A STUBBY holder that clearly shows the recommended and risky levels of alcohol intake and the release of a series of fact sheets on alcohol, drugs and mental health matters are two of the tactics being adopted by the ADF Health services under its Mental Health Strategy.

Under the slogan Be Well, Live Well, Work Well these measures are aimed squarely at encouraging personnel using alcohol at risky levels, using other drugs, or with mental health issues to seek assistance.

According to Donna Bull, the National Coordinator of the ADF Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Service, the intial order of 5000 stubby holders was grossly underestimated.

"They went like hotcakes, so we ordered a further 10,000,” she says. “Initially we copped a bit of fl ack from some people who thought that we were promoting drinking, but once we explained that we are not an abstinence-focused program and are in fact promoting ‘low-risk’ consumption of alcohol, I think we managed, in most quarters, to overcome all of that.”

The ADF Health Status Report, published in 2000, identifi ed the provision of an overarching strategy to provide mental health services as a key part of the health requirements for the ADF. Subsequently, the ADF Mental Health Strategy was developed in 2001 and launched in May 2002.

The strategy brings together the existing mental health services available to ADF members into a comprehensive policy development framework. The strategy has also seen a major increase in the focus regarding the prevention of mental health problems in the ADF through the promotion of mental well-being.

A signifi cant education campaign is also a part of the strategy. It aims to let ADF members and their families know about the sorts of warning signs for possible adverse drug and alcohol or mental problems to look for in themselves and their mates. Importantly, it aims to reassure members that it is okay to seek help for some of the difficulties that they may face.

There is no stigma to admitting they may have a problem and the sooner they are able to seek help, the sooner positive intervention to resolve their circumstances may begin.

Ms Bull says the ADF’s processes are gaining recognition in the wider community. “I received a call from the Department of Health and Ageing a couple of weeks ago asking for permission to copy our idea of the stubby holders, as they wish to produce them as part of the National Alcohol Strategy low-risk drinking materials range.”

She also suggests people contact her if they want some holders for an event, such as a unit barbecue.

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