Dr Stephen Carbone – Chair of Prevention United

Preventing depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions

Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and other serious conditions are common and exact a heavy toll on affected individuals, their loved ones and society more broadly. While treatments are available, not everyone has access and regrettably many people still experience relapses or persistent difficulties despite treatment. While efforts to provide better treatments and services are vital, there is more that we can do. Mental health conditions are not inevitable and there is now good scientific evidence to show many conditions can be prevented. The problem is we are just not using this knowledge effectively. This talk focuses on the prevention of mental health conditions. It discusses what prevention is, why it’s important, how we can prevent depression, anxiety and other conditions from occurring, and what our organisation and others are doing about it.

Dr Stephen Carbone has a passion for promoting people’s mental wellbeing. He holds qualifications in medicine, psychology and social work and has first-hand experience in supporting people with mental health conditions in both his professional and his personal life. Stephen worked as a medical officer in Victoria’s specialist psychiatric services and as a general practitioner for over two decades, before moving into mental health policy and research. He was an active contributor in several key mental health reforms in Victoria and nationally and has held senior positions in organisations such as Vic Health, headspace and Beyond Blue. Stephen is now the Chairperson of Prevention United, a new mental health charity that specialises in the promotion of mental wellbeing and the prevention of mental health conditions.