Meet the team behind the information resources
Listed in alphabetical order
Andrea Dickson
Bereavement Support Worker, Advocate, Doula, Mother with lived expereince
Andrea Dickson is the owner of Matrescence Australia and works for Red Nose Australia in their Hospital to Home Program part-time as Bereavement Support Worker, assisting families who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss (stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, sudden infant death syndrome & sudden and unexpected death of an infant) from 20 weeks gestation up to 12 months of age. In 2019, Andrea founded a peer to peer support group for parents who have experienced termination for medical reasons.
Andrea has two living children and uses her advocacy and support work as a way of ‘mothering’ her three other children lost to early pregnancy loss and termination for medical reasons. Her own struggles with infertility, pregnancy loss and the inspiring families she works with on a daily basis are her greatest source of motivation.
Julia D'Orazio
Accredited Social Worker, Perinatal Therapist, Infant Sleep Specialist and Motherhood Studies Practitioner, Mother with Lived Experience
Julia is passionate about walking alongside mothers through matrescence, and supporting them in the transition and adjustment that mums experience in the postpartum period. Julia is herself a single mum to her young daughter, and has lived through the challenges mums face, giving her an insight into how difficult this period can be and what support should look like. Julia has lived experience of a prenatal diagnosis, receiving the news that her daughter had Transposition of the Great Arteries at 20 weeks pregnant.
Lauren Keegan
Perinatal Psychologist, Supervisor, Educator, Writer
Lauren Keegan is a perinatal psychologist with extensive experience working with perinatal populations in public Hospitals in NSW. She now works in private practice in the Southern Highlands and provides supervision and training to professionals.
https://www.laurenkeeganpsychologist.com/
https://www.laurenkeeganpsychologist.com/
Meagan Donaldson
Mother with Lived Experience, Author, Creator, Educator
Meagan Donaldson is the author of Still a Mum and the founder of the fundraiser Violet’s Gift. Through this initiative, she created a supportive room in the hospital, donated cuddle cots, and memory boxes to aid grieving parents after stillbirth. Meagan also co-created ‘A Little Help from Remy,’ a companion for those who have experienced a termination for medical reasons (TFMR).
Find her on social media @violets_gift. For her book, visit meagandonaldson.com.au, and to learn about the TFMR companion, go to alittlehelpfromjack.com.au.
Pieta Shakes
Mother with Lived Experience, Lecturer, Researcher, Mental Health Nurse
Pieta (she/her) is a Lecturer with James Cook University and teaches research and clinical governance to students in the Master of Nursing. Pieta has postgraduate qualifications in mental health nursing, diagnostic genomics and higher education teaching and learning.
Pieta is in the final stages of her PhD study into what mothers move through after they receive a prenatal diagnosis of agenesis of the corpus callosum. She has published and presented on this topic and the wider psychosocial impacts of prenatal diagnosis, and currently leads other research and training development in this space. Pieta’s research and advocacy is inspired by her own lived experience.
Rachel Kleinman
Bereavement practitioner, Psychotherapist
After the birth of her daughter in 2008, Rachel sought a career change from the fast-paced work of journalism and decided to focus on a long-time interest – mental health and counselling. Rachel’s passion in this sector has always been grief and loss work, sparked by childhood lived experience of bereavement. Rachel has completed a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy and undertook her thesis research on Motherless Mothers in the Perinatal Period.
Rachel has worked for two major not-for-profits – PANDA and Red Nose Grief and Loss. She has also completed the Specialist Couples Therapy course at Relationships Australia in order to more skilfully support couples in grief work. Along the way, she added accreditations with the Centre of Perinatal Excellence, The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement and Griefline. Rachel works in a group private practice in inner Melbourne, In Dialogue.
Melanie Rolfe
Behavioural scientist
Melanie is a behavioural scientist who specialises in paediatric and family healthcare and grief. She has worked in hospital and community settings for over 15 years in psychosocial support and research roles, with a focus on community connection and preventative mental health. Melanie has brought dedication to consumer-informed health service design in the Paediatric Palliative Care National Action Plan project, as project manager for state-wide health system reform, and in her current PhD project, developing trauma-informed support programs and resources for parents of children with serious illness.
Melanie‘s work encompasses play and nature play in health and mental health settings, literature review, grey literature and service reviews, and international academic outputs. Melanie builds her work on degrees in Psychology, Positive Psychology, Adolescent Wellbeing, and Paediatric Palliative Care.
Rheann Kennedy
Mother with Lived Experience, Social Worker
Rheann Kennedy is a mother with a lived experience of receiving a prenatal diagnosis late in her second pregnancy. This situation placed Rheann on a journey of wanting to improve the experience of others receiving unexpected news during their pregnancy.
Rheann is passionate about women’s reproductive and healthcare rights in Australia and the role that our health care system can play in promoting health outcomes for women and infants.
Rheann is also a Social Worker with postgraduate studies in Loss, Grief and Trauma counselling. The majority of her career has been in public health working alongside women and children in both acute and community settings.
Dr Renée Miller
Perinatal Clinical Psychologist
Dr Renée Miller is the Principal Clinical Psychologist of The Perinatal Loss Centre and the Antenatal & Postnatal Psychology Network in Melbourne, Australia. Renée established The Perinatal Loss Centre with Bereavement Midwife, Eliza Strauss to provide best practice support and education to health practitioners, bereaved parents, and their families. She established the Antenatal and Postnatal Psychology Network by bringing together respected colleagues in the field of perinatal mental health to provide a quality perinatal counselling service to Victorians.
Renée is a passionate advocate for the recognition of Perinatal Mental Health, as an area of specialty. She trains professionals in the areas of perinatal loss and in supporting clients through diagnoses of fetal anomalies. In partnership with the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), Renée educates therapists with an online training course, “Perinatal Loss in Practice: What Therapists Need to Know”.
We have more contributors currently developing more resources.
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