16 JULY 1999 .. a web newsletter for psych. consumers in Australia

Margie Charlesworth at Disability Action in Adelaide is working on a project to establish a support group for people with physical disabilities who also have a mood disorder like depression or manic depression. The project is in collaboration with the Individual Advocacy Program for Mental Health Consumers and the (S.A.) Mood Disorders Association

" The aim of the new support group is to break down the myth that people with physical disabilities do not have the right (or do have the right) to have mood disorders. It is well documented that depression is a result of the lack of a chemical in the brain - and unlike human life, the chemical does not discriminate. The group is for those people who feel the need to have control over this disorder so they may go about their lives and not be ashamed to call for time out or support because they feel they need to refocus their lives. "

A consultation was done on the 14th. to help determine the best way to run this group, and further input would be welcome too. If you are interested or would like more information please contact Margie at Disability Action on 08 - 8352 8599, or the Disability Information Resource Centre , 195 Gilles Street in Adelaide.

Melbourne is expected to be formally endorsed by Aust. Health Ministers this year as the Asia-Pacific region's only psychosurgery center. Psychosurgery, the personality altering brain operation once known as lobotomy, is still being performed at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) will be holding a demo on Sat. 31st July to protest. There will be a march from the Victoria Market (The Meat Market) to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Start is at noon and windup at 2 pm. Please contact bjohn@eisa.net.au for further details, or call 03-9654 8970 .

In Melbourne, several consumers have formed a political lobby group, CAPPS (civil action by people with psychiatric status) . They have proposed a symposium of consumers and are currently in search of funding. This group was previously known as SPOIL. Contact Jim on 03 - 9783 1798 for further information.

[ A quote - consumer theory ]
<< ... doctors divide the consumer into a person and an illness, and then proceed to treat the problem in isolation. The medical model doesn't fit these people, the consumers, very well and actually the concepts of "mental health and mental illness" may be better placed outside medicine, which is physiologically-based. Altho' the medical model has worked for some people which may be why it has persisted.

Consumers are often shit-scared, realising that a part of themselves seems out of control and is dangerous to them or others. Consumers feel they must arrange their lives and their behaviour in order to construct a safe environment. Some want to construct a mask which can be depended upon to conceal what is really going on inside. Some construct a altered perception of external reality which they can live with, and are labelled psychotic by the rest of us. Some reduce their field of movement and personal contact, and become agoraphobic. Some consumers take medication to make their moods and thoughts more predictable, constructing a new version of their personality which keeps them out of trouble. Some consumers attack the world, ending up in prison or hospital, which is clever because this forces someone else to take responsibility for them, to take control.

If consumers are denied these solutions, then it may get scary; if doctors turn out to be nuts themselves, if medication solves some problems but causes side-effects, then despair and panic begin. Especially if your point of view is overridden, or if someone cannot tell you that they don't know, and it is obvious - terrifying.

Because you cannot escape yourself, most consumers are "real" people with a particular kind of honesty ... >>

THEMHS is an annual conference for cønsumers, mental health providers, carers and more, conducted in Australia or NZ. Whose Dreams? Whose Realities? is the theme of the 1999 conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre , Wed. 22nd. - Fri. 24th. September. A free BBQ will be held in Brunswick on Monday 20th. from 4 pm. (ph. VMIAC 03-93878317), open to everyone.

The usual cønsumer day/forum will run on Tuesday 21st., open to consumers only from 10 am. for $10, followed by a social event from 5:30. Locations of these are still not available , sorry. Isabell Collins will talk on "building MH services from a cønsumer perspective". Other speakers are Evelyn Webster and Neil Cole. Bookings are needed for these cønsumer events - see THEMHS registration form. A carers forum will be conducted that afternoon.

Reg. fees for the main conference: concession for attending all 3 days is $150. A day concession is offered at $50. Some cønsumer subsidies will be available from THEMHS - apply before the end of July.

Conference speakers include Jill Gray (VICSERV), Prof. Elizabeth Kuipers (U.K.), Gavin Mooney, Cath Roper, Arana Pearson , Dr. Harvey Whiteford ( yes, from the World Bank ) and Larry Davidson.

If you want to contact the THEMHS Secretariat in NSW, ph: (02) 9926 6057 or check THEMHS' Web page in a few weeks when it is updated: www.themhs.org or E~mail enquiries@themhs.org