Public Events & Workshops

Workshops and training with local and international guests

To date, inside out has provided workshops and training by Mary O’Hagan, Rufus May, Peter Bullimore, Marius Romme, Sandra Escher, Kellie Comans, Ron Coleman, Daniel Fisher, Sera Davidow and Caroline Mazel-Carlton. These workshops are open to everybody – people with lived experience/consumers, families/carers, workers and the general community (there are subsidised rates for those on low incomes or income support).

In addition, a free workshop, specifically for people with lived experience/consumers is offered alongside these workshops as part of our commitment to promote access to these fantastic speakers and support opportunities for peer-to-peer dialogue.

Critical Conversations

inside out has presented two ‘critical conversations’- ‘More than Medication’ in partnership with Canberra University and ‘Care without Coercion’ in partnership with the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Australia.

These successfully brought together high profile speakers/experts/activists (i.e. the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, state and national Mental Health Commissioners, international speakers including Elyn Saks, Rufus May and Mary O’Hagan), Australian consumer academics, and consumer and carer leaders.

Consistent with inside out’s philosophy almost every speaker involved had lived experience expertise. Both events created opportunities for conversations and connections among all those attending in order to develop better understanding, opportunities to engage in productive but critical discussions, and positive alliances and working relationships that extended beyond the events themselves.

Community awareness events

inside out has conducted a community awareness project in western and regional NSW which aimed to promote a better understanding of mental distress and how people (workers, families and the general community) can better support the recovery process. As well as education and training, this project resulted in a series of promotional postcards.

More recently inside out was a screening partner for a new documentary ‘Healing Voices’ as part of a global night of social action called ‘One Night, One Voice’. Screenings were held in Newtown, Springwood and Melbourne along with other screenings all over the world.

These were accompanied by panel discussions, Q&A’s and fundraising Hearing Voices groups all with the aim to foster greater awareness and understanding about the experience of hearing voices.