Dr. Virginia Mapedzahama

I am a final-year Master of Social Work (Graduate Entry) student at Flinders University, currently completing my mental health placement at MDMH Clinic. I bring a background in sociology, community work, research and racial equity practice to my work in mental health.

This background shapes the way I understand mental health and people’s experiences. I am interested in what someone is going through personally, but also in the relationships, communities, cultures and everyday conditions that sit around them. Through many years of community work, I have seen how important it can be for people to feel genuinely heard, believed and supported. My research background has also made me aware that people’s distress often cannot be separated from the systems and histories they are living within. As a mental health social worker in training, I am particularly interested in how racism, exclusion and institutional harm can affect mental health and wellbeing. I am also interested in trauma-responsive and culturally safe practice, including what racial safety needs to look like in mental health settings. At MDMH, I am learning to pay attention to both what a person brings into the room and what may be happening around them socially, culturally and structurally. I am continuing to develop my clinical skills while thinking carefully about how this broader perspective can support therapeutic work, particularly when racism, racial marginalisation or systemic harm are part of a person’s lived experience.

Experience

• Over 15 years of community volunteer work (African Women Australia [AWAU]),

supporting community members navigating settlement, wellbeing, advocacy, and

connection

• PhD-trained sociologist with research experience in the social and structural drivers of inequality, wellbeing, and the social conditions that shape people’s lives

• Independent consulting practice focused on racial equity, organisational culture, and

creating safer, more inclusive environments

Qualifications

• Master of Social Work (Graduate Entry), Flinders University (current)

• PhD, Sociology

Works with:

• People of colour, particularly women of colour navigating overlapping forms of

discrimination and marginalisation

• Adults

Areas of interest:

• Trauma-responsive practice

• Migrant (and) community wellbeing

• Racial equity and the social conditions that shape mental health

• Culturally safe practice, including racial safety

Languages:

• Shona