Community Education regarding
Depression
I have
been involved in educating the Western Australian community on depression
related issues for over 30 years. This
has taken the form of lectures, live interviews, radio interviews, radio
talkback, and less formal ‘question and answer’ sessions. I have provided such education to mental
health support groups, church groups of various denominations, professional
organizations and community groups.
Further details regarding my experience in community education are contained
in my C.V.
I am available to conduct
education regarding depression to a variety of audiences including:
·
business
·
conferences
·
support groups of many
types
·
counselling groups
·
church groups.
The
presentations on Understanding Depression are available in a number of
formats and are tailored to the audience.
There is clearly a difference in technique and content between public
groups with little background knowledge, and groups of counsellors. There is also an obvious difference between
church groups concerned with how depression links with their faith, and groups
with no particular faith link.
The
most common formats I use are:
1.
Straight ‘lecture’. I
use this rarely and usually only when time is limited and I need to get through
a lot of information quickly to a motivated audience. This can vary between
20-45 minutes and I use a PowerPoint presentation and video projector.
2.
‘Brainstorming session’
during which I ask three questions of the audience
What
is it?
What
causes it?
What
can we do about it?
I
then compile the feedback using an overhead projector or whiteboard. This is the preferred technique for a
valuable education time and with questions and comments from the audience lasts
60-90 minutes. It can be associated
with morning or afternoon tea or supper.
I need an OHP for slides.
3. Interview
format with an appropriate interviewer from the target population asking
questions from a pre-prepared list of questions. There is opportunity for questions from the audience. This can be used where time is short and is
suitable for even a 20-minute presentation but can easily go on for an hour
with an interested audience.