To celebrate NAIDOC Week 2025 and its theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, this Expert Insights episode brings together an all First Nations panel to explore how the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Framework can be used to support and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

Our panellists will discuss how the SEWB wheel can be a powerful tool in strengthening identity, connection, and resilience in young clients, as well as the role of protective factors in preventing suicide and fostering strong futures. Through a strengths-based lens, this conversation will highlight how the SEWB Framework is applicable across contexts and communities beyond First Nations communities, making it a valuable resource for all practitioners in both clinical and community settings.

Join us for this important discussion on how we can provide better wellbeing support and services to empower the next generation, ensuring they are supported to thrive, lead, and carry forward the strength and wisdom of their ancestors.

Panellists:

Dr Clinton Schultz – Director of First Nations Strategy and Partnerships and Head of First Nations Research at Black Dog Institute.

Eliza Kitchener – National Network Specialist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre.

Aunty Karyn – Lived Experience Representative.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies carry the potential to revolutionise the delivery of mental health therapy in a way that benefits both clinicians and clients. For clinicians, this may involve a reduction in administrative burden. For clients, this might include developing more robust and cost-effective approaches to treatment. Given the rapidly evolving possibilities of AI in mental health therapy, many clinicians have raised questions regarding what this technology involves and how it can be effectively implemented.

In this webinar, Dr. Kathy O'Grady and Dr. Anthony Joffe discuss the current landscape of AI as it applies to mental health therapy. This includes looking at how mental health therapists are currently using AI, their reasons for doing so (including how it has changed their practice), and their concerns about, and perceived barriers to, effective AI implementation. The need for effective policy, guidelines, and training will also be discussed.

As part of the Centre for Research Excellence in Depression Treatment Precision, researchers at the Black Dog Institute are working to understand how we can personalise treatment through the use of technology. More information can be found at: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/cre-precision/

Burnout continues to be a critical challenge in the Australian healthcare system, impacting not only the wellbeing of individual health professionals but also the sustainability of the sector. Despite its prevalence, targeted treatment options have often been limited. As part of The Essential Network (TEN), a blended care mental health support service for Australian health professionals, Black Dog Institute developed Navigating Burnout – a digital cognitive-behavioural therapy program for health professional burnout. In this webinar, Dr. Jan Orman and Dr. Matthew Coleshill discuss treatment options available for health professionals though TEN, as well as ongoing research conducted by The Black Dog Institute examining the effectiveness of Navigating Burnout in reducing burnout among medical practitioners.

For more information about TEN, visit https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/