About us
Across our team, we have decades of successful research and clinical work in women’s mental health under our belt. Our work is internationally renowned for innovating treatment for women. It’s now time to take our work to the next level to make a greater impact on women and families across the nation.
For women, a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors give rise to mental illness. This means that the causes of, and best treatments for, mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, trauma disorders, addictions, and self-harm are different in women compared with men.
Unlike any other centre nationally or internationally, HER Centre Australia is committed to specifically using these insights to develop world-first gender-tailored innovative treatments and interventions.
Our team includes psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors, researchers professionals, higher degree students, and administration staff.
A message from the director
- Professor Jayashri Kulkarni AM
Welcome to HER Centre Australia!
HER stands for Health Education and Research in women’s mental health, and our Centre is a leader in developing new understanding, new treatments, and new services for women with depression, trauma related mental health issues, anxiety problems, eating disorders and many other mental health concerns.
My team and I have been working in women’s mental health for decades to improve outcomes for women. Unfortunately, women experience nearly twice as much depression as men, four times as much anxiety and 12 times the rate of eating disorders. The causes of mental ill health in women are multifactorial and involve environmental, biological, and psychological factors. Environmental factors impacting on many women include being subjected to violence, having less power and lower wages, and struggling with negative cultural expectations.
Biology can play a key role in the development of mental ill health with gonadal hormone fluctuations causing premenstrual depression, perinatal illnesses and menopausal depression in some, vulnerable women. Over time, women’s psychological coping styles to deal with stress are more likely to predispose them to depression or anxiety. Considered as a whole, women’s mental health requires greater attention.
HER Centre Australia was established in May 2022 by Monash University and builds on the work of our team over decades. We have already developed world first treatments and approaches for women that are readily translated from the clinic into practice. Much more needs to be done! Please join us in our mission to optimise women’s mental health, which in turn helps each woman enjoy an excellent quality of life as well as improving the lives of her family, friends, and workplace colleagues. Women’s mental health is everyone’s business.
Partnerships
2024 Annual Report
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