At the beginning of this year the State Government announced a Royal Commission in to Family Domestic and Sexual Violence. The MHCSA recognises the important role mental health services play in the recovery of the long term trauma left by this type of violence.
Non-government mental health organisations work with survivors of family violence and their support networks to address physical, psychological and social effects, as well as acting as a contact point for early intervention. Research suggests that women experiencing family violence may benefit from psychological therapies as a way to improve mental health and enable women to focus on making safety plans, accessing resources for themselves and their children, and ultimately to escape family violence. There is evidence that for women who experience intimate partner violence, psychological therapies probably reduce depression and may reduce anxiety.
Once a woman has left the intimate partner violence services provided by the non-government mental health sector provide support to build skills, self-confidence and self-worth, navigate and engage with family violence services, as well as offering assistance with self-advocacy, with a focus on a strength-based approach. This includes providing support to identify strengths and initiate self-support strategies. Additionally, people experiencing family violence are supported to manage co-morbidities including AOD issues, poverty and homelessness.
Mental health services operating outside of Government, are well-placed to receive information for the earlier identification of individuals who are at high risk of experiencing or perpetrating domestic, family and sexual violence. While NGO staff feel that their psychosocial support services are saving lives and protecting the mental health of people experiencing family violence, there is a sense of treading water when providing this support within an environment of limited resources.
In making sure we are part of solutions moving forward we made our submission to the Royal Commission. You can read it in full here.
