Rehab Psychiatry Forum
Mike Heenan—Ministry of Health MH Branch
The Rehab Psychiatry forum was held on 14 August 2025, organised by Dr Nicholas Burns, Clinical Lead, NSW Health Rehabilitation Psychiatry, in conjunction with Macquarie Hospital, Northern Sydney. The event ran from 09:00am to 13:00pm and attracted approximately 35 attendees, providing a great opportunity for face to face collaboration. Unfortunately, the planned tour of the campus was scuppered by torrential rain.
There were three main discussion points for the day: • Two speakers presented on pharmacological management of complex psychosis:
An update on guidelines for management of treatment resistant schizophrenia. Professor Dan Siskind, Clinical Academic Psychiatrist, Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Service, and Professor of Psychiatry, University of Queensland Judicious Prescribing: Navigating Polypharmacy in Rehabilitation: Gabrielle Hansen, Senior Clinical Pharmacist Bloomfield Hospital, WNSWLHD Group discussion of the NSW Mental Health Rehabilitation Model of Care Framework was led by: Dr Andrew McDonald, Clinical Director of PCLI, NSW Deborah Hoban, Statewide Rehabilitation Coordinator, Mental Health Branch, Ministry of Health, NSW • Two speakers discussed contemporary research projects of interest to rehabilitation psychiatrists: Multi-centre cognitive remediation trial by Professor Julaine Allan, Charles Sturt University Bloomfield non-acute services review by Dr Anna Noonan, Research Fellow, University of Sydney School of Rural Health
Some thoughts from the forum attendees:
What did you find most valuable about the presentations? "Morning presentations were reassuring with regard to my own practice, as they reinforced my existing approach to treatment" "Range of topics " "Informative knowledgeable presentations, inspiring experiences " "Igniting enthusiasm to do better"
"Identifying relevant resources /tools" "Stimulated thought and discussion " "Discussion on Clozapine"
What topics would you like discussed in future meetings? "More discussion around polypharmacy. A more nuanced discussion of treatment resistant illness involving options beyond clozapine alone, noting that many rehab consumers are already on clozapine in addition to other agents and still present a management challenge" "Psychological therapies in treatment resistance " "Management of comorbidities with severe persistent mental illnesses (e.g. ADHD, substance use disorders) ” "Managing treatment refractory schizophrenia be" "Integrating drug and alcohol treatment in mental health rehab " "Treatment for treatment resistant consumers" "Bench marking tools"
There are plans to hold another forum in 2026 on site at a different rehab inpatient campus.
Page 17| NSLHD Mental Health Drug and Alcohol News | September 2025
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