Perimenopause and Mental Health

Event organiser

Black Dog Institute

Event description

Perimenopause is the transitional phase leading up to menopause, a time of declining and erratic hormonal activity often impacting both physical and mental health. Common symptoms include fatigue, hot flashes, irritability, loss of joy, anxiety, depressed mood, intrusive thoughts, and insomnia. Only 1 in 5 women seek help for menopause, stigma and shame is common, anxiety and depression risk increase significantly, and this is the highest point of suicide risk in a women’s life.

Join Black Dog Institute for this short webinar where Clinical Psychologist Dr Sarah Barker and GP Dr Ceri Cashell will discuss how GPs can learn to consider whether perimenopause could be a contributing factor to the mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression that patients are experiencing.

Mental health is the number one reason people see their GPs*, yet GPs are time poor and wait times to see psychologists are long. The need for mental health care is growing faster than specialised support and services are, leaving a gap in patient care.

This webinar series aims to provide GPs and other health professionals with skills to ‘fill the gap’ in providing mental health care to their patients using a range of brief interventions. Each webinar will be a discussion about the specific intervention and tips on how to use it effectively with your patients.

*General Practice Health of the Nation report, RACGP, 2024