1 Jan 2020 DRAFT

Maggie Toko & Becky Myers - 2 Nations Yarning and Korero about indigenous
women's mental health
Maggie Toko is a Maori woman from Aotearoa. She is the CEO
of the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and has a
lived experience of mental health. Maggie is passionate about
human rights and has made a life time commitment to fight
injustice whenever she can.
Becky Myers is an aboriginal Arrernte
women from Alice Springs living in Adelaide,
currently working as Case Worker in Mental Health &
Disability and Drug and Alcohol misuses. Becky is very passionate
about the rights of all people, loves the work she dose
for aboriginal women dealing with Mental Health and is very
committed to support those in need.
Michael Sheehan - Whatever happened to hope-inspiring environments?
The compassion deficit in mental health care.
Current mental health policy and practice does not appear to
prioritise the development of compassionate contexts, as evidenced
by a wide imbalance of power in mental health services,
a lack of tolerance for ‘difference’ and an imperative to
deal decisively with ‘problematic’ clients. Additionally political
and societal concerns prioritise the need to control risk and
uncertainty, resulting in an inherently coercive mental health framework. The alternative
is to create compassionate and hope-inspiring environments in which people
experiencing mental distress can develop their own unique ways of accepting and
living with (or recovering from) their mental health difficulties.
Michael Sheehan is currently Executive Director at Relationships Australia Western
Australia and oversees its Family Mental Health, Domestic Violence and Child Contact
Services. For over 25 years, he has held senior management positions within the
community services sector. His skills and experience include policy development and
review, clinical supervision, university lecturing and liaising with government and
non–government agencies and various key reference groups.
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