About Us
In Tough Times Text is a family / community-driven suicide prevention initiative, supplementing conventional care if that is available.
The direct involvement of close contacts brings emotionally powerful forces to bear in a life and death situation, at no cost to the patient, family or health service. We request your help in providing publicity for what we do, and in sending us more high-impact texts and stories of survival to help others.
“You would never advise a friend to die; tell yourself what you’d tell a friend”.
Suicide is the commonest cause of death and injury in Australians age 15 to 45, male or female (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
(Australian Bureau of Statistics)
(research estimate)
(research estimate)
Kristin Michaels
Kristin has served as Chair of the Board at Yea District Memorial Hospital and is a Governor at the Windemere Foundation. In her work life, Kristin runs a national peak body in the healthcare sector operating in each State of Australia. A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Kristin also has extensive experience as a professional mentor and executive coach and is a qualified futurist.
Clinical Associate Professor David Horgan
MB BCH BAO MRCPSYCH DPM MPHIL FRANZCP MD(Melb) FRCPEdin
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne
Previously Senior Specialist , Royal Melbourne Hospital
Consultant Psychiatrist in Private Practice
Clinical Associate Professor David Horgan did his medical education in Dublin. He has 6 specialist qualifications in psychiatry. He moved to the University of Melbourne and to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He is mainly involved now in private practice, particularly treating resistant depression and high suicide risk on an outpatient basis on referral from other psychiatrists.
He has an intense commitment to community suicide prevention. He established an Australia-wide freecall telephone suicide prevention service in 1997. He also established in the early 2000’s depression.com.au, suicideprevention.com.au and aftersuicide.com.au as community services. He subsequently established the registered Harm Prevention charity Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation, and he has worked with the Irish authorities to bring similar services into the Irish Republic.
Dr Horgan has been heavily involved over many years in lecturing to medical students, to GPs and also to psychiatrists, He has published in the areas of combined antidepressants, unusual medications and intensive patient contact, in an effort to reduce the suffering, job loss and relationship damage caused by depression in the community. He aims to help reduce the suicide and attempted suicide rates.
Simon Dwyer
Simon has a diverse background as a funeral director, creating and nourishing a volunteer cohort, community manager of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning, restaurant manager, teacher and 5 star hotel management.
Thomas Green
John Hardy
John joined ASPF in 2008. John has extensive experience in strategy development and implementation, technology, sales & marketing and client relationship & contract management. He is a Fellow of the Australian Company Directors Association and has held commercial and industry Board positions. John holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration in addition to his Science degree.
Mary Rose Morgan
Tess Nobile
Tess has a Bachelors Degree in Social Science as well as qualifications in behaviour management, emotional maturity, character development & coaching and positive psychology.
She is Chair of the Leadership Mastermind Group, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an aged care volunteer, a volunteer Facilitating self leadership for the vulnerable in the community, and a volunteer mentor for children at Feel The Magic
Dr Caterina Sloan
She is a firm believer in GPs being multi-skilled and having as wide as possible experience and has, over the last 15 years, had a great interest in mental health. She has a particular interest in the individual variation in patient’s response to medications and has been keenly interested in genetic testing for individual’s metabolism of drugs. In addition because of her extensive training in gynaecology she is interested in mental health issues relating to hormonal changes in women. She is passionate about the de-stigmatising of all types of mental illness through education and naturally about suicide prevention.
Anne Warden
Adam Lang
Adam has a keen focus on child and youth mental health, working with charities to transform and digitise their environment. He brings a unique understanding of the challenges faced by marginalised young people and a focus on suicide prevention in workplace health and safety. He has a personal desire to connect to those industries and see the impact he can make with positive change. Having the energy and passion to work alongside other people with similar growth mindsets to make an impact in that sector would make Adam a significant contributor to any organisation looking to transform.
The Foundation
The Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation is a registered charity focussed on providing help for those considering suicide, and for their friends and relatives affected by such an event or risk.
Our core message is “you would never advise a friend to die; tell yourself what you’d tell a friend”.
Vision: Life Matters
Mission: To help change the landscape of suicide prevention in Australia
Role:To enable networks of support that protect and help people with suicidal thoughts
Our values:
“We speak real”
We are independent and apolitical
We have lived experience
Contact Us:
admin@aspf.org
Important Disclaimer: This site is medical information only, and is not to be taken as diagnosis, advice or treatment, which can only be decided by your own doctor or mental health professional.
Australian Suicide
Prevention Foundation
For over 20 years we’ve provided Australia-wide suicide prevention to every and any vulnerable Australian, whether they be in metropolitan, rural or isolated areas.
Postal Address:
PO Box 222
North Melbourne VIC 3051
Office Address:
Suite 609, 89 High Street
Kew VIC 3101
Support
By donating to or otherwise assisting InToughTimesText (a programme from ASPF.org) you are helping hundreds of thousands of people who have or will have suicidal ideas.