Orygen

Imagine a future where every young person with mental ill-health gets well, and stays well. At Orygen we're creating that future right now, and you can too – by choosing an employer where 96% of our staff believe in our purpose. Join us and make a difference in a young persons life. https://lnkd.in/g8aRruPj

Clinical staging is not a new concept – most people have heard it used in referral to other illnesses (for example, 'Stage II cancer'). But it's not a convention in mental health, and a new paper from Orygen research leaders mounts a compelling case as to how clinical staging could play a key role in addressing the youth mental health crisis. Published today in the world's leading clinical psychology journal, Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, the paper calls for an international joint committee to define and ratify a global system of clinical stages in mental ill-health. "(Diagnoses are) more nuanced than simply saying someone 'does' or 'doesn't' have a particular illness like depression or anorexia, there are stages and complexities we need to agree on in order to find effective ways forward," says lead author, Associate Professor Dominic Dwyer. Read more and access the paper: https://bit.ly/4iicizO

New polling has revealed a stark gap between what Australians expect governments to spend on mental health care, and the reality. Commissioned by Orygen, this nationally representative survey found: - Australians estimate ~22% of health expenditure goes towards mental health - Australians think ~34% of health expenditure should go towards mental health However, despite mental ill-health accounting for ~15% of the national burden of disease, only ~8% of total health expenditure goes towards addressing it. Up to 75% of all mental ill-health onsets by age 25, and 80% of Australians polled say the government should do more to tackle rising rates of youth mental ill-health. "Australians have been suffering in silence but at last they have found their voice. There is a clear mandate here: Australians, across all demographics, overwhelmingly support greater investment in youth mental health," said Prof. Patrick McGorry, Orygen's Executive Director. "This is now Australia's major health crisis and it is impacting life expectancy and reducing productivity, weakening our society. It is imperative that we act now, or the ramifications will be felt for generations to come." A six-point action plan, created by Orygen and nine of Australia's leading youth mental health organisations, has outlined key steps to tackle the crisis. Read it here: https://bit.ly/3FyVKoP ARACY batyr Black Dog Institute headspace Mission Australia Prevention United ReachOut Australia yourtown Youth Focus

Australia is experiencing a youth mental health crisis. It is now urgent that we take action. Today, Orygen has joined the nation's leading youth mental health organisations to call for the implementation of a six-point action plan – one that will tackle this crisis, reflect the overwhelming public support for action, and most importantly, ensure all young Australians can access the mental health care they deserve. We are eager to work with the next federal government to build a stronger youth mental health system through these key priorities: - Free access to mental health care for all young people and children, in line with Mental Health Australia's federal election call - Address the 'missing middle' by building a layer of specialist care for those with more serious and complex mental health needs - Investment to build an integrated mental health system - Fast-tracked workforce development and investment in digital services - Increased funding for mental health promotion and prevention - Support for young Australians in the implementation of new social media regulations. Read the Joint Statement in full here: https://bit.ly/4bYmMlq ARACY batyr Black Dog Institute headspace Mission Australia Prevention United ReachOut Australia yourtown Youth Focus

Victoria's independent medical research institutes are world-leading, but most are at risk of becoming unviable in the next three to four years. Orygen, along with 13 of Victoria's independent medical research institutes, has joined the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) Victoria in calling for urgent funding reform to ensure this critical sector can remain viable. As AAMRI VIC has warned, securing the sector's future requires major changes to the Operational Infrastructure Support (OIS) program, which provides support for institutes to meet the costs of research. In addition to calls for increased funding, AAMRI is calling for Orygen and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to be included in the OIS program – both of which currently receive no OIS funding to cover research costs. More details: https://bit.ly/4iB4kBN

Orygen has been engaged to lead a group of expert organisations on a review into the youth mental health system. Delivered by a consortium of youth mental health organisations, this review will focus on the state of the existing youth mental health system, as well as potentially new and refined models of care. It will involve extensive engagement Australia-wide with young people, families, service providers and advocacy organisations – all of whom are invited to share their experiences. To learn more, visit: https://bit.ly/4i7orrk

Orygen has launched a series of updated resources to help mental health professionals identify and support young people at risk of psychosis. The Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental State, or CAARMS, is a semi-structured interview used widely in Australia and internationally to determine if a young person is at ultra-high risk of developing first episode psychosis, as well as to assess and measure symptoms over time. These resources include an updated version of the assessment tool (CAARMS 23), a new rating sheet to record responses, and a comprehensive training module for clinicians. For more details and to access the resources, visit: https://bit.ly/4kDuhSG

UN Women Australia's #InternationalWomensDay theme, 'March Forward', emphasises the importance of transforming "promises into progress". This year, as we reflect on the mental health challenges facing young people, it's clear that while mental health issues affect all genders, young women and girls are experiencing particularly high rates of distress in certain areas. As indicated by the latest ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing data, mental health issues are especially prevalent among young women aged 16 to 24, with almost half (45.5%) experiencing a mental health disorder – far higher than the 32.4% of young men in the same age group. To mark #IWD2025, we're spotlighting some of the crucial work being done at Orygen to understand and address these mental health challenges, and turn promises into meaningful progress for young women and girls. More about this research: https://bit.ly/4ivrp8A

We're excited and grateful to share that Orygen Global has been selected as a grantee of the ICONIQ Impact Youth Mental Wellbeing Co-Lab. The Co-Lab is a $200 million collaborative philanthropy fund, which supports organisations that are focused on addressing youth anxiety and depression around the world by building young people's resilience, agency and sense of community. This grant has enabled the expansion of Orygen Global's key fellowship program, which aims to build the capacity, skills and voices of young people to create positive change in mental health awareness, policy and systems reform. Now known as the ASEAN-Pacific Youth Mental Health Fellowship, it's open to young people aged 18 to 30 across Australia, ASEAN member states and the Pacific. Fellowship applications are open until Monday 10 March at 11:59pm AEST. More details: https://bit.ly/3LcnAGH

Orygen is proud to support this important program spearheaded by Being Initiative and Grand Challenges Canada. As the lead of Being's Learning and Support Network, we'll be working with each of these impactful, youth-led projects to help reimagine mental health solutions in 12 priority countries. Get a sneak peek of the exciting projects here: https://bit.ly/3QIb6cU More to come - watch this space!