What does the Black Dog Institute do? Essential Tips

This report summarises the findings of a workshop co-hosted by the Black Dog Institute and Country South Australia Primary Health Network. The session focused on suicidal crisis and follow-up care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, bringing professional and cultural expertise together to explore culturally appropriate suicide prevention strategies and interventions.

Based in Sydney, Black Dog Institute reduces stigma and encourages help-seeking through evidence-informed education programs in schools, communities, healthcare settings and workplaces nationally.

These guidelines are based on the input of people with a lived experience of suicide and leading clinicians. They aim to help those working in acute settings to inform service planning, better equip and support staff to work effectively with those at risk of suicide, and guide empathetic, compassionate responses to people experiencing a suicidal crisis.

Researchers with Black Dog Institute’s LifeSpan published a research paper which highlights the systematic and theoretical barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been bereaved by suicide. The paper incorporates the lived experiences and professional experiences of advocates, and explores the importance of including lived experiences within programs for Indigenous suicide prevention.

Black Dog Institute utilizes the latest technology to rapidly implement new scientific discoveries into real-world settings. Conducting world-class research, the team at Black Dog Institute investigates the causes of mental illness and drives evidence-based treatments and solutions that improve lives.

The Black Dog Institute is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness.

We are about creating a world where mental illness is treated with the same level of concern, immediacy and seriousness as physical illness.

1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental health condition within the year. And 60% of people dont seek help for mental health conditions.

We aim to improve the lives of people affected by mental illness by:

  • translating our ground-breaking research into real-world clinical care
  • delivering evidence-based education programs for health professionals, schools and workplaces
  • developing real-time digital tools, so people can manage depression, anxiety and stress at their own pace.
  • Their partnerships with people with lived experience, federal, state and local governments, communities, schools, corporate Australia and others in the mental health sector enables them to drive evidence-informed change in mental health where it’s needed most.

    Black Dog Institute has a clearly articulated vision for a mentally healthier world. This vision guides their 2022-2026 strategy to deliver research with real world impact to treat, manage and prevent common mental health conditions and suicide in workplaces, schools, health settings and the wider community.

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    As the only medical research institute in Australia to investigate mental health across the lifespan, Black Dog Institutes aim is to create a mentally healthier world for everyone.

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    Who We Are and What We Do