Ahead of International Women’s Day, the Australian Psychological Society (APS) is calling for vital measures to support the mental health and wellbeing of women and children battling domestic and family violence (DFV) across the nation.
APS President, Dr Kelly Gough said critical reforms were needed to improve access to mental health care and address the concerning levels of violence against women and children.
"In the current cost of living crisis, many women are finding it harder than ever to access the essential mental health services they need”, said Dr Gough.
“In Australia, on average, one woman is murdered by her current or former partner approximately every eight days.
"We are calling on the Government to empower women and children who experience family and domestic violence by providing high quality psychology support.
“Psychological care should be readily available for women and children experiencing DFV”, Dr Gough added.
“We also need the government to invest in further DFV training for health professionals and establish a professional support network”, Dr Gough said.
"The psychology workforce needs to be strengthened to address Australia’s critical mental health and wellbeing needs.
“Given the significant burden of mental health conditions, the full contribution that the psychology workforce makes to the mental health and wellbeing of Australian communities through prevention, early intervention and treatment programs must not be underestimated,” Dr Gough said.
The APS is calling on the Government to fund several initiatives designed to support effective mental health services in Australia, through:
Dr Gough said these proposed initiatives build on the APS’ strong track record of partnering with Government to successfully deliver training programs, research, and other funded projects. These include our Disaster Response Network, our recent systematic literature review on psychological interventions in the treatment of mental disorders, aged care training for psychologists and other healthcare professionals, and supervisor training amongst others.
“To ensure current and future generations of Australian women and children thrive, we are recommending costed, targeted, fiscally sustainable solutions that allow Government to achieve positive outcomes for the whole Australian community”, concluded Dr Gough.
For more information, or to arrange an interview call the APS Media team on 03 8662 3358 / 0435 896 444, or email.
The APS is the largest professional organisation for psychologists in Australia, representing close to 25,000 members. The APS is committed to advancing psychology as a discipline and profession. It spreads the message that psychologists make a difference to people’s lives, through improving psychological knowledge and community wellbeing.