A very successful Mental Health Seminar Workshop took place just recently at ‘The Platform’ in the heart of Perth’s CBD on Adelaide Terrace – for students and staff of TrainSmart Australia – on 26 June 2018. It was a Seminar Workshop organised for our students and staff to hear from and meet with prominent guest speakers from the mental health industry.
Guest speakers included Antonella Segre, CEO from ConnectGroups and Managers from Neami National.
Seminar Workshop: Meet & hear prominent guest speakers from the Mental Health industry.
Guest Speakers: Antonella Segre – CEO ConnectGroups; Monique Holland, Rick Ward, Geordie
Bailey – Service Managers Neami National.
Date: 26th June 2018
Time: 9am – 12.30pm
Venue: The Platform, Level 3, 256 Adelaide Terrace, Perth.
Agenda:
09.00 – 09.30: Welcome Introduction & Preliminaries
09.30 – 10.30: Presentation from Neami National
10.30 – 10.40: Inter-session Break
10.40 – 11.00: Updates on Work Placements
11.00 – 12.00: Presentation from ConnectGroups
12.00 – 12.30: Closing Question & Answer Session
Invitees:
Students: – Diploma of Mental Health, Diploma of Community Services, Diploma of Counselling,
Diploma of Alcohol and Other Drugs, Certificate IV in Mental Health.
Staff: – Trainers from the Faculty of Health & Community Services; Student Support Staff/Manager.
Total attendees: 35 students & 6 staff/trainers.
Another successful event was conducted for our students and trainers from our faculty TSA College of Health and Community Services. A Seminar Workshop was organised to meet and hear prominent guest speakers from the mental health industry. For the students, it was part of their training exposure to be able to hear directly from practising professionals in the mental health industry and be inspired, to get professionally involved in the industry eventually. For the trainers and staff, participation is for their professional development and awareness. We were very privileged to have prominent speakers from the industry, such as hearing the CEO from ConnectGroups, who is the peak body in WA for peer support and services to community groups, was an extra bonus. Another opportunity was also to bring some prominence to an organisation called Neami National, who would otherwise be unfamiliar to most of the students.
There was a clear show of support from Neami National, when three service managers and a Regional Manager turned up for our seminar workshop event. Each of them took turns to contribute diverse inputs, ranging from services and training offerings by Neami National, treatment strategies, updates in the industry, and recruitment opportunities at Neami National. We also want to acknowledge that we currently have two students currently on work placements with Neami National, and another waiting to start. Once the students had warmed up to the speakers, questions were firing across the audience fast and furiously. If not for the limitation of time and the fact that the guest speaker for the next session had just walked in, the students would have loved to hear more questions and answers from Neami National. Despite their busy schedules, two of the Neami speakers were happy to stay a little longer, to continue engaging with the students.
For the second session, Antonella Segre, CEO of ConnectGroups, captivated the audience, and impressed everyone with her charisma and personality. She enabled students to participate in open discussions and drew deeper insights to different perspectives on a more personal level of understanding. Students also appreciated her entertaining humour, wealth of knowledge and successes in diverse projects in the community. It was evident that by the time her session ended, students benefited several learning points from that encounter, and would welcome her back to speak again!
