We invite members, friends and supporters of CSSV to join us for the 2022 Annual Dinner – an opportunity to meet together to invigorate our shared work for a more compassionate and just society.
Tickets are limited, so don’t miss out!
Bookings are essential.
Date: Friday 11 November, 2022
Time: 5.30pm
Location: The Treacy Centre, 126 The Avenue, Parkville Vic 3052
CSSV Member Price: $110
Non-member Price: $130
Tickets available here.
CSSV Annual Dinner Panel Discussion: ‘Mental Health’ as chameleon
For the 2022 Catholic Social Services Victoria annual dinner, a conversational panel discussion with Marcelle Mogg, CEO of Mental Health Victoria and Dr Mark Furlong, Thinker-in-residence at The Bouverie Centre (Latrobe University), will unpack the ongoing context in which the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System took place, seeking to tease out its practical affects as we move into the future.
Background
‘Mental health’ remains a term without a consensual meaning. However imprecise, the term is increasingly used in the media, in ordinary workplaces, in social service and health contexts and in everyday conversations. With Victoria’s extended lockdowns and very real economic, climate and geopolitical challenges, mental health has become a lens through which a wide range of issues are being addressed.
There are pros and cons in this development. For example, the term ‘mental health’ sometimes denotes ‘the absence of mental illness’ but notably, the term can also be invoked as a euphemism, even as a disguise, to avoid the awkwardness of talking directly about mental illness, or to avoid talking directly about negative mood and associated emotions. This unstable position is a key element in the context within which the Royal Commission operated, and under which its recommendations have begun to be implemented.
Catholic social services also relate directly with this dynamic context. This is the case in our work with consumers – with those who experience illnesses, acquired brain injuries, substance abuse issues and many other challenging complexities – as it is in our engagement with health providers, in ‘prevention’ and ‘direct service response’ modalities.
The panel discussion will highlight several distinct perspectives on ‘mental health.’ Our aim is to develop a reflective discourse on ‘mental health’ as lens, policy framework, and health determinant.
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