I was told this story recently by a psychiatrist from an area mental health and wellbeing service, and it made me really happy:

A client with psychosis and alcohol use disorder was presented at a weekly case review team meeting, a meeting that a Hamilton Centre clinical network doctor regularly attends. The suggestion was made to start alcohol pharmacotherapy (naltrexone, in this case). With some support and a follow-up discussion, this happened: the registrar started the client on naltrexone, and the client found it helped with their craving and cutting down.

This may feel like it's not a big deal. But it really is.

In Australia, only about 3% of people with alcohol use disorder receive medication treatment. These medications are about as effective as antidepressants for moderate depression. They don’t work for everyone, but for some, they can be a game-changer. And why wouldn’t we use the tools we have access to? Helping our psychiatry workforce become comfortable, familiar and confident in prescribing these medications is an absolute win.

This is our clinical network model in action, and this is the impact the statewide service is seeking to achieve. From the work we’ve done, we know it's the relationships, the shared language and the trust that needs to be built between teams and our Hamilton Centre network that are at the heart of this model of care, making this work.

As we move towards our three-year mark in 2026, we’ve learnt that it’s the engagement we’ve built with workers and teams across the state that has been key to achieving success and sustainability in integrated care.

We’re hosting a forum on 11th December to share some of these learnings and to focus on how we support and sustain our MH and AOD workforce in Victoria. This event is a collaboration between the Hamilton Centre, Mental Health Victoria and the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing. Places are limited, so if you haven’t registered yet, now is a great time to secure your spot — click here.

In view of the recent State of the Sector report launched by MHV, you’ll see from the workforce survey that our workers are struggling within a system under considerable strain.

93% of worker respondents felt the public mental health system cannot meet current demand; 62% of the workforce are pessimistic about the future of the mental health system.

With comments from MHV CEO Phillipa Thomas, we’ll host a discussion chaired by Prof Dan Lubman AM, Turning Point Executive Clinical Director, and a great panel including: A/Prof Lee Allen, Victorian Director of Psychiatry Training, Ms Madeleine Harradence, Secretary of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), and A/Prof Ravi Bhat AM, Clinical Director at Goulburn Valley Health Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.

Our panel will explore some challenging questions, including the key one: as clinicians and workers, how do we continue to hold optimism and hope for ourselves and for our clients and communities?

We hope you can join us.

A quick update from our team over the past month:

At the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Drugs (APSAD) conference, our team presented with VAADA to share our work on the Victorian Integrated Care Compass (VICC) tool, adapted for use in Victorian MHWB and AOD services to evaluate capability to deliver integrated care. I was also lucky to be invited to present a keynote talk on my clinical research program in translating integrated care for co-occurring trauma and addiction, including work we’ve done at the Hamilton Centre with Phoenix Australia and Spectrum on co-designing principles and pathways for services delivering trauma-informed and trauma-capable services. The outputs of these programs will be available on our website very soon. If you’re interested in learning more, please get in touch with us.

I was also invited to join over 100 psychiatrist delegates at the RANZCP Victorian Branch annual weekend conference in beautiful Wathaurong country in Ballarat. It was really lovely to connect with colleagues and mental health service leaders across the state. A real highlight was hearing from Travelling Scholar Prof Tracy Smart AO, an absolute trailblazer in military mental health, who shared her reflections on leadership and resilience. I was delighted to be there to see Prof Margaret Hamilton AO receive her Victorian Branch Meritorious Service Award, presented by RANZCP Vic Branch in recognition of her service to mental health over her incredible career. We named our statewide service in her honour, and her spirit of championing and advocating for the rights of people who use drugs and alcohol, and people with co-occurring mental health problems. Read more about her amazing career and impact here.

A busy month and a lead into the end of a very busy year! I hope you are all getting an opportunity to take a pause, reflect and wind down towards some precious time with family and friends.