Description
About the author:
Helen is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia but was born and educated in Perth. She is Australia’s first Indigenous doctor and child psychiatrist. Helen is the Stan Perron Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Perth Children’s Hospital and University of Western Australia and Honorary Research Fellow at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
With a particular focus on Indigenous mental health and children’s wellbeing, Helen is Chair of Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia and a board member of Beyond Blue. She was a Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013–2017) and the National Mental Health Commission (2017–2021).
In 2020, Helen was the joint winner of the Australian Mental Health Prize and named the WA Australian of the Year for 2021.
Helen is also an artist and children’s author, and several of her books have been shortlisted for children’s literature awards.
