Mr Joseph Kolapudi¹

¹Teen Challenge Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Currently, the state of the mental health sphere has reached a tipping point, especially in regards to youth and the justice system. The regulatory requirements of the land, coupled with the saturation of both the NGO field and the bevy of programs currently in place has led to a misunderstanding between implementation and outcomes across the board.

However, a new emerging trend whereby youth reaching youth in the mental health space has shown much promise for far-reaching, positive trajectories moving forward into the future. In particular, youth who have overcome mental health issues in the past are better suited to reach fellow youth facing the same or similar issues to a larger degree than the traditional models of mental health programs.

In this oral presentation, I seek to show the current trends within youth mental health and how this emerging trend of youth-driven mental intervention shows promise for far-reaching effects into the near future of the Australian youth and mental health sphere.

Biography:

Joseph currently works as a Communications Advisor to the CEO based in Brisbane at the head office of Teen Challenge Queensland, and is passionate about youth and social justice. He also assists with an international anti-trafficking initiative PourOut as a consultant, and was recently acknowledged as a Global Shaper by the local Brisbane Hub of the World Economic Forum.