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Mental health workforce reform – peer workers

Psychology

Health Workforce Australia is working towards a national approach for a skilled and sustainable mental health workforce, as demand for mental health services is increasing.

Health Workforce Australia held a consultation workshop at the recent Mental Health Services Summer Forum in Sydney on the 19th February. The workshop was Expanding The Use of Mental Health Peer Workers: making the most of lived experience in the mental health workforce. Peer workers are people who have lived experience of mental illness, often directly or within their family. They are employed specifically to share this experience and knowledge to help other individuals and families experiencing mental ill-health. The workshop in Sydney was aimed at identifying the settings where further use of peer workers would add the most value, and how to best introduce peer workers into the wider mental health workforce.

Health Workforce Australia is looking at how peer work can be linked to the national mental health core capabilities. They will release the draft National Mental Health Core Capabilities in 2014. They have previously released the Mental Health Workforce Study.

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