In September 2021, Cabrini opened Australia’s first private, women’s mental health facility – The Lisa Thurin Women’s Health Centre at Cabrini Elsternwick. This 30-bed inpatient facility focuses on the treatment of women between the ages of 18 and 65 who are dealing with mental health conditions. We are seeking funding to upskill 10 mental health ...
Cabrini Health
Psychotherapy upskilling for women at Cabrini Women’s Mental Health Hospital

GOAL
$10,788
Field of Interest
- Education/training and employment
- Health/wellbeing and medical research
Target Population
- Women and girls
- People experiencing socio-economic disadvantage or vulnerability

Cabrini Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit private health service located in Melbourne’s south-east. Inspired by the mission and ethic of care of the Cabrini Sisters, we have been providing quality, compassionate care to our community for more than 70 years.
With hospitals in Malvern, Brighton and Elsternwick, Cabrini offers a comprehensive range of acute, rehabilitation, palliative care, mental health and homecare services.
Our highly-skilled staff and specialists incorporate clinical research, innovative models of care and state-of-the-art technology to deliver the best possible care and outcomes for our patients.
Project Summary
In September 2021, Cabrini opened Australia’s first private, women’s mental health facility – The Lisa Thurin Women’s Health Centre at Cabrini Elsternwick. This 30-bed inpatient facility focuses on the treatment of women between the ages of 18 and 65 who are dealing with mental health conditions.
We are seeking funding to upskill 10 mental health staff members in evidence-based trauma focussed treatment of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). Currently we have two trained staff but need to train 12 additional staff so we can provide the best care possible to women who suffer mental illness in Victoria. EMDR therapy is an up and coming form of therapy which involves moving your eyes in a certain way whilst a client processes a single or multiple traumatic memories. Current evidence from recent clinical trials indicate this form of therapy is very effective.
Project Outcomes
EMDR therapy can only be conducted by clinical psychologists and the current wait-list times outside of providing this form of therapy are extremely long. By training Cabrini staff this would by-pass the long wait-lists to see external clinical psychologists. EMDR doesn’t involve the client speaking, but focuses on tapping into the emotions, thoughts and behaviours via the brain. The brain often stores traumatic experiences and memories which are not healed. By using eye movements and guided instructions a client can access traumatic memories to help reprocess and repair the mental injury from the memory.
Upon completing the training, the clinicians can immediately use their training in the provision of EMDR for their clients at the facility. If successful in receiving funding we will register 12 staff through Psychology Training, an accredited EMDR trainer in Australia. The training session will occur later this year and will consist of 14 hours face-to-face training plus 7 hours pre-workshop preparation. Post training, all clinicians at the Lisa Thurin Women’s Health Centre will be able to conduct EMDR therapy rather than relying on just the two trained staff members. Each client will have three sessions per week during their 10-14 day stay at our facility.
The current impact of EMDR has been incredible with many positive outcomes from previous clients. Some outcomes include positive feelings, less distressed by the trauma, distanced from the trauma which they are receiving therapy for and that the trauma is not impacting their life as much as it used to.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $10,788
FUNDING
Funding source | Amount |
---|---|
Funding gap (unconfirmed) | $10,788 |
EXPENSES
Expense item | Amount |
---|---|
EMDR workshop | $10,788 |
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