VTMH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hello, I'm Abie. I'm both a psychiatric nurse and a social worker. I also have qualifications in general nursing and midwifery. One of my primary interests is building clinician skills to address cultural and complex needs at the point of admission or during initial assessment in mental health settings.
I have worked as a mental health nurse since 2013 in both acute and community settings, including as a transcultural Recovery Mental Health Clinician at the Mercy Mental Health Wyndham and Saltwater clinics, Associate Nurse Unit Manager at the Monash Health Perinatal Mental Health Unit. I held a VTMH portfolio from 2016 to 2017.
Most recently, I worked as a Social Worker in the Monash Health's Forensic Mental Health in Community Health Team (FMHiCH) and the Crisis Assessment Team (CAT)
Lecturing in nursing and midwifery at Charles Sturt and Southern Cross universities in NSW
Hi, I'm Adriana, the Manager of VTMH. I am a first generation migrant and my background is in psychology - I have a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
I have contributed to national and international mental health reforms. My work in this space has involved working with government, leaders, frontline workers, consumers, carers, community members and cross-sector groups to create a more dignifying, equitable, trauma-informed and culturally responsive system.
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hi, I'm Ine. I joined VTMH as an Education & Service Development Consultant in March 2023. I bring lived experience and professional expertise in early childhood, adult, and transcultural mental health to my role, and I can't wait to get involved.
I have a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University of the Sunshine Coast and a Graduate Diploma in Education (Early Childhood) from RMIT. I am in the process of completing a Master of Education (Equity, Diversity and Social Change) with the University of Melbourne.
I've been fortunate to work in a variety of settings, including non-for-profit, government and private, and in areas of relevance to mental health. These include early childhood early intervention, workplace rehabilitation, forensic, clinical and community mental health.
I am passionate about developing, implementing, and evaluating mental health programs with an intersectionality approach, such as a weekend group therapy program at Thomas Embling Hospital, and a young adult group therapy and dog therapy program at Ramsay Clinic Albert Road, Ramsay Healthcare.
I'm looking forward to collaboratively working with the VTMH team to strengthen existing projects. Long term, I'm looking forward to also collaboratively working with the team to develop and implement innovative projects that further address and improve inequalities and intersectionality health gaps that people with diversity experience.
My travel goal is to visit every continent, and it's going well. I have been fortunate to have travelled to over 20 countries and have visited every continent except South America and Antarctica!
Hi, I'm Justin, and I've worked with VTMH since 2012. I'm an experienced, general adult psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has provided educational support of psychiatry registrars through my work with both the University of Melbourne and VTMH. I also hold qualifications in management.
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hi, I'm Kimberley, I've completed studies in occupational therapy and I've worked with VTMH since 2011. In that time, I've been fortunate to have been involved in a variety of important projects and activities, including service development consultancy, facilitating group consultation processes, project management, publication writing, and training development and facilitation. I began my mental health career in Victoria's Community Managed Mental Health Services sector, where I worked as a home-based outreach support worker and group program worker with an inner-city psychosocial support service, and later as a team leader for a home-based outreach service in Victoria's east.
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hello, I'm Nadya, a psychologist and consultant at VTMH. I've worked with VTMH since 2009, hold a PhD in Psychology, and am an Honorary Fellow at the School of Population & Global Health at the University of Melbourne.
I have contributed to several VTMH reports and papers over the years.
Hello, I'm Naomi. I was a consumer representative for nearly 12 months at North West Area Mental Health, also known as Waratah Clinic, prior to commencing with VTMH. This included sitting on the board of ‘C-Drive' (Consumer Drive), playing a key role in the ‘Create 2' Art Exhibition for consumers and budding artists, and co-facilitating nurse's intake sessions with fellow consumers.
I studied IT at Swinburne University and worked in the IT industry for 16 years before transitioning to my current Consumer Consultant role, which I consider a more meaningful vocation. I am also a practising Christian, which has helped me greatly in my recovery journey.
Hi there, I'm Olivia. I joined VTMH as a Carer Consultant in November 2022.
In my role, I aim to highlight the voices of young people with diverse experiences, and the voices of people with lived experience of being carers. I'm also keen to advocate for lived experience voices through a multicultural and intergenerational lens.
I have a Bachelor of Science with a major in Psychology, and a Bachelor of Music.
Before joining VTMH as a Carer Consultant, I worked in community support and student wellbeing at a secondary school. In the youth mental health sector, I have volunteer experience with headspace, and Raise.
I love cooking and exploring the connection between mental wellbeing and food. A program called Inner Peas that I co-facilitated with headspace is a great example of this. Inner Peas is a four-week-long social cooking program aimed at increasing social interaction and improving mental wellbeing in young people. One of the highlights of this program was exploring different cultures through food each week. I was nominated for Boroondara Volunteer of the Year Award 2022 for this work.
I'm really looking forward to connecting with VTMH's carer community.
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hello, I'm Radhika and I'm a clinical psychologist working in the field of trauma. I've worked with VTMH since 2011.
I have completed a postdoctoral fellowship in transcultural mental health and hold a PhD in developmental neuropsychology, a Master of Philosophy in medical and social psychology, a Master of Arts in clinical psychology, and a graduate degree in philosophy. I have more than three decades of experience in clinical practice in institutions across India, Canada and Australia. I can speak six languages, and am lucky to be able to use four of these in both my therapeutic and community work.
In Australia, I have worked in tertiary hospitals and universities as a clinical consultant and senior lecturer. Over the last two decades, my work, in addition to direct therapeutic practice, has focused on service development and working with clinical and community organisations to improve access and equity in mental health. Before joining VTMH, for example, I worked in Far North Queensland with remote Aboriginal and Islander communities in Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands. I currently work with consumers, communities and service providers across three sectors: refugees and asylum seekers; emerging communities; and vulnerable women/families.
Hello, I'm Sangita. I am a psychiatry registrar who joined VTMH in February 2024.
Originally from Malaysia, I gained my Bachelor of Medicine in India, and my Masters of Psychiatry from the University of Melbourne. I'm currently training to be a psychiatrist with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.
I've worked in Werribee Mercy as a psychiatry registrar and prior to that I was working in psychiatry in a rural town in Malaysia. Over the years, I have had exposure with working across a diverse population. I have volunteered in NGOs in Malaysia working with refugees, asylum seekers and the indigenous population there.
I am passionate in supporting organisations become more culturally responsive and understanding the importance of cultural sensitivity in mental health care.
Away from work, I'm an avid reader and enjoy spending time with my family.
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hi, I'm Shehani and I've worked with VTMH since 2013. I have a background in psychology and community development and more than 20 years of experience working directly with marginalised communities and grassroot community and mental health organisations.
Before joining VTMH, I coordinated the transcultural mental health access program at Action on Disability within Ethnic Communities (ADEC) in Melbourne, working with communities from diverse cultural backgrounds. I also worked in New Zealand with a trauma service for refugees and asylum seekers as a counsellor and advocate and at Schizophrenia Fellowship supporting consumers and carers to access housing in urban Wellington. I have also had the opportunity to undertake international development work through UNICEF Sri Lanka where I worked as a psychosocial specialist supporting and building the capacity of community organisations funded to work with communities impacted by civil war. I look forward to continuing to play a part in VTMH and its role in building the capacity of the workforce to provide equitable services to the culturally diverse communities of Victoria.
Job Titles:
- Education and Service Development Consultant
Hello, I'm Stephanie. I am a Social Worker with a background in Narrative Therapy and a strong interest in working with diverse communities in Australia and overseas.
Before joining VTMH, I worked as a Counsellor Advocate and Senior Practitioner with Foundation House alongside adults, children and families of refugee background and those seeking asylum who have survived experiences of torture and trauma.
I am interested in supporting the mental health and service delivery workforce to better engage with diverse communities using an intersectional lens and culturally responsive practices to foster inclusion and cultural safety. I have been privileged to facilitate reflective practice groups, supervision, and education and training in a number of community organisations and universities.
I am further interested in creating spaces for the voices of diverse communities to inform developments in policy and systems. In line with this interest, I am proud to have collaborated with the Department of Education and Training and the Brotherhood of St Laurence to explore the barriers and challenges for four refugee background communities in their engagement with kindergarten programs. Learnings from this project have been used to inform policy and practice changes intended to increase access and participation for newly arrived communities in early childhood education.
Hello, I'm Sylvia, and I've worked at VTMH since February 2018. I hold qualifications in business and marketing, and specialise in project management, organisation of the VTMH team and coordination of the various mental health education and skill-development events - including seminars, webinars and workshops - that VTMH runs for practitioners working in clinical and community mental health settings.
Before joining VTMH, I worked in marketing then event coordination across a range of sectors including education, law and civil contracting.