Workshops and training

IMHA offers workshops and training for mental health services and the community on parts of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022.

Learn about the principles

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 has principles that all mental health staff, allied health staff and mental health services should consider when making decisions about people’s care, treatment or assessment.

To find out what these principles are, click on Principles of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act.

Workshops: Implementing Principles in practice

We are delivering workshops on the principles as part of our Principles in Practice (PiP) project.

This project is being delivered together by two services – Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) and Centre for Mental Health Learning (CMHL).

The workshops will focus on 13 wellbeing principles from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act and 7 principles from Our workforce, our future (the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Capability Framework).

The aim of the PiP project is to support the mental health and wellbeing workforce to develop:

• an understanding of principles in the Act and the Framework
• co-create strategies to best apply and sustain these principles when working with consumers and their supporters.

Psychiatrist workshops (2 hours) - online

This specialised workshop aims to provide psychiatrists with practical development through reflective discussions and peer learning. The workshops are delivered with support from the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist.

The workshop is developed with guidance from lived and living experience experts, psychiatrists and The Office of the Chief Psychiatrist (OCP).

If you are a psychiatrist you can register for our workshops:

• 18 February from 10 am to 12 pm – Register
• 24 March from 1.30 to 3.30 pm – Register
• 15 April from 10 am to 12 pm – Register
• 13 May from 10 am to 12 pm – Register
• 24 June from 10 am to 12 pm – Register.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce: full-day workshops – online and in-person

This full day workshop will help mental health and wellbeing workforce professionals to analyse their current practices in relation to the principles. It is delivered both online and in-person.
You will learn how to identify the best ways to demonstrate the principles and continuously improve their application.

The workshop will include practical tools, reflective exercises, and peer learning. The workshops are offered both online and in person.

You can attend these workshops if you are one of the following:

• a staff member employed in an Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Service (AMHWS)
• a lived experience workforce (LEW) worker working in a public clinical mental health state-funded role.

Register for one of the upcoming workshops:

• 20 February – online – Register
• 27 February – in-person in Dandenong – Register
• March workshops – dates to be announced
• 29 April – online – Register
• June Workshops – dates to be announced.

Community Forum

An online forum will be held to showcase resources and learnings related to the principles.

Date: 27 March. More details to be added soon.

The forum will include:

• Lived experience workforce perspectives on the principles (presented by VMIAC and Tandem Carers).
• An update on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC) Principles Guidance project.
• An overview of Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 for Community sector (presented by Mental Health Victoria).
• Promotion of PiP eLearning module.
• Principles in Practice Project (PiP) reflections (presented by IMHA and CMHL).

Targeted sessions for leadership

Specific sessions for managers and leaders will be held to support systemic alignment with the principles.
Dates to be announced.

Principles in Practice: Sustaining Change Together

A reflective session for past PiP workshop participants will be held. Invitations will be sent directly to those who have completed the PiP workshop.

The event will take place on 6 May 2025.

Two-day: train-the-facilitator workshops

We will hold two-day workshops to train those who attended PiP workshops to deliver training in their own workplaces.

This will support the services to deliver the training package and provide internal ongoing support to their workforce.

Dates to be announced for May and June 2025.