My Blog
The Australian Mental Health Crisis – an Update
The Australian Mental Health Crisis: A system failure in need of treatment Australia has a mental health crisis. Despite a number of national mental health plans and a decade of changes to public mental health services, individuals, patients, families, carers and support groups from all...
2021 Australian Commonwealth Budget – Suicide Prevention Initiatives
The federal government has put a substantial amount of money into mental health in its recent budget. $2.3bn in all! While additional money is helpful, the bigger question is whether it is used effectively and wisely. It is not a given that more money will really make a...
Gender dysphoria in young people: A guide to management
National Association of Practising Psychiatrists Managing Gender Dysphoria/Incongruence in Young People: A Guide for Health Practitioners Gender dysphoria/incongruence in young people is a contested area of medical practice. This approach avoids...
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): What is it, how to identify it, and what to do about it? The general public is aware that we are seeing the increase of dementia conditions. This creates anxiety, especially as one gets older. The fear is not unreasonable given that the aging of our population puts...
The Australian Mental Health Crisis – A Cautionary Tale For Developing Nations – Update
The Australian mental health crisis - A cautionary tale for developing nations Prof Philip Morris MB BS BSc med PhD FRANZCP FAChAM (RACP) ABPN Consultant Physician in Psychiatry Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association Gold Coast Medical...
Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development I have become very concerned over recent times that medical college CPD programs are becoming more prescriptive and less flexible for their members. These programs ask doctors to spend a number of hours at the beginning of each year developing a professional...
End mandatory reporting for doctors treating doctors
Mandatory Reporting A Queensland parliament committee is currently reviewing legislation to make some changes to the mandatory reporting rules of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA). At the moment doctors treating other doctors for mental health problems or physical...
The Australian mental health crisis: A cautionary tale for developing nations
The Australian mental health crisis: A cautionary tale for developing nations Prof Philip Morris MB BS BSc med PhD FRANZCP FAChAM ABPN Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association Gold Coast Medical Association Hello all I thank the Pasifika...
The ‘Antidote’ to Loss
The ‘Antidote’ to Loss, Guilt, Shame, Loneliness, Isolation and Resentment I am a physician specialising in mental illness – a psychiatrist. I have an interest in suicide prevention – see website drphilipmorris.com – the article on ‘Nine steps to halt suicide’. But today I want to explore a more...
Progress on anti-stigma activities in Australia
Reduce stigma and vilification of individuals with mental illness by focussing on preventing discrimination