REVIEW
October 2020 Monthly Luncheon Review Associate Professor Nicola Reavley
Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals published by Bookman, Melbourne. She then went on to undertake a PhD in complementary medicine and cancer (working with the Gawler Institute established by cancer survivor, Ian Gawler) and entitled Evaluation of the effects of a psychosocial intervention on mood, coping and quality of life in cancer patients, before starting work at The University of Melbourne in 2007 and shifting her research focus more fully to mental health in 2009. The structure for the remainder of the presentation was around three statements which she put to the audience with True, False and Partly True response options: 1. Australians know a lot more about mental health than they did 25 years ago. 2. Stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems are much lower than they used to be.
Associate Professor Nicola Reavley spoke on the topic of Mental Health Literacy and Stigma at our online October Monthly Luncheon on Wednesday, 7th October, held in Mental Illness Awareness Week and in the lead up to World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2020. Associate Professor Reavley is from the Centre for Mental Health at Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne.
3. Media reporting has an impact on attitudes to people with mental health problems. Understanding of Mental Health In addressing the first statement on the understanding by Australians of mental health, Associate Professor Reavley mentioned her research collaboration with Professor Tony Jorm who coined the term ‘Mental Health Literacy’ in a now-oft-cited 1997 publication (Jorm, A.F., Korten, A.E., Jacomb, P.A., Christensen, H., Rodgers, B. and Pollitt, P. “Mental health literacy”: a survey of the public’s ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Med J Aust; 166 (4):182), defining this term as ‘the knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention’. Professor Jorm has also been instrumental in promoting the funding of mental health research through the Australian Rotary Health Fund.
Associate Professor Reavley began her presentation by introducing herself as having grown up in the south of England, attending Bristol University and working in Belgium and Japan before visiting Australia in 1994 – a year with Paul Keating as Prime Minister (Bill Clinton was President of the United States), the West Coast Eagles winning the grand final, and the films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding being released. She loved Australia so much that she stayed. All her research career has been in this country. One of her first jobs was to write a book about vitamins and nutrition called Vitamins Etc: The www.graduatehouse.com.au
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