Home

Media Releases

Prof P McGorry Australian of the Year -- MENTAL HEALTH CARE THE BIGGEST WINNER
25. January 2010 - 19:30 Australia/Victoria

Australians who suffer from a mental illness have scored a major political and social victory today with the announcement that Professor Patrick McGorry from Melbourne’s Orygen Youth Health has been named Australian of the Year.

An international authority on youth mental illness and the architect of the early intervention model of care, Professor McGorry said his victory brought recognition and acceptance to this often overlooked and under-funded area of the health care system.

Ten Billion Reasons To Invest In Youth Mental Health
10. December 2009 - 12:01 Australia/Victoria

A key report* released today indicates the dramatic cost to the community of mental illness in Australia’s youth. These new findings indicate that in 2009, the financial cost of mental illness in people aged 12-25 was $10.6 billion, with the majority due to lost productivity due to lower employment, absenteeism and premature death. This equates to $10,544 per annum per young Australian with a mental health disorder.

Would You Help a Mate?
25. November 2009 - 7:30 Australia/Victoria

A new school-based program which encourages teenagers to help their peers seek help for cannabis-related problems is set to be rolled out nationally after successful trials in a Melbourne secondary school.

New First Aid Cannabis Guidelines -- A World First
17. June 2009 - 10:00 Australia/Victoria

New first aid guidelines for problem cannabis use have been released today to help the community identify and assist users who are developing a problem with their cannabis use or are in a cannabis-related crisis.

The guidelines, the first to be produced in the world, have been researched and produced by Orygen Youth Health for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) based at the University of NSW, and are a response to the growing body of evidence that links cannabis use to a range of physical and mental health problems.

The Interim Report of the National Health and Hospitals Commission
18. February 2009 - 11:33 Australia/Victoria

The Interim Report of the National Health and Hospitals Commission released on Monday devotes a large section to inequities in health care. Mental health remains the sleeping giant of health reform in Australia and across the world.  But how many reports and campaigns do we need to have before we see real change?

New study shows reduced ability to experience pleasure predicts ongoing heroin use
3. February 2009 - 14:31 Australia/Victoria

New research suggests that ongoing drug use can hijack the brain’s reward system, compromising a drug user’s ability to respond to everyday pleasurable activities and reducing their capacity to break the cycle of drug addiction.

The new findings, published today in the leading international psychiatric journal, the Archives of General Psychiatry by Associate Professor Dan Lubman and colleagues from Melbourne’s Orygen Youth Health Research Centre challenges many of the myths and perceptions around drug use.