Mental Illness Research Fund

5 applicants share in $10M for projects that support multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaborative research.

Overview

The Mental Illness Research Fund (MIRF) is a Victorian Government initiative aimed at supporting multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaborative research that has the potential to be translated into tangible improvements for Victorians with mental illness and their carers.

Background

The five projects to receive grants from the Victorian Coalition Government’s $10 million Mental Illness Research Fund exemplify the incredible work of our researchers in the field of neuroscience, Minister for Mental Health Mary Wooldridge said today.

Recognising the funding recipients at a special event at the Melbourne Brain Centre, Ms Wooldridge said their work was of great importance to all Victorians who have been directly and indirectly affected by mental illness.

“Victoria’s health and medical research experts are leading the way in innovative health solutions and contributing to policy and practice on a national and international scale,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“These achievements provide the backbone of evidence to support major improvements and innovations to our health care systems.”

Ms Wooldridge said that the Commonwealth Government supported research investment through the National Mental Health Research Council, but less than 10 per cent of the budget went into mental health research.

“The Coalition Government is committed to further supporting our world class researchers in their important work,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“For this reason we are investing $10 million in the Mental Illness Research Fund to support mental health research here in Victoria.

“We want to maintain Victoria’s position and reputation as national leader in the field of mental health care and importantly we want to drive tangible improvements in the treatment and recovery outcomes for people with a mental illness.”

Ms Wooldridge said the five funding recipients were chosen from 43 submissions, based on the strength of their collaboration across different sectors, including the active and ongoing involvement of clients, their carers and families.

“We hope the evidence generated will be actively promoted and disseminated locally, nationally and globally so it can have the greatest impact, improving the treatment and recovery of people living with mental illness,” Ms Wooldridge said.

Recipients

The five funding recipients are:

The HORYZONS project: Moderated Online Social Therapy for Maintenance of Treatment Effects from Specialised First Episode Psychosis Services, led by Dr Mario Alvarez-Jimenez, a Senior Research Fellow at the Orygen Youth Health Research Centre;
Developing an Australian-first recovery model for parents in Victorian mental health and family services, led by Associate Professor Darryl Maybery from Monash University;
Working together with shared values towards recovery oriented practice – Principles Unite Local Services Assisting Recovery – the PULSAR project, led by Professor Graham Meadows from Monash University;
Getting to the CORE: testing a co-design technique to optimise psychosocial recovery outcomes for people affected by mental illness, led by Dr Victoria Palmer from the University of Melbourne; and
Use of online technology to promote self-management and recovery in people with psychosis, led by Professor Mike Kyrios from Swinburne University.

Project Detail

Multimedia Based Therapy

Use of online technology to promote self-management and recovery in people with psychosis ($1,966,610), led by Professor Mike Kyrios at Swinburne University.

Research partners are Swinburne University, the Mental Illness Fellowship of Victoria, Mind Australia, Alfred Health, Melbourne Health and St Vincent’s Mental Health.

This project will explore how online, multimedia based therapy can be better developed and more routinely used by mental health workers, patients and carers as a core part of treatment. The research will focus strongly on how this can help people with severe mental illness develop skills to effectively manage their own illness. It will rigorously test the benefits of this approach in achieving improved health and social outcomes.

HORYZONS

The HORYZONS project: Moderated Online Social Therapy for Maintenance of Treatment Effects from Specialised First Episode Psychosis Services ($1,792,727), led by Dr Mario Alvarez-Jimenez, a Senior Research Fellow at the Orygen Youth Health Research Centre.

Research partners are Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, the Australian Catholic University, the University of Melbourne and Deakin University.

The researchers have identified a clear gap in availability of easily accessible and engaging ways to help young people with psychosis avoid relapse, maintain engagement with mental health services and continue to recover after initial treatment. This study will test the impact of an online program called HORYZONS in long-term recovery for young people diagnosed early in the course of a psychotic illness. If effective, HORYZONS will provide a world-first resource for this purpose, combining social networking, peer support, online therapy and easy access to health professionals.

Getting to the CORE

Getting to the CORE: testing a co-design technique to optimise psychosocial recovery outcomes for people affected by mental illness ($1,777,332), led by Dr Victoria Palmer at the University of Melbourne.

Research partners are the University of Melbourne, the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, the Victorian Mental Health Carers Network and eight selected community health centres throughout Victoria.

This research will investigate the value of actively involving people affected by mental illness in the design of treatment and care, and examine how this approach can best improve mental health services. The project will build on the widely recognised work of Victoria’s mental health consumers and carers in fostering partnership with clinicians to improve their service experiences and quality. The project will take this work further by testing if the approach will improve the recovery outcomes for consumers in eight community health centres across Victoria.

PULSAR project

Working together with shared values towards recovery-oriented practice – Principles Unite Local Services Assisting Recovery – the PULSAR project ($2,331,460), led by Professor Graham Meadows at Monash University.

Research partners are Monash University, Mind Australia, the Eastern Region Mental Health Association, Southern Health the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Victoria University and University of London.

This project will test a practical approach to address the vital issue of how different types of services within a defined geographical area can be refocused to support recovery for people with mental illness. It is expected to shed light on how clinical mental health, primary care and community support services can collaborate effectively and support people with mental illness achieve their personal recovery goals. The research will adapt and test the usefulness of a set of training materials and organisational change techniques first used in the UK, with particular focus on how they can be suited to the Victorian context.

Parenting Role

Developing an Australian-first recovery model for parents in Victorian mental health and family services ($1,855,891),led by Associate Professor Darryl Maybery at Monash University.

Research partners are Monash University, SANE Australia, Family Life, Neami, the Bouverie Centre, the Parenting Research Centre, Raising Children Network, beyondblue, Eastern Health, Northern Health and the University of South Australia.

The key question to be addressed by this project is how we can improve longer term recovery of people with severe mental illness by addressing their parenting role as a core part of their treatment. To answer this, the researchers will trial specific innovative interventions that engage families and children within specialist mental health services. An Australian-first, this approach is expected to deliver significant mental health and wellbeing benefits to both parents and their children.

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