Len is a Lecturer in the Bachelor of Nursing Course at the University of Canberra.  He commenced his nursing career at Kenmore Psychiatric Hospital Goulburn NSW in 1977.

Len has extensive experience in mental health nursing, management and education. He has worked as a senior mental health clinician in hospital and community settings and held the roles of team leader, senior educator, area coordinator and manager in busy mental health services in rural and remote NSW. Len is the mental health course coordinator for the ACT Ambulance Service. He has held this role for the past 20 years.

Len worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and professionals from 1994-2000 to establish the nationally recognised Djirruwang Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Education and Training Program (Bachelor of Health Science – Mental Health).

He was the Deputy Director of the Mental Health First Aid Training & Research (MHFA) Program at the Department of Psychiatry, Orygen Research Centre, University of Melbourne from 2005-2009. During his time at the University of Melbourne he worked with the National University of Singapore and Changi Hospital to establish the MHFA Program in Singapore. He also worked with the Ministry of Mental Health to establish the MHFA Program in Thailand.

Len has a special interest in working in emergency service and transcultural mental health settings. Len is passionate about nursing, and is especially interested in seeing students achieve their educational and occupational goals.

Research & Teaching

Areas of Teaching

• Mental Health
• Psychological Approahces to Health Care Practice

Research Interests

• Improving mental health literacy
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing
• Mental health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel

Research Grants and Awards

Grants

NSW Aboriginal Health Promotion Funding. Implementation of Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid Program: Greater Western Area Health Service, January 2010. $50,000

Kitchener, B.A., Jorm, A.F., Kanowski, L.G., Lubman, D. & Kelly, C.M. Development of drug misuse first aid guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  Beyondblue Victorian Centre of Excellence, 2008 (Nov 2008 – Nov 2009). $99,198

Jorm, A.F., Kanowski, L.G, Kelly, C.M. & Kitchener, B.A. Development of depression first aid standards for Indigenous Australians. Beyondblue, 2007.  $96,701

Kanowski, L.G., Kitchener, B.A. & Jorm, A.F. The adaptation of MHFA resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Auseinet, Flinders University 2007. $55,700

Kanowski, L.G., Kitchener, B.A. & Jorm, A.F.  The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Program.  Department of Health & Ageing. February 2007 – March 2009. $1,560,414

Jorm, A.F., Kanowski, L., Lubman, D., Hides, L. & Eddington, K. Development of alcohol misuse first aid guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Beyondblue, 2007-2008. $90,000

Kanowski, L.G., Jorm, A.F. & Kitchener, B.A. Rowan Nicks Russell Drysdale Fellowship, Sydney University, 2006. $60,000.
Jorm, A.F, Kanowski, L.G. & Kitchener, B.A. Provision of training and support services for a mental health support pilot.  Family Court of Australia (Commonwealth of Australia), 2005. $90,000.

Awards

TheMHS Gold Achievement Award – Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce Program - 2010

TheMHS Silver Achievement Award – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Training and Research Program - 2010

Winner, Health Ministers Award for Excellence, NSW Aboriginal Health Awards July 2010 – Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce Program

Winner, NSW Aboriginal Health Awards July 2010 (Enterprise and Resourcefulness Category) – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Training and Research Program

MHFA Program - LiFe Awards: Health Communities - Winner, Sept 2007

MHFA Program - Mental Health Services Achievement Award: Mental Health Promotion or Mental Illness Prevention Program – Gold, Sept 2007

MHFA Program - Victorian Public Health Awards: Program Innovations - Winner, Sept 2006

Rowan Nicks Russell Drysdale Fellowship, The University of Sydney- 2006

TheMHS Silver Award – Djirruwang Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Program -1996

Publications

Books

Hart LM, Kitchener BA, Jorm AF, and Kanowski LG, editors (2010) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Manual. 2nd edition, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre; Melbourne.

Kanowski LG, Kitchener BA (2008) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Workbook, ORYGEN Research Centre, University of Melbourne.

Kanowski LG, Kitchener BA, Jorm AF (Eds) (2007) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Manual, ORYGEN Research Centre, University of Melbourne.

Kitchener, B.A., Jorm, A.F., Kanowski, L.G., Petric, T., Vlaicevic, B., Goodwin, M., & Ubertini, M., (2005) Ovaj Prirucnick objavljen je i na engleskome jeziku. Canberra, Australian National University.

Kitchener, B.A., Jorm, A.F., Kanowski, L.G., Bonazzi, M., Crusca, S., & Aloisi, B., (2005) Manuale di Primo Soccorso della Sanitá Mentale per le Comunitá Italiane in Australia. Canberra, Australian National University.

Kitchener, B.A., Jorm, A.F., Kanowski, L.G., Bui, V., Dinh, T., & Nguyen, L., (2005) Sách chí dán thúc hanh cáp cúu y té tám than. Canberra, Australian National University.

Journal Articles

Hart LM, Bourchier SJ, Jorm AF, Kanowski LG, Kingston AH, Stanley D, Lubman DI (2010) Development of mental health first aid guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing problems with substance use: a Delphi study, BMC Psychiatry 2010, 10:78.

Hart LM, Jorm AF, Kanowski LG, Kelly CM and Langlands RL (2009) Mental Health First Aid for Indigenous Australians: using Delphi consensus studies to develop guidelines for culturally appropriate responses to mental health problems, BMC Psychiatry 2009, 9:47.

Kanowski LG, Jorm AF and Hart LM (2009) A Mental Health First Aid Training Program for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: description and initial evaluation, International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2009 3:10.

Kanowski, L.G (2008) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid (AMHFA) Program. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal. Volume 32, Issue 2, Mar/Apr 2008, 18-19.

Jorm, A.F., Kitchener, B.A., Kanowski, L.G. & Kelly, C.M (2007) Mental health first aid training for members of the public. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 7, 141-151.

Kanowski, L.G (2004) Introducing change in a complex organisation: A comparative analysis of the Southern Area First Episode (SAFE) Early Psychosis Program. Major project, Masters of International Mental Health, University of Melbourne.

O’Kearney, R., Garland, G., Welch, M., Kanowski, L., Fitzgerald, S (2004)  Factors predicting program fidelity and delivery of an early intervention program for first episode psychosis in rural Australia. Submitted for publication February 2004.

Conference Presentations

Aboriginal Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Services in the Greater Western Area Health Service NSW: A snapshot. NSW Aboriginal Mental Health Worker Forum, Orange NSW (2010)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Training and Research Program. TheMHS Conference, Melbourne (2007)

Cultural Adaptations of the Mental Health First Aid Course. World Psychiatric Association Conference, Melbourne (2007)

Developing a culturally appropriate Mental Health First Aid Literacy Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. NSW Aboriginal Mental Health Worker Forum, Sydney (2006)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Training Program. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Social Psychiatry Conference, Cairns (2006)

Cultural adaptations of the Mental Health First Aid Training and Research Program. TheMHS Conference, Adelaide (2005)

Introducing change in a complex organisation: The implementation and evaluation of the Southern Area First Episode (SAFE) Program in rural NSW, Australia. 2nd iMHLP International Mental Health Development Conference, Beijing China (2003)