There are some extra struggles for women with mental illness in rural areas.
Depression, anxiety and suicide in rural areas is not confined to males
When we think of mental health issues such as depression and suicide in rural, remote and regional Australia, perhaps the tendency is to immediately think of men and young people.
But women in rural Australia suffer from mental health issues too.
One clinical psychologist says often the expectations on women to hold it all together are greater than those on men.
Dr Lisa Patterson-Kane is based in Walcha in northern NSW but does all her consulting online helping women from rural and remote areas across the country.
She says isolation, exhaustion and post natal depression are some of the most common causes of mental health issues among rural women.
'There's this expected stoicism. There is a huge amount of pressure on women to keep it together. In many situations it's the women who are often holding the family together and if a woman can't hold it together the ripples are felt throughout the family,' Dr Patterson-Kane said.
Read the full story presented by Cameron Wilson, ABC Bush Telegraph, 10 October 2014
The 6th Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium theme, The Practitioner’s Voice, seeks to give voice to practitioners who are faced with these challenges on a regular basis. Be a part of the discussion by registering for the symposium to be held 12-14 November 2014 at the Commercial Club Albury.
