that can be attended online? I guess you’ll podcast some of it, but it’d be great to be able to participate as well as hear/see it later, and I won’t be able to get to Melbourne for it.
Hi Deborah, great question.
We’re not sure how it will be captured in a digital sense just yet, but we’re thinking about a few options.
We will be creating a google group/wiki space to host online discussions amongst participants. Perhaps that is a good place to start?
@ross – we’ll bring you more information on Mental Health in the lead up to the event. Great question, we’re all MH newbies.
@Steve, how do we get involved in this? Global Mind Screen is an online mental health application that Harvard has described as the new gold standard in mental health assessment and we’re an Australian company! Please email me your ph no. to marshall@globalmindscreen.com.au so I can discuss this with you. Also check out our consumer site at http://www.mindscreen.com.au. I think we can contribute a lot to this fantastic day. Marshall
Hi Marshall, thanks for the comment.
I’ll shoot you an email now and would love to chat more about what you’re
doing.
As far as getting involved, simply sign up to attend the event here:
http://lantern.wufoo.com/forms/lantern-mental-health-20-unconference/
Great initiative look forward to seeing any recorded material as unfort I can be there on the day.
Cheers @jennibeattie
Thanks Jenni 🙂 We’ll do our best for some recorded material but are unsure yet what we will have in the end. We’ll keep you posted!