Research momentum for Child and Youth Mental Health Service

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Collage of two photos of mental health staff

Metro South staff are proudly preparing to exhibit their work at the International Conference for Mental Health Nursing with a record number of abstracts accepted.

Within Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS), four abstracts will be showcased which Nursing Director Ryan Zeppa-Cohen said is a fantastic achievement.

“Over the past three years’ worth of conferences held by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses, we’ve gone from no abstracts in 2022, to two in 2023, to four in 2024!” he said.

“These types of conferences allow us to share our ideas and research findings with our colleagues from across Australia.

“It also allows us to garner ideas from them that we can bring back with us to implement. The CYMHS mental health nurses do fantastic work each and every day.”

The four abstracts are authored by Terry Wilson, Amanda Godfrey, Kelsie Redfern, Naomi Doyle, Adiola Mazambani, Claire Loynd, Samuel Wubembe, Ryan Zeppa-Cohen, along with support provided by Dr Marianne Wyder.

Topics include supporting LGBTQIA+ young people in the inpatient setting, the creation of a dedicated intake/discharge CN role for the inpatient ward, supporting young people experiencing an eating disorder in the inpatient setting, and creating a Nurse Practitioner role within a CYMHS consultation liaison team.

“We have been working on them since April when the abstracts were initially submitted and accepted,” said Ryan.

“I’ve been keen to grow the confidence of the CYMHS mental health nurses in the research and quality improvement spaces, and I’m incredibly proud of them for all their hard work.

“In addition to this, Metro South CYMHS won best poster at the ACMHN2023 in Melbourne, which was authored by Jessica Moussa and Dr Marianne Wyder.”

The International Conference for Mental Health Nursing will be held at the end of October in Perth, with a variety of additional abstracts accepted from other divisions within Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services.