ANU vice-chancellor calls for greater funding to tackle mental health epidemic

Professor Ian Young made the comments on Thursday as he launched a new endowment fund to raise money to bolster mental health research internationally.

"Mental health and mental health disorders are the largest epidemics which exist in our society today, in particular for young people, and so the level of mental health problems in society is really quite frightening," he said.

"In many cases these are areas which people tend to ignore and so better research and better ways of intervening these problems are important for the health of our society."

In Australia, mental health receives about half the research funding of other health priority areas. It costs more than cancer, diabetes and respiratory disease combined and suicide is responsible for more deaths than car accidents.

ANU National Institute for Mental Health Research director Professor Kathy Griffiths said new funding meant the institute could launch its online mental health induction program called Mental Health Guru.

"We know that depression is the biggest cause of lost productivity in the workplace and this program is designed to assist people in the workplace to get help, or to assist them to assist other in getting help," Professor Griffiths said.

The institute also aims to roll out its online virtual clinic for university students globally.

"People often think of university students as being a privileged group but in fact they have a greater incidence of mental health problems than their counterparts that are the same age outside of a university," she said.

Professor Young was speaking at the 40th anniversary of the institute, which aims to reduce the prevalence of mental illness and improve the lives of those who live with it.

It came as the institute awarded its founder, Professor Scott Henderson, an inaugural award for an outstanding contribution to mental health research.

Throughout his career Professor Henderson enjoyed looking at some fundamental questions and causes of mental disorders, including psychiatric disorders such as depressive disorder, dementia and schizophrenia, and he was particularly interested in the wellbeing of young people.

"I enjoy looking after younger people who have promising minds, and helping them come to the best possible situation for their own productivity," Professor Henderson said.

Another highlight of his career was setting up the Australian Society for Psychiatric Research. The organisation was so successful that New Zealand adopted similar research that led to the Society For Mental Health Research.

"It has influenced people careers enormously and made a huge contribution to Australia's efforts in mental health," he said.

NIMHR was successful in launching one of the first online self-help programs - the online MoodGYM, which has now helped more than 1 million people in 22 countries improve their mood and review negative thoughts.

Research showed the site was effective in helping people in different contexts and settings globally.

When the program was used in schools, results showed that anxiety was prevented in young students who participated.

"That's an incredible important role because we really need to prevent mental illness before it happens," Professor Griffiths said.

Among people with mental disorders, two-thirds do not seek profession help because of the stigma attached to mental disorders and the lack of anonymous way to seek help for depression.

Professor Young said the research conducted by NIMHR "translates into practical outcome in society" and therefore funding was desperately needed for the institute to continue its "high quality" international research.

Support is available for anyone who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 131 114, Mensline 1300 789 978, Kids Helpline 1800 551 800.