Mental Health

Throughout the time I took to decide that I wanted to be a midwife my culture and background has always contributed to my decision making. Within the area I live in I know there is not may Indigenous midwives available for mums or babies that identify has Indigenous so I knew that doing this would not only benefit myself but my community. I want to be able to provide a safe space for Indigenous mums to voice their concerns or anything they wish to without being judged.

I have set my goal to work in remote and rural Aboriginal communities in WA to help improve and implement health strategies. This includes primary health care and prevention of chronic health disease, by using education to empower and facilitate good health attitudes. One of the communities that I am keen to work in is Lombardina near Broome, which I have family connections. My motivation to complete the bachelor degree in nursing so that I can assist Aboriginal women to stay on country during the birth process and be there to support the women during this. Therefore helping them with their spiritual and cultural journey and keeping iwht their health belief model and their connection to country. As the first person in my family and extended family to go to university and the first Bindjareb women to enrol in the nursing degree I hope to inspire and motivate many other young Nyungar women to follow my lead so that they can excel and be stronger person within their communities and families.

I am a young person with lived experience of psychosis and other mental health challenges. It is these experiences that have lead me to work and advocate in the mental health space. I have volunteered for batyr as part of their University of Technology Sydney chapter, have been a youth ambassador for ReachOut and have been on both the national Youth Research Council and Youth Advisory Council for Orygen.

Alysa Bachmann, who earned her Bachelor of Psychological Science with First Class Honours from CQUniversity in 2020, is a passionate advocate for mental health. Her professional journey as a Provisional Psychologist involved conducting assessments for children as well as supporting individuals living with psychosocial disabilities. These experiences have contributed to her interest in researching mental health challenges.

I am a proud Kija woman from the East Kimberly. I was raised in Kununurra, a town situated on Miriuwung Gajerrong country, a town which I consider my home and the local people my family. I completed my primary education at the renamed, East Kimberly College and attended boarding school at Iona Presentation College, in Mosman Park. It was from this adjustment in location, that I truly understood how my culturally rich upbringing had influenced my perspective on social norms and idea of community.

My interest in Speech Pathology is rooted in my family history….

During my 12 month bridging course, I sought out volunteer work at a local public school and day care, when I assisted a speech pathologist. Both facilities were in low socio-economic areas and had a high attending of bother Indigenous and underprivileged young children, some with very cad circumstances. I loved helping them and seeing what a high difference just one person who cares can make to their self confidence, trust and ultimately their entire future.

Caroline Donovan is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor within the School of Applied Psychology and the Centre for Mental Health at Griffith University. She has received over $9 million worth of funding throughout her career and has published 13 book chapters and 95 peer reviewed journal articles. She is an Associate Editor of Anxiety, Stress and Coping, and is currently on the Editorial Boards of Child Psychiatry and Human Development and Australian Psychologist.

Govind is a clinical psychologist and senior academic at the University of Southern Queensland and a member of the Manna Institute (Regional Mental Health Research and Training Institute). He has over 15 years of experience in child and youth mental health services in both private and public settings. Govind’s research focuses on improving equity and access to mental healthcare for priority groups of children, youth and their families.

Dr Talia Carl is an early-career researcher and Lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. Her doctoral research involved experimental and longitudinal studies examining the relationship between moral development, parenting and context on children’s lie telling and problem behaviours. She has also managed a number of large-scale clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of interventions for children’s mental health. Her research aims to understand the factors that impact child emotional and behavioural problems, and treatment response, in order to facilitate the development and implementation of interventions. She is also passionate about increasing access to evidence-based interventions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of all Australian children.

Professor Jennie Hudson is the Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Black Dog Institute and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia. Jennie’s research focuses on understanding the factors that contribute to children’s mental health and working to improve the services available to children experiencing anxiety and other related disorders. Jennie has authored over 200 publications in the field of child mental health.