Language Matters

Anthony Smith, former board member of Suicide Prevention Australia, is at the forefront of a movement that aims to change the way we consider mental health and suicide prevention. He is co-author of papers and reports promoting the Situational Approach, a concept that offers a fresh way of considering mental health by taking situational factors (such as economic and social disadvantage, and workplace stress) into account when diagnosing and treating depression and anxiety disorders. For more than two decades Anthony has worked across Australia with networks such as primary health, the life insurance industry, men’s sheds and human resources, and at the community level in suicide prevention and research, built on collaborative work with a regional coroner’s office.

Melissa Raven is a research fellow with the Critical and Ethical Mental Health group at the University of Adelaide (Australia). She originally qualified as a clinical psychologist, and subsequently completed a masters in epidemiology and a PhD critically analysing claims and evidence about depression and antidepressants. Her mental health research and advocacy is informed by a strong social determinants perspective and a strong critical orientation, which she applies to a range of topics, including suicide prevention, workplace mental health, (over)diagnosis, (inappropriate) prescribing, and financial/nonfinancial conflicts of interest in mental health and the broader health/welfare arena.