Hornsby Hospital to show videos to patients suffering mental health issues
VIDEOS featuring young mental health patients who have recovered will be shown to teenagers in hospital in an Australian-first trial to help their healing.
NSW
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VIDEOS featuring young mental health patients who have recovered will be shown to teenagers in hospital in an Australian-first trial to help their healing.
The pilot program will initially target 12 to 17-year-olds at Hornsby Hospital in Sydney’s north — one of the state’s busiest Child and Adolescent Units — with plans to expand the treatment across NSW.
The nine videos, produced by mental health organisation Batyr and funded by the state government, feature three young patients sharing their experiences at hospital.
The teens at Hornsby Hospital, which averages 75 admissions every six months, will watch their stories and debrief with their clinician after each viewing.
NSW Mental Health Minister Tanya Davies said more must be done to help young sufferers, with 50 per cent of all mental health conditions emerging by the age of 14.
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“I think what’s exciting is that this type of trial hasn’t been done before and so I’m always open to looking at what else can we be doing,” she told The Sunday Telegraph.
“We just cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results.
“It’s another powerful tool to reach young people who need to see and witness examples of recovery and of hope.”
Batyr chief executive Jon Davies said the youth virtual mentoring program was designed to reduce the stigma associated with being hospitalised.
“We think there is good evidence to show that it should work,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for us and hopefully the young people going through that experience.”
Dominic, a bipolar disorder sufferer who will appear in the videos, was hospitalised in Sydney five years ago after he graduated from university.
“There were underlying factors there where I probably needed to seek treatment and get it much earlier on, probably back at school, but I didn’t,” he said.
Dominic said he wished the videos had existed when he was admitted for treatment.
Running until January, the $50,000 pilot program will be evaluated by the young patients and clinicians to measure its impact.