Prominent consultant psychiatrist and Western Australia’s 2021 Australian of the Year, Professor Helen Milroy AM, has been recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (General Division).
Professor Milroy, a descendent of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region, is one of the nation’s leading mental health researchers, and an award-winning author and artist.
As Co-Director of Embrace and an Honorary Research Fellow at The Kids Research Institute Australia, Professor Milroy works primarily on research into recovery from childhood trauma and grief. She has worked for decades to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children in First Nations Communities and has been instrumental in developing extensive clinical training and education in cross-cultural models of care and healing from trauma.
Professor Milroy is also the Stan Perron Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UWA and the Child and Adolescent Health Service (funded by Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation).
From 2013-2017, Professor Milroy served as a commissioner for the Australian Government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. She has been on multiple state and national mental health advisory committees and is currently a commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission. Professor Milroy has also authored and illustrated several children’s books, as part of her highly successful ‘Tales from the Bush Mob’ series.
“It’s a great honour and I think whenever your work is recognised, it means that it has been important and I’m really glad about that,” Professor Milroy said.
“I do think that the wellbeing of our children is one of the most important things we can do in our life.
I’m really hoping that this creates a renewed opportunity to invest more in the social and emotional wellbeing of our children.”
Among Professor Milroy’s other accolades are the 2020 Australian Mental Health Prize (joint winner) and the 2021 Whitley Awards’ Young Children’s Reader Category award.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis AM said the Governor-General’s recognition of Professor Milroy was testament to the profound impact of Professor Milroy’s work across mental health research and advocacy.
“Helen’s capacity to advocate for a brighter future for young people across Australia is extraordinary, her energy coming from a seemingly limitless capacity for compassion,” Professor Carapetis said.
“On behalf of The Kids Research Institute Australia, I can only say how richly deserved Helen’s recognition on this year’s Australia Day Honours List is.”
Embrace @ The Kids Research Institute Australia's Co-Director, Professor Helen Milroy AM, has been recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia.