Psychs on Bikes to make first stop to Albany RSL to deliver free mental and physical health checks

A group of medical practitioners aiming to destigmatise the mental health of regional men will roll into Albany on their motorbikes for the first time on Sunday, in the second stop of a 12-day regional tour.

The 15 members of Psychs on Bikes will attend Albany RSL on May 11, where psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health nurses will perform free mental and physical health check-ups.

Sydney-based psychiatrist Joe Dunn started the initiative in 2012 and has since covered roughly 100,000km of road on his bike with the team.

He said Albany, which has yet to be a destination on the POB trail, has been on his agenda for a while.

“I was yearning to go to that part of the world, that great big slab of beautiful Australia on the South West coast,” he said.

Dr Dunn said though anyone can attend the visits, which aim to address the “four silent killers” of high blood pressure, diabetes, alcohol, and depression, a primary focus was on destigmatising men’s mental health treatment.

“A lot of what we do is aimed towards men as they have a suicide rate four to fives times higher than woman,” he said.

“Wherever we go, people need our services but one of the sadnesses is we can’t treat people ongoing, but we can help people learn what’s available and what they should do and put a label on their distress.

“We explain what is anxiety, panic attack, grief, how do you know if you’re drinking too much, what to do if you’re feeling suicidal.

“Then we ask if they’d like to sit down with psychs and apart from the educational aspect, half the point is to desensitise men to the idea of sitting down with a profession and see it’s not scary or invasive or a shaming process.”

Alongside the mental health discussions, attendees can have their blood pressure, blood glucose and BMI/weight checked out by the nurses.

After Albany, the tour will travel to Esperance and Kalgoorlie, before heading across the Nullarbor where the tour will end in Dubbo.

The group will be at the Albany RSL sub-branch from 4-7pm this Sunday in conjunction with the Albany Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service who will be attending with their fire truck.