| Psychosocial Research Centre |
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The Psychosocial Research Centre (PRC) undertakes research, training, service development and policy reform, aimed at improving outcomes for adults recovering from mental illness through psychological and social treatments and approaches.
The PRC is a collaboration of the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and NorthWestern Mental Health. The Centre also works with a broad range of community organisations to foster research and service partnerships in three priority areas:
- Enhancing recovery from mental illness through social and economic participation.
- Bridging current evidence and practice gaps in the delivery of psychosocial interventions.
- Building new evidence for psychosocial approaches which enhance recovery from mental illness.
Current research areas:
(a) Vocational service research and development
- Participating Lives: A qualitative study examining the opportunities for, and barriers to meaningful occupation, through the eyes of mental health consumers.
- Critical appraisal of the literature on supported employment for people with severe mental illness to inform the design of an 'enhanced supported employment approach' for the NW region.
- Development of a systematic and comprehensive evaluation framework for evaluating the effectiveness of supported employment and vocational services.
(b) Accommodation and support research and development
- Study investigating factors which contribute to housing success (breaking the cycle of homelessness).
- Evaluation of two DHS programs (a) discharge planning project (housing support post-acute) and (b) Pathways/home based outreach.
NEMH Service Development Report: Development of an integrated service model for MH services in the North Eastern region.
(c) Implementation of evidence-based practice
- Implementation of training and organisational change to ensure that evidence-based family interventions are delivered as part of routine mental health care.
(d) Building new evidence for approaches which enhance recovery
- Western Area Suicide Prevention Strategy (WASPS), a novel psychosocial intervention for people presenting with deliberate self harm in Emergency Departments.
- Research Collaborators include: National Institute of Clinical Studies, The Bouverie Centre, Western Hospital, Social Firms Australia, The Mental Illness Fellowship, Richmond Fellowship.
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