Dr Jeanne-Marnie Viljoen

At the University of South Australia (UniSA) our mental health researchers are tackling the critical frontline issues and delivering enterprising solutions.

From prevention, through to complex and acute responses designed for people in crisis – right up to the point of care, our work spans the whole spectrum.

One of these researchers is Dr Jeanne-Marnie Viljoen whose inspiring work is already having meaningful impact.

It is widely understood that young people can find it challenging to articulate their experiences with unsettling behaviour and mental health issues.

To help mitigate this, Dr Jeanne-Marnie Viljoen and a team of UniSA researchers and a professional comic artist are exploring how comic books can be used to help young people communicate their mental health issues.

Internationally, comic books have successfully been used as a tool to help people describe a broad range of troubling experiences, such as having an alcoholic parent, a parent living with chronic illness, or struggling with anxiety.

Previous Australian studies on comics have found that they have been helpful for processing trauma and help make complex ideas easy to understand, especially in the area of health.

Getting young people to produce the comics themselves also develops technical and interpretive skills that help to illustrate abstract concepts and transcend barriers.

Through these comics, Dr Viljoen and her team help young people articulate difficult experiences in a way meaningful to them, create community between participants and strengthen connections between participants and their communities.

Ultimately this improves the ability of individuals, families, practitioners and policy makers to better engage with a participant’s preferred narratives on trauma, coping behaviour and mental health.

The UniSA Mental Health Research Fund has been established to source more support for our key researchers and direct funds to those most able to address the problems of today. To learn more about UniSA’s Enterprising Minds for Mental Health and our research click here.

 

If you or anyone you know needs help please contact

• Lifeline on 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au
• Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
• MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
• Headspace on 1800 650 890