Practical strategies to engage with young people experiencing anxiety or depression

Dr Michael Millard

Mike is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director of the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD) based at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, and a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. He leads the NSW Tertiary Anxiety Disorders Clinic and THIS WAY UP, a national provider of digital mental health and wellbeing services.

Mike’s expertise is in young adult mood and anxiety disorders, and evidence-based psychotherapy. He has a particular interest in the development and use of internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy interventions and how they can augment face-to-face treatment.

Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe

Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe is President-Elect of the Australian Psychological Society, the peak professional organisation for psychology in Australia, representing more than 27,000 members. As a counselling psychologist in private practice, Catriona works with children, young people and adults, providing assessment, formulation, diagnosis and treatment for psychological problems and complex mental health disorders.

She is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer and immediate past Program Director at the School of Population Health, Curtin University, Western Australia where she coordinated post-graduate psychology programs. Catriona is research active in the field and has published in peer-reviewed journals. She has a keen interest in the mental health of young people, particularly those who identify as transgender and gender diverse.

Dr Nicola Holmes

Dr Nicola Holmes grew up in Coffs Harbour and studied at Newcastle University. She completed her Diploma of Child Health in London in 1999 and achieved the highest mark in NSW RACGP fellowship exams in 2001. Nicola’s main clinical interest is mental health. She worked for 10 years at headspace Coffs Harbour and about 70% of her current general practice load is mental health.

She also enjoys teaching and worked as a medical educator for North Coast GP training for 10 years before becoming a supervisor with GP Synergy. Over the past 3 years, Nicola has delivered workshops for Black Dog Institute focusing on suicide prevention, and regularly gives free presentations to parents at local primary schools on reducing anxiety/ building resilience.

Taylah Walker

I'm a young person with mental health lived experience and the challenges young people face finding and accessing support. In my personal time, I advocate for young people's needs – in particular strengthening mental health literacy and drawing attention to the growing gaps in service accessibility and service quality for vulnerable young people.

I am a member of my local headspace's Youth Advisory Committee and have been a member of a number of youth organisations – including the Youth Disability Advocacy Service, Youth Health Forum, Australian Youth Affairs Coalition and Children and Young People with Disability.

CPD points

Learning outcomes

By the end of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Use strategies to engage young people presenting in general practice with distress, anxiety and/or depression to facilitate early diagnosis and management.
• Identify the components of safety plans to frame positive conversations with, and prioritise support for, young people at risk of suicide.
• Discuss management options with the young person to tailor mental health management plans to the individual’s needs and preferences.