It is with great pleasure that I invite you to attend our 4th national conference on depression and the elderly. The first conference in 2003 attracted about 24 speakers, this time we will be hearing from double that number. This is pleasing from at least two points of view. It suggests a growing interest in tackling the problems and it promises that the conference will offer a rich array of topics.

We have chosen to look at depression through the prism of successful ageing, to put depression in perspective, to suggest that striving for a creative, healthy, spiritually satisfying and socially integrated life in older age is the best way to minimise depression. Yes the basic issues of service development for elderly depressed people will be well addressed by experts from Australia and abroad. The relationship between depression, funding and care planning will be covered. The tragedies of suicide and loneliness in old age will be explored. But we will also spend time looking at music, art, spiritual expression and explorations of the nature of happiness as they relate to depression.

This will not be a theoretical exploration. As well as showcasing successful programmes it will provide insights into how the happiness of our clients and patients is affected by the health of our organisations and what might be done if we are working in an unhealthy setting.

The workshops will provide an opportunity to get down to the details of how to improve residential services, use audio/visual technology to maintain identity and learn how to be a clown doctor.

So I am pleased to invite you to join us at a conference that will be both inspirational and practical. I believe it will make a difference to the way we challenge depression in the elderly.

Yours sincerely

As well as the speakers highlighted above, we are pleased to welcome back Dr Peter Spitzer, aka Dr Fruit-Loop, the Chairman, Medical Director and a co-founder of the Humour Foundation charity which operates the national Clown Doctor program.

In 2003 Peter developed the LaughterBoss concept in aged care and presented it at our 1st National Conference on Challenging Depression in Aged Care. The LaughterBoss program involves training selected staff and giving them the task of bringing humour to their facility. After his inspiring presentation at our last conference the delegates asked that he be given the opportunity to provide a hands on workshop so that he can pass on some of his skills. Attendance at the workshop, which will explore some of the ways LaughterBoss tackles/tickles depression, will be limited by the space available but, on the Friday afternoon, he will hold two sessions to maximise the number of people who can attend.

We also welcome back Leanne Pethick. Leanne founded depressioNet in 2000, it was the first online peer support network for depressed people to be established anywhere in the world.

Leanne steered depressioNet through the challenging first 6 years as a young not-for-profit organisation, handing over the CEO reigns at the end of 2006 to free her time to develop opportunities identified during the depressioNet journey. Leanne now also consults in the provision of online peer support for other organisations and maintains a strong practical commitment to improving the mental health and wellbeing of Australians.

The conference will end with a musical summation improvised by Ruth Bright. Ruth, who introduced music therapy to Australia in 1960 and has been awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for her services, pioneered this for us in 2005. We hope that her music will again reflect a spirit of optimism generated by the conference.

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