About
Social Impact
Mind Connections believes the responsibility of a mental health service extends well beyond the consulting room and we are committed to better mental health outcomes throughout our community.
Through the Mind Connections Foundation, education partnerships, and community programs, we work to reduce barriers to mental health care, promote help-seeking, and strengthen the mental health of the Western Sydney community.
Mental Health in Medicine
Doctors experience high rates of psychological distress, yet the pressures of medical training and culture can make it hard to speak up. In 2016, the medical community lost four young doctors to suicide in the space of three months. For many, it named something that had gone unspoken for too long: that the people we trust with our health often carry their own struggles in silence.
In response, Mind Connections founders Dr Padmini Howpage and Daya Howpage partnered with Western Sydney University to create an award that encourages the next generation of doctors to talk about mental health openly, and early.
Since 2017, the award has invited second-year medical students at Western Sydney University to explore their own experiences of mental health and wellbeing and to express them creatively. Each year, academic staff review the submissions and recognise the pieces that speak most powerfully to the theme, celebrated at an annual ceremony.
At its heart is a simple idea, the elephant in the room: the things everyone can see but few are willing to name. By encouraging students to name them, reflect on them, and share them, the award helps make conversations about mental health part of medical training from the very start, when those habits matter most.
If you or someone you know needs support, help is available 24 hours a day. Lifeline 13 11 14. Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.
Award winners
The Mind Connections Foundation
The Mind Connections Foundation was established in August 2020 to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the Western Sydney community through education, evidence-based research, and programs that widen access to care. Mind Connections is a proud partner, supporting the Foundation's programs and contributing clinical expertise. Its work spans community mental health education, research into better treatments, and support for people who face barriers to care, including financial hardship, cultural and language differences, and geographic isolation.
Pawsitive Steps
Festival
Each year, the Hills Shire community gathers for the Pawsitive Steps Festival, a community day of education, support, and help-seeking, with a focus on suicide and violence prevention. Mind Connections has proudly partnered with the festival since 2011, reflecting a long-standing commitment to open conversations about mental health in our local community.
Partnership with Western Sydney University
Mind Connections has a long-standing affiliation with Western Sydney University. Medical students attend clinical placements at our clinics and carry out research under the supervision of clinicians consulting at Mind Connections. The partnership helps train the next generation of doctors and social workers in compassionate mental health care, and keeps our clinics connected to current research and teaching.
Improving access through PHN programs
Mind Connections takes part in programs funded through WentWest, the Western Sydney Primary Health Network. These programs offer subsidised mental health care to eligible patients who might otherwise struggle to afford or access it. Your GP can advise whether you may be eligible, and you can find more detail on our Fees and Funding pages.