Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month: VMHPAA Calls for Mental Health Action to Support Survivors
- Shane Warren
- May 1
- 2 min read
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1 May 2025
Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month: VMHPAA Calls for Mental Health Action to Support Survivors
As May marks Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, the Vocational Mental Health Practitioners Association of Australia (VMHPAA) urges all sectors of society to recognise the mental health toll domestic and family violence takes on individuals and communities, and to take meaningful action in response.
“You can’t heal what you’re afraid to name,” says Shane Warren, Chair of VMHPAA and a practising counsellor with more than 33 years' experience. “Domestic and family violence doesn’t always leave physical scars, but it always leaves emotional ones. As mental health professionals, we are on the front lines of helping people recover their safety, identity, and strength; and we need more resources, not silence.”
Domestic and family violence is not only a crisis of safety but a long-term public mental health issue, often contributing to anxiety, PTSD, depression, complex trauma, and intergenerational distress. Vocationally trained mental health practitioners, such as counsellors, lived experience practitioners, family support workers, and trauma-informed peer workers - play a vital role in prevention, early intervention, and survivor recovery.
Susan Sandy, Secretary of VMHPAA and a relationship counsellor with over 25 years in practice, adds:
“For many survivors, especially in intimate relationships, emotional abuse becomes internalised. They begin to question their own reality, their worth, and their ability to trust again. Mental health support is not just helpful, it is life-affirming and, often, life-saving.”
This May, VMHPAA encourages individuals, communities, and organisations to:
Raise awareness of the psychological impacts of family violence
Advocate for better access to mental health services for survivors, particularly in vocational and community settings
Support training and supervision for mental health practitioners working in high-risk family contexts
Challenge stigma and offer compassionate, trauma-informed care across all sectors
About VMHPAA
The Vocational Mental Health Practitioners Association of Australia (VMHPAA) is the national voice for professionals with vocational qualifications working in mental health. Representing counsellors, psychotherapists, peer workers, family support practitioners, and others, VMHPAA promotes excellence, advocacy, and ethical standards across all mental health care environments.
Media Contact:
Shane Warren
Chair
VMHPAA
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