Below is a press release from Psychs on Bikes, a group of mental health professionals who raise awareness in rural and remote communities. These professionals also have a passion for motorcycles and have been able to combine their passion for motorcycles with their profession of helping people while travelling to remote areas in Australia.
The outback may be a strange place to see a cavalcade of leather-clad, motorcycle-riding mental health professionals, but there’s nothing ordinary about Psychs on Bikes. It’s a group of mental health professionals who hit the road on motorbike rides aimed at improving awareness about mental health in rural and remote communities across Australia.
In May, psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health nurses ditch the couch, for their motorcycles. Leaving Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane they will ride over 16,000 km around Australia over six weeks.
The trip will visit cattle stations in central Queensland and the Northern Territory where the psychs will engage with hundreds of staff in conversations about their emotional wellbeing.
Founder and Sydney psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Dunn highlights “Unfortunately depression and suicide rates are much higher in rural areas than urban ones. Our motorcycles are great conversation starters because people can be quite apprehensive about talking to a psychologist or psychiatrist”.
As well as speaking about mental health, the group offers free health checks to target what he calls the four silent killers: hypertension, diabetes, depression, and alcohol.
Bernadette Burke, from the Consolidated Pastoral Company, emphasizes the real need for mental health support in rural and remote regions “The isolation of a cattle station can compound mental health issues. Having Psychs on Bikes visit starts a conversation that our staff may not otherwise have”.
Psychs on Bikes would like to acknowledge and thank its foundation sponsor Ramsay Health Care.
For further information visit their website or follow them on Facebook.