3 December 2010

Endorsement of more psychology specialties a win for the health of the Australians
The decision by the Australian Health Ministers Council to now include health and community psychology in the list of approved areas of practice endorsement under national registration is a win for the health of Australians, according to the Australian Psychological Society (APS).

26 November 2010

Australian psychologist unravels mysteries of motivation
Teenagers at risk of losing motivation at school are being targeted with an easy-to-use Australian-made psychological tool, which has proved to be so effective it has been adopted by business leaders, concert musicians and elite athletes.

25 November 2010

'Emotional literacy' for kids key to better school results
Many teachers and parents should learn better emotional and social skills in order to help children boost their school or university performance, according to a top research scientist from the United States.

17 November 2010

Rural Australians neglecting mental health
Many Australians living in rural and regional areas are neglecting their mental health, according to psychologists speaking during National Psychology Week.

15 November 2010

Online social networking increases social connectedness
Online social networking increases, rather than reduces, face-to-face socialising, although a significant number of people have had bad experiences online, according to an Australian Psychological Society survey.


Know and reward your audience for online business success
Social networking can be a boon to business but knowing, engaging and rewarding users of online communities are the keys to success, according to a social media expert from the Australian Psychological Society’s College of Organisational Psychologists (COP).

13 October 2010

New website to help combat trauma of natural disasters
Lessons learned from natural disasters, including the Black Saturday bushfires, Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, have helped shape a new web portal aimed at combating the psychological effects of large-scale emergencies, which will be launched this evening in Sydney by the Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing.

12 October 2010

New techniques assist psychological recovery for disaster survivors
Survivors of disaster are far more psychologically resilient than previously thought and can be given skills to aid their psychological recovery, according to psychologist Professor Richard Bryant, who is presenting the 2010 Australian Psychological Society Oration tomorrow evening in Sydney.

7 September 2010

Prime Minister has support of psychologists to address community challenges
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) congratulates Julia Gillard on her re-appointment as Prime Minister of Australia and looks forward to working productively with the Gillard government to address pressing community issues including health reform.

27 August 2010

Drugs in sport: support available, APS
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) will offer psychological assistance to sportspeople and sporting organisations to deal with drugs in sport as part of a new government initiative.

18 August 2010

Reduce detention time for asylum seekers, especially children
The Australian Psychological Society is calling on both political parties to minimise psychological trauma on asylum seekers by processing asylum claims as soon as possible and reducing overall the time that refugees spend in detention. 

18 August 2010

Combat racism to improve Indigenous health
Inequities in the health of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders cannot be overcome unless action is taken to reduce racism and other social factors that affect health, according to the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA).

16 August 2010

End unnecessary restraint of people with intellectual disabilities
Thousands of Australians with an intellectual disability, including children and young people, are being unnecessarily restrained in violation of their human rights and contrary to the best practice evidence, according to the Australian Psychological Society which is calling for an overhaul of the system.

12 August 2010

Psychologists call for behaviour change to reduce climate change
Australia’s largest professional association for psychologists is calling for national, community and school-based initiatives focussed on evidence-based behaviour change as key to reducing climate change.  

10 August 2010

Schools need psychological services as a matter of urgency rather than chaplains
 The government's new $220 million investment into school chaplains, announced on Sunday, could be better spent on evidence-based psychological services to meet the serious mental health needs of young people, according to the Australian Psychological Society.

9 August 2010  

Psychologists offer practical solutions for major federal election issues
 The Australian Psychological Society (APS) today released Key Issues for the 2010 Federal Election - a summary of major election issues with practical solutions to contribute to a healthier and more productive Australia for all political parties to embrace.

26 July 2010

New investments in mental health care will pay dividends, say psychologists
New investments in mental health care announced by the government today will pay dividends, according to the Australian Psychological Society.

23 July 2010

Australia exports health psychology expertise to China
The Happy Life Club, a successful Australian chronic disease management programme using health psychology principles, is being rolled out in China.

22 July 2010

Infants and children urgently in need of mental health services
 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian Psychological Society, NIFTeY (National Investment for the Early Years), the Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association, the Australian Association of Infant Mental Health and the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network are calling for improved mental health services for children, launching today Our Children Our Future, a blueprint for infant and child mental health services in Australia.

ICAP 2010 banner 
  

Diary date: 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology 2010

WHO: The Australian Psychological Society (APS) and International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) – the national and international peak bodies for the psychology profession respectively.

WHAT: 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology 2010 in Melbourne. This year's congress will be held in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, bringing together more than 3000 presenters from over 60 countries, including prominent psychologists, researchers and keynote speakers. The congress is held every four years. Key themes this year will include: psychological responses to refugees, disaster, homelessness, poverty, terrorism, genocide and climate change, and other topical themes such as body image, youth substance abuse issues, traffic psychology and bullying. For more information on ICAP 2010 visit: www.icap2010.com.

WHEN: Sunday 11 July to Friday 16 July 2010

WHERE: Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Melbourne

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES: A number of psychologists, including both local and international visiting speakers, are available for interview before and during the congress. Papers and abstracts may also be available to accredited journalists prior to the congress. For a full list of speakers, visit the ICAP website at http://www.icap2010.com/. To discuss interview and story opportunities, refer to the media contacts below.

MEDIA CONTACTS: The APS media team will be working with accredited journalists at the conference, and coordinating media inquiries and interviews during the conference.

Media contacts: Karen Coghlan and Ellise McLoughlan
Media number: +61 (0)435 896 444
Contact: media@psychology.org.au

6 July 2010

Psychology congress to highlight key issues impacting society  
The world's leading psychologists will present research-based psychological insights into some of the most pressing problems affecting society globally and locally, including genocide, terrorism, refugees, climate change, gambling and disasters/trauma at the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP) when it kicks off this Sunday.

7 July 2010

Extreme hoarding placing lives at risk
 People incapable of throwing things away could be at risk of their lives if treatment and awareness of compulsive hoarding doesn’t improve among health professionals, according to one of the world’s leading hoarding experts, psychologist Dr Randy Frost.  

12 July 2010

Psychologists examine the full range of human behavior from risky driving to terrorist activity at international congress
During the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP), in Melbourne from 11 to 16 July 2010, psychologists will address issues (driver behavior, workplace bullying, terrorism, disaster response, climate change and more) affecting both
individuals and the global community.  

12 July 2010

Psychology examines sleeping problems in Australia’s children  
A sleep symposium being presented at the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP) in Melbourne will look at the factors affecting children’s sleep and present psychological solutions to assist children to get a good night’s sleep.

13 July 2010

Music helps us exercise harder, for longer: study
Music significantly improves our ability to perform during exercise, says Olympic sports psychologist Professor Peter Terry, whose research has shown that elite athletes can run an extra 1.5 minutes longer when listening to music.  

14 July 2010

Closer male friendships key to better health for men
 Encouraging closer male relationships could be one of the keys to improving men's likelihood of reaching out for help and improving their health, according to the latest psychological research to be presented today at the 27th International Congress on Applied Psychology (ICAP).  

16 July 2010

Expert says UK health system will collapse if obesity, lack of exercise and alcohol are not addressed
Research has shown that the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain will fail to deliver improved health to future generations if nothing is done to reduce obesity, alcohol overuse and to increase levels of physical activity, and health psychologists are critical if the system is to survive, according to Professor of Health Psychology, Charles Abraham of Sussex University.

Backgrounders

Australian climate change policy success dependent on psychologists
State of the Art Speaker: Professor Robert Gifford (University of Victoria, British Columbia)
 Psychology needs to play an instrumental role in policy making if the Australian Government is to successfully tackle climate change, according to one of the world’s leading environmental psychologists.  

Changing attitudes to individuals’ car dependence key in developing sustainable transport system
Keynote speaker: Linda Steg (University of Groningen, Netherlands)
 Changing travel behaviour is more complicated than just providing an attractive and efficient public transport system, according to leading transport psychologist Linda Steg.  

Congress examines human failure to respond to genocide
Opening keynote speaker: Professor Paul Slovic (University of Oregon, USA)
 The psychological mechanisms behind public and government response to mass tragedies of human life, like genocide, will be explored by international expert and psychologist Professor Paul Slovic (USA) in his opening keynote presentation at the upcoming International Congress of Applied Psychologists (ICAP) 2010 in Melbourne.  

Psychological research calls for change in detention policy
State of the Art speaker: Dr Zachary Steel (University of New South Wales)
 Psychological research into refugees and asylum seekers has, in recent times, turned to human rights. Australian expert and psychologist Dr Zachary Steel will present an overview of research in the field and his thoughts on the way forward to improve treatment of asylum seekers in Australia in a keynote presentation at the upcoming International Congress of Applied Psychologists (ICAP) 2010.  

Australia leads research on eating disorder prevention
Keynote speaker: Professor Tracey Wade (Flinders University, South Australia)
 When training at the Australian National University, psychologist Tracey Wade jointly ran a support group for women with eating disorders. She was astonished by how bright and attractive the women were, yet how ashamed and conflicted they were about themselves and their bodies. This realisation sparked her interest in eating disorders psychology, leading to the strong research focus of her career.  

Visit the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology 2010 website at http://www.icap2010.com/.

    

11 July 2010

Indigenous art assists Indigenous psychologists of the future  
An exhibition of Indigenous art will be opened in Melbourne today to raise funds to assist Indigenous Australian students with their postgraduate studies in psychology.

27 June 2010

Letter to the editor
Published in The Sunday Age 27 June 2010  

Re: Mental health chief walks
 Criticism of the Australian Government's Better Access initiative in the article ‟Mental health chief walks" adds to the divisive and unproductive discussion regarding this highly successful mental health program.

23 June 2010

Victoria’s sick and terminally ill to lose specialist psychological support
Sick and terminally ill patients in Victoria will lose critical psychological support under a new health professional accreditation scheme proposed by the Commonwealth and state governments, the Australian Psychological Society (APS) said today.  

* Please note that tailored releases were prepared for each state

20 June 2010

Psychologists’ response to Mendoza’s resignation
Australian Psychological Society (APS) President Professor Bob Montgomery agreed that more money needs to be allocated to mental health, in a response to the announcement of John Mendoza's resignation from the National Mental Health Advisory Council.  

12 May 2010

Budget announcements applauded for strong funding commitment and focus on health 
The substantial financial commitment allocated to health in last night’s Budget is to be commended and sends a welcome message that the Federal Government is serious about investing in health reform in this country to ensure better health outcomes for all Australians, says the Australian Psychological Society (APS). 

22 April 2010

Detention should be last resort: psychologists  
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is calling on the federal government to abide by its own policy regarding using detention as a 'last resort' rather than returning to the practice of the past.

19 April 2010

New brochure helps parents find services for children with autism  
A new brochure about autism spectrum disorder, now available as part of the Federal Government's Helping Children with Autism package, is designed to help parents and carers find the best care for their children.

16 April 2010

Primary health care plan - more detail needed, say psychologists
 If the full opportunity for improving delivery of primary health care is to be realised, the Primary Health Care Organisations (PHCOs) must be designed from the ground up, not just a rejigged version of the old system, according to the Australian Psychological Society (APS).

15 April 2010

New brochure helps parents prepare children for the threat of bushfire
 When families are planning and preparing for a bushfire emergency, it is important that children are protected from becoming too frightened or anxious, even though their fears may be real, according to a new brochure about preparing children for the threat of bushfire.

7 April 2010

Call for specialist registration for all psychology specialities
 The Australian Psychological Society has called for specialist registration for all the specialty areas of psychology, including health and community psychology, in order to maintain standards and protect the community.

2 March 2010

Indigenous psychologists establish online presence
 The Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA) today launched its website, enhancing the Association‟s ability to lead efforts to address social and emotional wellbeing and mental health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

5 February 2010

Psychologists provide tips for coping with the Black Saturday anniversary 
On the anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires, psychologists are advising the community to anticipate their reactions and plan their weekend to help cope with this significant event.   

1 February 2010

High demand for psychological services is a healthy sign 
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) rejects claims that the higher than expected demand for psychological services under Medicare is bad news.   

7 January 2010

Disciplining children is best without a smack: Psychologists
Understanding some of the stresses that parents undergo in parenting children is an important issue that has received little attention in the recent media debate around a US study on the effectiveness of discipline and smacking children.