Michael's Weekly Rant January 13th 2008

It is a fact that Las Vegas, Nevada, hosts just under 4,000m conventions each year. Just last week author, psychologist Dr Jane Healy stood up at one of those conventions and issued a challenge to the US$8 billion dollar  a year computer game industry. She told the industry experts that all children should be banned from playing computer games until the age of seven because the technology was "rewiring" their brains.

Speaking at a conference called the 'Sandbox Summit: A Playdate with Technology' Dr Healy argued that computer games fuelled the development of basic "flight or fight" instincts rather than considered reasoning and that bombardment of the senses with fast-pace action games caused a shortening of attention span, harming the ability of our children to learn. She made headlines all around the world. So is she right?

There's no doubt that today's kids have embraced computer games, virtual realities, online communities and a host of high-tech toys. Today's teenagers grew up with talking baby books; they cuddled talking creatures and engaged in interplanetary warfare in the outer reaches of a virtual universe  - all before they got to high school. From mobile phones to "World of Warcraft," they took to it all, like digital ducks to water.

Is it possible that such games might re-wire our children's brain? In short, yes, it's possible but for that to happen the child would have to spend an awful lot of their growing up time playing such games. It would have to be their predominant activity while growing up. It's all to do with the way the brain develops.

Over the past few years, much has been learnt about the brain. It's most remarkable feature is its 'plasticity' - its ability to take on new functions when necessary. When growing up, the brain seems to be particularly flexible, like a block of neurological marble, being constantly sculpted by our experience and learning. How children spend their time may be critical. Research shows, for instance, that practicing piano quickly thickens neurons in the brain regions that control the fingers. Studies of London cab drivers, who must memorize
all the city's streets, show that they have an unusually large hippocampus, a structure involved in memory.

If a child spends excessive amounts of time just sitting in front of a computer terminal then those parts of the brain will be strengthened and other parts that don't get stimulated will simply die off. It's what Nobel prizewinning neuroscientist Gerald Edelman calls "neural Darwinism"- survival of the fittest (or most used) synapses or  'use it or lose it'.

So should we all heed Jan Healey's advice and keep our children away from computer games until at least the age of seven to allow their brains to develop normally?  Most neuropsychologists tend to be very cautious when making the leap from the laboratory to lounge room. There is no doubt that earlier neurological discoveries that resulted in Baby Einstein tapes and other marketing schemes that misapplied their science has meant they are now more guarded in their mdeclarations.

Even though what Healey claims is possible, especially if the child in question spent almost all their time playing such games, the fact remains she has presented no empirical evidence to support her claims.
So while parents should take on board what she says – this psychologist thinks the response should be more moderate.

Parents need to ask whether their child's life is balanced? In an ideal world, children ought to have a range of interests and hobbies, which might include some but not all, of art, music, dance, sports, drama and computers. As long as there is balance in the child's life and one activity does not interfere with their ability to be part of the family, their education , health and wellbeing then a 6 year old spending a period of time playing a computer game (preferably with a parent) is fine.

Herald Sun readers should exercise caution around the type of game. There is a growing consensus that young children should stay away from  violent video games. One of the world experts, Professor Craig Anderson from Iowa University, has presented hard evidence on the impact of such games. Violent computer games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behaviour, thoughts and mood; increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping) behaviour.

While most of this is from the university of the bleeding obvious, it is time that those companies making millions from  marketing such games, took these messages on board and provided parents with clear guidelines. Is that too much to ask?

Michael's Weekly Rant January 7th 2008

It beggars belief that Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, could make as big a stuff up of his portfolio as his predecessor Helen Coonan, but the signs are all there. 

Having won brownie points with the voters by saying  that he would do everything possible that had to be done to shield children from violent and pornographic online material, he has now announced the  introduction of a clean feed - also known as mandatory ISP filtering, which  would prevent users accessing prohibited content. Under the scheme Australian internet users would have to opt out of the system, that is deliberately ask their ISP to send them an unfiltered feed. 

This is great as at best, it makes parents think about internet safety – even if they opt out they can still get filters and download an online family contract and make an effort around internet safety. The problem is that the mechanism for opting out if the mandatory ISP filtering scheme  has not yet been outlined.

Not only that but the Minister has failed to quell the fears about the unintended costs of server level filtering. Putting aside the fact that the  ISP’s have denounced the plan as unworkable and that it will slow broadband speeds by up to 70%,  there is the cost factor!

The ISP’s have already stated that this will cost more and that they intend to pass these cost on to consumers. So will the Senator Conroy offer subsidies for Australian working families who want to protect their children online?

Furthermore the Minister is yet to address the issue of public libraries, who to date have refused to introduce any internet filtering software. The previous Government promised to fund one clean terminal in every library, hoping that the teenagers will all queue up behind this terminal while the other ‘dirty’ ones  go untouched!

Senator Conroy must also confront the thorny issue of internet enabled mobile phones that have become so popular in the states with the release of the Iphone amongst others. Will the mandatory ISP filtering scheme cover this portal as well? And what about internet enabled video game consoles?

The Minister has also failed to explain how  the Australian Communications and Media Authority, who intend to prepare a blacklist of unsuitable sites with Interpol, the FBI and Child Exploitation  and Online Protection Centre,   will monitor the ever changing web to keep this list up to date.

To be fair to the Minister, there is no simple solution and prior to the election at least he had the foresight to consult 15 year old digital native Tom Woods prior to putting the policy together, which is a contrast to his predecessor who just bagged the young man in a mean spirited media release.

After the Senator has dealt with those questions he has to deal with the Australian Information industry Association who have rejected his plan arguing that should it be introduced it would  make Australia a less desirable market in which to make digital content. They also argue that filtering should only occur at pc level and that it should be up to parents to decide what their kids see.

Hopefully he will ignore the Chair of the internet user group Electronic Frontiers Australia, Dale Clapperton, who says that  mandatory ISP filtering eroded internet freedom  and would not improve online safety for children. To draw parallels with China, Burma and Saudi Arabia is insulting and completely ignores the fact that the Senator’s plan has an opt out clause – which the other countries don’t.

Ultimately the success of this plan will rest with Family First Senator Steve Fielding, who has campaigned for ISP filtering and it is he who will have to be satisfied that the scheme is workable. As for Senator Conroy, he would help his case by getting out in to the media and explaining the details, Australian working families deserve no less.

Michael's Weekly Rant January 6th 2008

If you ever needed proof that the human brain is only fully mature in the mid twenties, consider  21-year-old former O.C. star Mischa Barton . The Hollywood starlet was arrested early Thursday morning in West Hollywood, after police spotted  her white Range Rover straddling two lanes of traffic. After she failed to signal before making a left turn, Mischa was pulled over at the corner of La Cienega and Santa Monica Boulevard and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence, possessing an illegal narcotic and driving with an invalid license.

She was arrested and transported to West Hollywood Sheriff's station, where she joined a growing list tinsel town teens that includes Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Loan and Nicole Ritchie all of whom have posed for the mug shot man at the L.APD.

Apart from being a source of endless delight to the editors of the gossip mags and the paparazzi, the fact that this award-winning English-American  has ended  up in the slammer for driving under the influence, will also prompt the usual round of questions about  whether her high priced lawyers will help her weasel her way out of prison? Then there’s the perennial question which is always asked after such incidents, when will these girls - the ones so many tweens and teens look up to - ever learn?

 As to the first question, she’s clearly not going to be short of legal help, being sprung after only seven hours thanks to $10,000 in bail, but we will have to hold our breath til February 28^th, to see whether her lawyers can mount some credible defence in court. The fact that in May of 2007 she was hospitalized for two hours after an antibiotic she was taking ‘interacted badly’ with alcohol suggests that this wasn’t her first drink.

So when will these girls learn? Britney , Paris, Lindsay and Nicole have already proved that fame and fortune can't speed up the development of their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain traditionally associated with voice of reason, impulse control, and risk assessment.

 The problem is that these young women have so much money and are surrounded by a phalanx of sycophantic hangers-on who not only make excuses for her, justifying the unjustifiable but also enable their lifestyle, thus shielding them from any consequences of their actions.

 If you and I surround ourselves with enough brown-nosing, parasitic,  toadying, yes-men and women we too could create a tinsel town bubble so divorced from reality that we could convince ourselves that we have done nothing wrong too.

 Mischa Barton is also gold to many multinationals, modeling for Calvin Klein, Aéropostale and Neutrogena skincare products. Her commercial appeal was underlined after she became the spokesperson for Keds Sneakers, substantially increasing their sales over the space of just 2 years. In Australia, she appears in commercials for teen magazine Famous and two years ago was the guest of honor at retail giant David Jones Tahitian Summer Collection launch.

Will these companies send someone round to Mishap’s Beverley Hills mansion and tell her that unless she starts behaving they will end their contracts? I doubt it. After London's Daily Mirror ran photos of supermodel Kate Moss allegedly snorting several lines of cocaine, perfume company Dior continued to use her, and she is the face of Donna Karan and YSL for Spring 2008.

 As part of a self respect campaign, the editor of the top selling ‘Girlfriend’ magazine last year, Sarah Oakes, gave her readers the opportunity to vote out of the magazine those celebrities who they felt had not shown enough self respect and Nicole Ritchie and a few other disappeared for a few editions.  What a shame all the magazines and the multinationals that pay these girls, don’t get together and follow suit. A little time out of the media glare, in quiet reflection, along with some psychological counselling might be just what the doctor ordered.

Perhaps the world can live with the fact that many of these girls can't act. Maybe they can even accept the fact that their only real "fame" is the fact that they look like walking “Give way” signs. But after a year of watching one A lister after another mess up in such profoundly stupid ways, I’ve come to the conclusion that their minders – don’t mind – it’s just more free publicity.

Michael's Weekly Rant Dec  24th 2007

Thursday  8th  October

Kandersteg is a village set amidst the breathtaking, unspoiled scenery of the swiss Alps. With all the traditional wooden chalets and rolling hills, one half expects Julie Andrews to suddenly appear warbling at the top of her voice surrounded by the von Trapp children.

This was the village in which the world’s foremost experts in school bullying gathered in June of this year, at the Joint Efforts Against Victimization Conference. It was here that a unique declaration was drafted with conference participants pledging their long term commitment and determination to promote healthy relationships and prevent bullying and victimization in children and youth.

 The conference participants estimated that some 200 million children and youth around the world are being abused by their peers and that such behaviour constututes a violation of this basic human right.

 They noted that the mental and physical health, social, and academic consequences of bullying have an enormous impact on human and social capital. The costs of bullying burden our education, health care, social services, and criminal justice systems, as well as work force productivity and innovation.

 The declaration argued that it is the moral responsibility of adults to ensure these rights are honored and that healthy development and citizenship are promoted.

The declaration was more than just a series of motherhood statements, it called for specific actions to be taken.

• Stop bullying now in all the places where children and youth live, work, and play.

• Start prevention efforts early and continue these through childhood and adolescence,

targeting known risk and protective factors and promoting healthy relationships.

• Educate and empower all adults involved with children and youth to promote healthy

relationships and prevent bullying.

• Use policy and prevention programs, based on scientific research, that are appropriate for

age, gender, and culture, and that involve families, peers, schools, and communities.

• Provide ongoing assessment and monitoring necessary to evaluate the success of policy and

programs and to guarantee the rights of children and youth.

It is time for all State and Territory governments to sign up to this declaration and commit to these actions. At present the commitment to address this issue is not uniform across the country and the declaration is a timely rallying call to systematically address the antediluvian attitudes that still exist around the issue. In NSW earlier this year, a Court heard that a parent was told by an Education Department official that bullying built resilience in kids. The child received a record payout.

The reality is that some schools continue to pay lip service to both bullying and its cyberspace equivalent, while others say they don’t have the resources to address the issue adequately. Those parents around Australia who are sick of feeling helpless in the face of bullying should urge their government both state and local to sign up to this declaration and can become a personal signatory and sending their Name, Affiliation, Country, and e-mail address august.flammer@psy.unibe.ch

While we do not yet know the full details behind last week’s school shooting tragedy in Finland, psychologists studying such events often find that bullying is somewhere in the mix. This psychologist often wonders when Australia will face it’s first bullying-related school shooting , and everyone knows that we have already had a few near misses. It’s time for Australia’s governments to act. Readers can access the declaration at www.kanderstegdeclaration.org/index.html

Michael's Weekly Rant Wednesday 23rd October

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak,
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.
(Macbeth, 5.1.50-1)

One wonders what the Bard would have made of Terri Irwin’s admission that she and her two children, Bindi and Bob, start each day by watching a DVD of her late husband. While acknowledging that that everyone has the right to grieve in their own way, Teri’s disclosure has prompted a chorus of criticism.

The critics argue that little Bob can have no understanding of the universality and finality of death and repeatedly seeing and hearing his Dad in glorious Technicolor may well be very confusing especially if he watches it everyday. Experts such as Professor Bob Montgomery, of Gold Coast University, suggest that such repeated screenings of Steve Irwin alive, may make it harder for the family to work through their grief and let go.

Martin Tobin, of Tobin Brothers, notes that grief and responding to loss is a very personal experience, and that there are no rules or norms.  As someone who knows more than most about grief and mourning, he suggests Terri Irwin’s practice of screening the DVD daily is unusual.

Some have suggested that the ritualistic playing of the DVD each morning may suggest a form of pathological grief and that someone engaging in such behaviour may be in need of help. The term 'pathological' grief is often applied to people who are unable to work through their grief despite the passage of time. By labeling someone's grief as pathological, psychologists are suggesting that that the grieving process seems to be delayed in resolving and that professional help is indicated.

Specialists in grief counseling have moved away from the idea that grief is about saying goodbye and letting go. As Chris Grace from the Centre of Grief Education points out, “Death ends a life but does not necessarily end the relationship”. My experience is that people need different things at different times in their bereavement.

Terri Irwin’s case demonstrates that people have different grieving styles, with some being much more emotionally expressive while others focus on behaviour and activity. Terry Irwin’s critics such as ABC’s John Faine have fallen into the trap of processing Terri’s experience of loss through their own frame of reference.  Every family has their own way of feeling about the nature of grief, in some instances the deceased is very much part of the world left behind while others assign them to history.

The research says very clearly that following the death of a spouse or sibling, children whose parents talk about the deceased and remember them show much better physical and psychological adjustment than in those families where the person who has died is not discussed.

As far as Terri looking at the DVD each day, there is a danger in looking at the one piece of behaviour in isolation, without fully understanding the context and the behaviours that provide comfort and meaning. Grief Expert Dr Liz Bruce points out that such a video shows no time progression, and  thus for the children,  it is just another static memory of Steve Irwin – ‘before daddy died’. Whether this is confusing for Bob, no one knows what explanation has been proffered by Terri who shows all the signs of being a most remarkable mother.

So once again society has shown its discomfort with death and it’s inability to handle bereaved people, by making unfair judgments. One can only hope that Terri’s friends can continue to provide the family with the support that they need.

 When it comes to grieving there still seems to be an assumption that the bereaved eventually ‘recover’ – that they arrive at some sort of emotional promised land, where the grief is resolved and seen as finished business. Healthy grief is about providing ongoing opportunities for memory. The way Terri Irwin has chosen to continue her bond with Steve may well be seen as unusual,  but that’s a long way from pathological.

Most people, will have never heard of Kamloops, an exquisitely beautiful city in south central British Columbia in Canada. Surrounded by achingly beautiful mountains and lakes, it began as the crossroads for the fur trade and now is the preferred ‘sea change’ destination for Canadians seeking a less hurried life style.

 Snuggled between the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River it’s as unlikely a venue for a serious conference on boys education as you could imagine. It’s also the last place on earth that I expected to learn about the latest research on video games, because it turns out that some of them are much more toxic than first thought?

Most Australian families now own a video game console, of some vintage be it the Playstation, X-Box or Nintendo Wii.  

Most boys are playing an average of 13 hours a week as opposed to a much more modest 5 hours for girls and that’s no bombshell but what should attract the attention of Australian parent is the finding that the more they play, the less likely they are to do well in school. It would appear that the fast-moving, interactive and fun virtual world is finding it difficult to compete with homework and text books.

Not only have the researchers found an inverse relationship between academic performance and the amount of time spent playing the game, but a Yale University study has found that while not all games are evil, boys who play violent video games are more likely to engage in serious, real-world types of aggression.

One of the conference speaker, the renown author, psychologist and physician Dr Leonard Sax, argued that these games are more damaging than watching equally violent TV, because he argued, when watching the television, at least someone else is perpetrating the violence, whereas in videos games the death and destruction is inflicted by the young person, themselves.

It’s not all bad news, studies have demonstrated that regular players of video games have reaction times, two-hundredth of a second faster than non-players.  Although this hardly offsets the reported negative effects on behaviour, cognitions and mood and it is unclear as to what advantage this might have in the future.

So what are Mums and Dad’s to do? The experts suggest that prior to buying the game, go to the department store and play the game yourself – then make an assessment. Does the game involve some of the characters trying to harm others? If so, does this happen more then twice every 30 mins? Is the harm rewarded in any way? Is the harm portrayed as humorous and are realistic consequences of the game absent?

Last week the Prime Minister announced the second round of funding for the National School Chaplaincy program. Despite initially being roundly condemned in some educational circles, 273 Victorian schools received funding under the first round of the scheme and late last week (11^th October) another 258 schools in our state were successful in their application for funds.

The need for properly trained, empathic adults in pastoral care roles, was clearly illustrated a few years ago, while kicking a football in a park with my son, when I came upon an oak tree with six or seven bunches of flowers at the bottom of it. Stuck to the tree with some tape, was an achingly sad note from the younger brother of a girl, who a few nights earlier had ended her life at the tree which had become a shrine to her memory. A few days later I was contacted to offer help to grieving family and friends. In talking about this girl, it was clear that there had been no one in her educational institution that she felt she could reach out to.

As another school year draws to an end, memories of the park, it’s sad tree and the agonising questioning of a grieving sibling come to mind especially, because last year the Herald Sun reported that the suicide rates of young people in Victoria under the age of 14 had doubled in the last few years.

So perhaps it is timely to reflect on some of the challenges faced by parents, schools and welfare teachers in the early detection and referral of young people with mental health problems. The reality for all schools, private, state or catholic -  in 2007 is that in any one school, at least 20% of the young people will have psychological problems from time to time. The problem, highlighted in the National Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey commissioned by the federal government seven years ago, found that only half the young people with the most severe problems received treatment. Given that early intervention and prompt treatment is associated with a better outcome, this is a distressing state of affairs.

The reasons for this failure to identify young people at risk are many, but at least one resides within the young people themselves. One of the worst things about being a teenager, is being different and this propels many of these young people to mask their symptoms, suffer in quiet desperation, putting on a good front to fool others, while experiencing unbearable levels of loneliness, anxiety and depression but unable to share what’s happening with anyone.

As time progresses, often these problems increasingly impact upon their ability to get through their day to day routine, erodes the foundation of their relationships with family, friends and undermines their ability to concentrate on sporting, artistic or academic pursuits.

One of the greatest challenges for schools and parents in 2007 is the early identification of these students at risk, along with prompt referral. This year, the Federal Government has made this a little less difficult. Thanks to the new Medicare system, those interested in the welfare of young people can now refer students to a local GP who can arrange referral to a properly qualified psychologist for up to 12 sessions.

Most schools, now have first class student welfare teams, displaying levels of skills and confidence unheard of 20 years ago. But if this system is to work, parents must also play a part, working with schools to monitor the mental health of the young people and alerting them to signs of trouble. But how many Mums and Dads know when to worry, how many know the difference between normal adolescent behaviour and signs of serious distress that warrant an intervention?

The trick for Mums and Dads is to look for a change in their son or daughter’s normal behaviour. In some cases, teenagers with depression may look sad or tearful more frequently than they had previously. In others, they may be constantly irritable, tired, listless, or uninterested in activities that used to give them pleasure. A case in point is Sarah (not her real name), who presented with a 6 week history of feeling miserable most of the day, most of the time.

Her Mum told me that in the past month or so, her generally happy disposition had been replaced by irritability, temper  tantrums, arguments and unexplained tears. Interestingly she had stopped riding her horse, withdrawn from her netball team, and was no longer sitting with her friends at school, instead preferring to be on her own during recess and lunch.

When interviewed, Sarah described a real change in her sleep patterns, including difficulty falling asleep, restlessness, early awakening, excessive sleeping, taking more naps, wanting to go to bed after school, and going to sleep earlier at night. Her parents had also noticed changes in her eating behaviour, with Sarah eating much more than usual with some weight gain,  which made her feel even worse.  Sarah also said that she felt she did not have enough energy to get through the day, complained of headaches and stomach aches

But one of the most striking signs that all was not well, were her repetitive comments to her parents such as "I'm no good," "I can't do it," accompanied by a refusal to even try activities or to do anything around the house. These profound feelings of worthlessness or low self-esteem, are commonly observed in young women with depressive illness.

Thankfully, Sarah reported no self-harm behaviours or preoccupation with death, which can all too often accompany depressed moods. Some young people can make comments about not caring whether they live or die, may give away prized possessions, or talk about how life would be different if they were no longer alive. While others will use alcohol or drugs as a way to reduce suffering which can actually worsen their depressive symptoms.

Sarah responded well to a combination of talking therapy and medication and is now beginning to re-engage in life. But it was a combination of concerned parents and an alert welfare team at school that picked up on the symptoms of her illness and got her the help she needed.

Parents who suspect their sons and daughters may be depressed and suicidal can now visit their family GP and ask for a referral to a psychologist on Medicare and maybe we can hope for a reduction in the number of shrines at the foot of the trees in the park and the chaplains may afford troubled young people an additional person to talk to – if they wish.

1st October 2007

What is the collective noun for a group of psychologists? Anyone? Anyone?  Well, according to Wikipedia it is a 'complex' of psychologists and last week over 800 of us gathered in Brisbane at Australia's biggest psychological conference, run by the Australian Psychological Association. Appropriately titled 'Psychology - Making an Impact' the 4 day conference canvassed topics as diverse as drink spiking, cyberbullying, why people get tattoos, the advantages of being better looking and the ethics of torturing detainees at Guantanamo Bay - all of which were hotly debated.

 Despite the occasional 'death by powerpoint', the consensus seemed to be that the majority of presentations, were relevant, well prepared presented and delivered with flair and humour. Presiding over the meeting was the current APS President, Sydney-based, Dr Amanda Gordon who enters the final year of her 3 year term, well pleased with her Society's accomplishments. By any objective criteria, she should be.  Under her leadership, the APS now has an annual National Psychology week, which runs from November 11th to 17th and serves to showcase the diverse ways in which psychologists enhance community wellbeing,

The Society has also initiated the Bendi Lango ("Cutting Edge") project to raise money to provide bursaries for Aboriginal psychology students, primarily to assist them with living expenses as they complete their degrees. Dr Gordon notes that at present, Australia has approximately 20 indigenous psychologists and getting more indigenous graduates is one of her top priorities.

Gordon has also ensured that her members engagement with other professional groups has also changed and instead of working away in their own emotional silos, Psychologists now cooperate with other national groups such as the Allied Health Professions Australia, the Mental Health Professionals Association, the Australian Red Cross and Lifeline as well as international organisations such as the International Union of Psychological Sciences.

But the Society's greatest achievement in the past year was that they finally managed to convince the federal government to broaden its Medicare rebate scheme to include psychological services. Under the scheme, all registered psychologists, who are endorsed by Medicare Australia can provide treatment for mental health problems. Although Gordon generously acknowledges much of the initial work was done by her predecessors, it would seem that she has much to be proud of, with recent figures suggesting the scheme has been an outstanding success in all aspects, including increased provision of psychological services in regional and rural Australia, at an affordable cost. Since November 2006 when the capacity to apply for the three key MBS items was introduced  the number of requested payments for services under these MBS Items has risen from nil to over 282,584 individual claims to clinical psychologists and over 590,994 claims for generalist psychological services to August 2007.

But Dr Gordon acknowledges there is still more to do, she wants to get Medicare rebates for non mental health items, she's concerned that people don't get a Medicare rebate if they see a psychologist for a health problem only if they have a mental health problem. She argues that there is good evidence that people with physical illnesses such as obesity and diabetes could also benefit from the behaviour changes that psychologist can bring. She also wants to work further on the state of Australia's psychological health. She worries that Australians tend to medicalise issues in their minds, that they may have become terrified of shifting emotions.

"If we are a little bit scared we call it a phobia, if we are a little bit sad, we call it depression. I think there is a danger that we are frightened of our own emotions. As a clinician, people walk into my office to tell me how depressed they have been and how their doctors have put them on medication and really they are legitimately sad over a legitimate thing and they need to cope with that sadness or that grief and so much of the time, they are so fearful of changes in mood that it disempowers them and they don't understand that they can cope." Dr Gordon worries that in our attempt to ensure that people get the treatment that they needed, we may have gone a little too far, that the pendulum around raising our emotional literacy has swung too far. She has some sage advice for Australians interested in maintaining their psychological health. She argues that the most important factor is balance. "It's great to work hard, it's great to play hard, but it's great to stop for a while, it's important to meditate for a while, just be with yourself."

She singles out people in their twenties and thirties. "Quite often when they think they are playing hard,  often they are really battering themselves with drugs and alcohol and they think that's play, but they overdo it. There's a lack of balance even those who are saving towards the future, it's done so hard, the people who are buying their third house at the age of 24, because they feel they have to because they want to be secure - that's as bad as squandering every cent you earn because neither is giving you balance." The second piece of advice is for Australians to work on their relationships, "We need to find a way of linking to other people, it doesn't have to be a one on one intimate relationship, although that is great, but you have to make sure you have connections with other people that are real and whole and that respect the whole of you."

"I have watched many people compartmentalise, so that relationship deals with that bit of me and that relationship with that bit of me that good but you also need someone who knows all of you, someone who connects with you at a deeper level." Gordon also says Australians need to get to know the other, to stop being so frightened of differences.

"If you start to connect to other people, who are not like you - you'll be less frightened generally, of the world. Often in relationships, people are looking for people like them with whom they resonate and I think Australia's biggest psychological problem is a fear of the other. I think that can be very damaging to the community as a whole and the individual." Finally Dr Gordon prescribes a dose of spirituality. She says she is a woman of faith, she finds that a very important and useful part of her mental health. "I acknowledge that there can be something bigger than me, it gives me a sense of where I fit in the world. She recommends that everyone should take the equivalent of a sabbeth day - just stopping and switching off from other worldly things. She argues that some Australians side step altogether the idea of a connection with a greater universe, transcending the material world, and that is to their cost." "Sometimes when you reflect on that bigger picture way, it also helps you plan strategies for managing the smaller things and reminds you that you can't live as an island, you have to connect with the other."

Her thoughts are echoed by one of the conference overseas keynote speakers, arguably one of the most distinguished of all American psychologists Professor Gerry Koocher.  As President of the American Psychological Association in 2006 he created great controversy by being the first President to recognise the contribution of Dr Phil McGraw (aka Dr Phil) by giving him one of the organisation's highest awards - a Presidential citation. He argues that Dr Phil has done more than anyone to takes psychology to people who normally would not have access to it.

Koocher, who has held senior positions at Harvard Medical School - is now Professor and Dean at Simmons School for Health Studies in Boston, believes that the key to a happy life is to pay more attention to communication with the important people in our lives.

"A lot of us make assumptions about what other people know about our feelings or our preferences and we don't communicate especially with the people we care about most. This can lead to disruptions in relationships and unpleasantness. " He urges Australians to do a self assessment on a daily basis, and to ask inside your head, in a private moment, what's bothering me? Am I happy in my job, in my family life what are the things that are discontinuities or sources of stress, and then how can I do something about these things.

Some of the solutions, Koocher says, lie within us - having identified an issuehe urges us to make up our minds that this is an area that we have to work on. He recommends buying self help books which he argues are invaluable sources of information to those who may never darken the dark of a psychologist's office. If, on the other hand, the intensity of the discomfort is just overwhelming, he suggests finding someone to talk to. "...Sometimes, the problem is the family dynamic and if you don't get an outside opinion - then there's less of a chance of a resolution."

The advice by these experts is really quite similar. Look at the quality of your life on a regular basis, take stock of what you'd like to be different and recognise that there are people out there who can help you with particular dissatisfactions, even if they are not psychopathology - psychologists deal with a lot of people who aren't crazy.