Media Releases 2019

The Anne Deveson Research Centre (ADRC), a SANE Australia initiative, is pleased to announce a new research partnership with the University of Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences.

The partnership will enable the ADRC’s flagship research project, the National Stigma Report Card.

The National Stigma Report Card study will examine for the first time how Australians living with complex mental illness experience stigma and discrimination across a range of areas, including housing, education, employment, health services, and media representations.

The five-year study will be led by ADRC Director and SANE’s Acting CEO, Dr Michelle Blanchard, and the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences’ Dr Christopher Groot.

The study will survey 7,000 participants from across Australia. It will be the largest survey of its kind conducted in Australia to date and is expected to provide a baseline by which to assess stigma and discrimination over time.

The National Stigma Report Card team aims to identify specific targets for improvement. The data collected will provide the hard evidence needed to drive long-term change in policy and practice so Australians living with complex mental illness can live long and fulfilling lives.

Dr Blanchard said: ‘We are wholeheartedly committed to undertaking research that will drive better social outcomes for people affected by complex mental illness.’

Officially opened by The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce, AD CVO in 2018, the ADRC’s inclusive approach is transforming mental health research in Australia. People affected by complex mental illness will be actively involved in research design – as collaborators and co-producers rather than subjects.

Dame Quentin highlighted the importance of bringing these social issues into any discussion of mental health: ‘Over and over again the reality is socio-economic disadvantage, poverty, homelessness, unemployment’.

‘Stigma and discrimination are constant companions for those with complex mental illness.’

For more information about the National Stigma Report Card, visit:
http://bit.ly/national-stigma-report-card

ENDS

ABOUT THE ANNE DEVESON RESEARCH CENTRE (ADRC)
More than 690,000 Australians live with complex mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, psychotic illnesses, personality disorders, and severe and persistent depression and anxiety.

Research into the social impacts of complex mental illness has been limited in Australia but anecdotal evidence indicates people experience stigma and discrimination across all facets of their lives. The Anne Deveson Research Centre (ADRC), a SANE Australia initiative, aims to start a public conversation about these problems and develop solutions.

The ADRC’s ultimate objective is to build a community where all Australians – including those living with complex mental illness – live fulfilling and meaningful lives.

‘It’s a basic need that all of us have – we want to feel valued, we want to enjoy ourselves. We never allowed people with a mental illness to have their own humanity and that is what is changing.’
     — Anne Deveson AO

ABOUT SANE AUSTRALIA
SANE Australia is a national mental health charity working to support four million Australians affected by complex mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression and anxiety.

To request an interview with Dr Michelle Blanchard or Dr Christopher Groot please contact:

Lauren Redpath
Senior Media and PR Advisor at SANE Australia
Phone: 0439 708 381
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.sane.org