IDAHOBIT 2025: VMHPAA Highlights the Role of Vocationally Trained Practitioners in Supporting Mental Health Amid Discrimination
- Shane Warren
- May 16
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 9
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 May 2025
IDAHOBIT 2025: VMHPAA Highlights the Role of Vocationally Trained Practitioners in Supporting Mental Health Amid Discrimination
On IDAHOBIT – the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, the Vocational Mental Health Practitioners Association Australia (VMHPAA) is calling attention to the essential, often unseen work of vocationally trained youth workers, peer support practitioners, and counsellors who provide grassroots mental health support for LGBTQ+ individuals - especially in moments of deep pain, isolation, and crisis.
In a social climate where discrimination continues to marginalise and traumatise LGBTQI+SB communities, it is often vocational practitioners who are on the frontlines offering non-judgmental, community-based care, advocacy, and early intervention.
“In times of discrimination, it’s the youth worker in the school, the peer support practitioner in the community hub, or the vocationally trained counsellor in the drop-in centre who holds space for that person in distress,” said Shane Warren, Chair of VMHPAA and author of Navigating LGBTGEQIAP+ Terminology: A Comprehensive Guide for Mental Health Professionals.“They are the ones who listen first, validate identity, and create a lifeline back to hope.”
Mental health is a human right and discrimination is a public health issue. Research consistently shows that LGBTQI+SB individuals, particularly young people, face disproportionately higher rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide, largely due to stigma, marginalisation, and lack of culturally competent care.
“Our vocationally trained mental health workforce is uniquely skilled to meet people where they are,” Warren continued. “They are experts on how to build trust quickly, know how to offer immediate emotional support, and connect people to resources before a crisis escalates.”
Call to Action from VMHPAA on IDAHOBIT:
Recognise and fund the work of vocationally trained practitioners as essential frontline responders in LGBTQI+SB mental health.
Integrate lived experience and peer-based models into national suicide prevention and mental health strategies.
Ensure training in inclusive, identity-affirming practice is embedded in all vocational mental health qualifications.
On this IDAHOBIT, VMHPAA urges Australians to go beyond awareness and move toward real action by investing in the grassroots professionals who support queer communities with dignity, empathy, and practical care.
Because mental health matters for everyone. And every person deserves to be seen, supported, and safe.
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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