World Compassion Day:VMHPAA Highlights Compassion as a Core Ingredient of Mental Wellbeing and Community Care
- Shane Warren
- Nov 28
- 2 min read
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
28th November 2025
Today, on World Compassion Day, the Vocational Mental Health Practitioners Association of Australia (VMHPAA) calls on all Australians to embrace compassion as a daily practice not just a sentiment. Compassion is one of the most powerful tools we have for strengthening mental wellbeing, reducing stigma, and building healthier, more connected communities.
Whether expressed through small acts of kindness, patient listening, or stepping up to support someone in distress, compassion has a measurable impact on emotional resilience and collective wellbeing.
VMHPAA Chair Shane Warren emphasised the deep psychological value of compassion:
“Compassion isn’t soft, it’s strong. It is one of the most effective protectors of mental health we have. When people feel seen, valued, and cared for, healing becomes possible. In a time when so many are struggling, compassion is both a personal choice and a public responsibility.”
Across Australia, vocationally trained counsellors, lived-experience workers, peer support experts, youth workers, and community mental health practitioners embody compassion every day. They meet people where they are often at their most vulnerable offering connection, understanding, and safety.
VMHPAA recognises and celebrates these frontline workers who practice compassion not just as a value, but as a professional discipline.
On this World Compassion Day, VMHPAA calls for:
Greater investment in community-based mental health services that centre compassion and connection
Recognition of the vital role vocationally trained practitioners play in delivering compassionate support
Programs that strengthen social cohesion, reduce isolation, and promote emotional literacy
A national narrative that places compassion at the heart of mental health policy and prevention strategies
Compassion builds stronger people, stronger families, and stronger communities. Today and every day we invite Australians to choose empathy, offer kindness, and reach out to those who need it most.
Media Contact:
Shane Warren, Chair
Susan Sandy, Secretary
Philip Armstrong, CEO
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