Associate Professor Pradeep Rao has called for more coordination between non-government and state and federal government organisations supporting the mental health of young people in WA.
A/Prof Rao made the comments at a youth mental health panel event on Wednesday 16 October, arranged by the federal member for Curtin, Kate Chaney. The event had a focus on what is causing the mental health epidemic our young people are facing and what is needed to address the causes or to support young people.
Addressing clinicians, young people and their families, A/Prof Rao also said it was critical not to lose hope in both navigating services and providing support.
Helping Mind CEO Debbie Childs and Youth Focus CEO Derry Simpson also sat on the panel with the independent MP.
Ms Simpson discussed the importance of early intervention to reduce the burden on acute care and Ms Childs raised the importance of meeting young people where they want to be met and better education of young people to increase peer-to-peer support.
A/Prof Rao, the Head of Service, Complex Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders Service at the Child and Adolescent Health Service, was an inaugural member of the Embrace Advisory Group. He sat on the panel of Moving beyond crisis: How youth mental health research can build a better future, an Embrace event in late 2023, and collaborates on research projects with Embrace Co-Director Professor Helen Milroy AM.
A Q+A with the approximately 70 audience members at the panel event discussed the need for a better centralised project management system for young people, and the need for greater accessibility.
In a 2022 Embrace project, improving accessibility to infant, child and youth mental health support was one of the most important priorities to the community and clinicians.
This priority is now one of the three pillars of all Embrace-backed research at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Associate Professor Pradeep Rao called for more hope among clinicians and young people alike when accessing services.