This supervisor has been approved to provide supervision under the ACCESS TO SUPERVISION PROJECT.

This supervisor has completed the Carer Perspective Supervision Training and is currently a trainer for this training

I bring my lived experience as a family carer having accessed mental health services in Victoria across Child and Adolescent as well as Adult services. Having spent almost 20 years in the mental health sector in direct, systemic, operational and educational LLE work as well as workforce development, policy and governance, both in Victorian, and Australia. My passion is drawn from wanting to make difference in the lives of other family/carer members and advocating for improved service delivery that is respectful and inclusive of Family/Carers. I am committed in growing the lived experience family/carer workforce including appropriate structures and supports. Always invested in increasing family/carer participation through codesign and co-production promotion into LLE Leadership and LLE Led activities at all levels of organisations.

This supervisor has been approved to provide supervision under the ACCESS TO SUPERVISION PROJECT. If you are a supervisee who has received an approval email/letter from the CMHL you may contact this supervisor for supervision for this project, then follow the stated processes for supervision payment.

I spent 16 years at Monash Health, Mental Health Program as a Family/Carer Consultant since 2008 initially into a Child and Adolescence Mental Health (CAMHS) role and later adding an Adult Family/Carer Consultant role and then was appointed into a Senior Family/Carer Consultant Role overseeing Mental Health programs service wide. During this time, I was Acting Director of the Consumer and Carer Relations team for 2.5 years and supported the development and introduction of peer support work and support structures. I provide 1-1 supervision to family/carer and at times consumer lived experience positions though this is less common practice now.

At the beginning of my lived experience work I was one of the first group to be trained in Intentional Peer Support (IPS) in Victoria by the developers of the course and have completed refresher courses and Advanced IPS training since incorporating co-reflection facilitation skills. From 2013-2025 I was appointed to the position of Victorian Carer Representative on the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) holding an executive role for 5 of those years. Through this forum we developed many position papers and advocacy briefs as well as research. Much of this work focused on the developing peer workforce and advocating for recognition and support, which in turn resulted in the development of the National Consumer and Carer Peak bodies as well as the current announcement of the Australian Association of Peer Workers.

From 2017- 2026 I joined the Board of Governance of Tandem the Mental Health Family Carer Peak Body where I developed skills in strategic direction and that was now to focus more on, and include, Family Carer LE Workforce on its board more specifically and in its strategic focus. This relationship led to a formal Partnership with Tandem and CLEW, in the oversight, direction and delivery of the Family Carer LLE Workforce Development projects resulting from the Royal Commission into mental health. The outputs were the Mental Health Family Carer Discipline framework, Standard Position Descriptions and Recruitment Guidelines, Delivery of the Carer Perspective Supervision Training and Train the Trainer Program and CLEW Sustainability.

From 2017-2026 I also Joined the Leadership Team for the Carer Lived Experience Workforce (CLEW) and later became Chair. Through CLEW we support the members connection and networking and advocated for workforce recognition and workplace improvements including training and education. My focus was also on building sustainability and developing sector partnerships including with other LLE workforces. This led to the Carer Perspective work into the Our Future Report developing introductory training for the LLE workforces in Vic, were Family Carer LE work was first recognised as its own discipline. Furthermore, it has now led to the start-up of the Collective supporting the 5 LLE Workforces and delivering LLE Workforce Training and Education and the home for the new CLEW Coordinator role. I have been so privileged to have been able to lead this work and have advocated for a long time to have a formal focused on supporting the ongoing, clear and transparent; membership led ways; of appointing CLEW to many ongoing workforce development activities. Though there has been a Register at Tandem for Carer participation my vision was always that there would be similar for the FCLEW workforce as each of these perspectives bring different things.

I joined the Mental Health Lived Experience Workforce Advisory Group that then became the Expert Reference Group at the DHHS in 2017-2026 that has been driving the workforce development in Victoria. This has transitioned to the Lived and living Experience Workforce Advisory Group soon to be partnership group, supporting the co-design and co-production of the Mental Health Reform relating to the Lived and Living Lived Experience Workforce in Victoria Supported by the Victorian Collaborative Centre. This group now broadening its inclusion more recently to the AOD sector and Harm Reduction workforces. The CLEW Coordinator will manage appointments to this and many other workforce positions into the future.

During 2023-2026 I supported the development of the Lived and Living Experience Leadership Strategy as a Family Carer Technical Expert through SHARC alongside the multiple perspectives.

As the current Carer Community Member on the RANZCP, Vic Branch Committee, I have been involved in codesigning the Victorian Psychiatry Leadership Training, presented at Congress in 2025. The Victorian Psychiatry Leadership Project ran over two years. The Model encompasses 4 focus areas - Leading Self, Co-Leading (with LLE), Leading Complex Systems, Leading Ethically. This project showed psychiatry training effort and commitment to move past leading alone as the only discipline with valuable knowledge. Instead, being open to co-leadership frameworks.

Governance of the Collective - CLEW

Carer Perspective Supervision Trainer

Family Carer Lived Experience Supervisor

Australian Association of Peer Workers – Peer Worker Co-Lab Stream

Interior Decorating (Personal Interest)

IPS Core Training, IPS Refresher Training & IPS Advanced Training

Carer Perspective Supervision

Carer Perspective Supervision Training - TTT trainee

Cert IV Mental Health Peer Work

Cert IV Training and Assessment (Able to train and assess Cert IV Mental Health Peer work and Carer Perspective Supervision)

Advanced Diploma of Management

Graduate Certificate in Community Services Practice - Culturally Responsive Practice - RMIT/Victorian Transcultural Mental Health

Graduate Certificate Health Professions Education - Monash University

I approach supervision through the Carer Perspective Supervision Training Model where the Supervisor has experience to bring to relationship and can support the growth and development with the supervisee and can help draw out the knowledge and experience, they hold within them already supporting the balancing of power. I value the use of a relational ways of working that builds a trust. I acknowledge all the previous life experience family carers bring into the role from the lives and careers they may have led prior to joining this work. My supervision and leadership experience has developed over my career and I am open to mutual learning, as I believe in lifelong learning or continuous learning philosophy. I am approachable and supportive so reach out and have a chat.

As the family/carer workforce is very small and still growing, I want to be able to grow the interest in the family carer workforce to be providing supervision into the future and am passionate about building leadership from within our discipline’s workforce. I have been passionate about the support structures and sustainability of the lived experience workforce for some years and only too happy to invest time in this area as we grow capability in leadership.