Lived experience helps Aboriginal Mental Health Coordinator Lisa Collard

An integral part of the Bunbury Regional Hospital team, Aboriginal Mental Health Coordinator Lisa Collard brings a wealth of lived experience to her work.

Now, as Senior Project Officer for Aboriginal Health – Eating Disorders, Lisa is helping to tackle eating disorders among young Aboriginal people through her involvement in the Looks Like Me, Sounds Like Me project, one of nine winning submissions in WA Country Health Service’s 2025 Pitch Your Pilot program.

The ‘Feelings about my body and eating’ project is one of four WA Country Health Service projects to receive grant funding from Telethon for 2026. 

This project aims to improve how eating disorders and disordered eating are identified in Aboriginal young people aged 12 to 24, by piloting a new co-designed, culturally safe screening tool that is grounded in the lived experiences of Aboriginal communities.

“It allows me to put my skills into practice while using my leadership skills to lead the Aboriginal mental health team to successful outcomes and improve the service,” Lisa said.

“The project is important as eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that can cause emotional distress and physical harm.

“For Aboriginal youth, these issues are often linked to food insecurity, trauma and systemic disadvantage.

“Despite this, eating disorders in Aboriginal populations are rarely studied, and there are no culturally appropriate tools to help health workers detect them early.

“This means many young people don’t get the help they need until much later, when problems have become more severe.”

The screening tool has been co-designed with Aboriginal young people, families, communities and health professionals.

As the next phase of the project, the tool will be piloted in real-world settings to assess how well it works and how acceptable it is to both health workers and young people.

The eating disorders working group was formed in collaboration with the Aboriginal Mental Health Alliance Group.

Alongside Aboriginal Mental Health Coordinators Vernon Dann and Lee-Ann Woods, Lisa provides cultural support and guidance to the project and ensure the tool is culturally appropriate for Aboriginal youth. Lisa said her lived experience with mental health and the impact it had on her family and community is what attracted her to explore working in Aboriginal mental health.

“I’m passionate about supporting family and community with their mental health, especially after losing loved ones in the past who have struggled with it,” Lisa said.

After commencing with WA Country Health Service in 2022, Lisa first worked as a Senior Aboriginal Liaison Officer based at Bunbury Hospital.

Her passion and drive to make a change led her to complete a Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling.

She has been involved in upskilling and teaching others about the importance of developing strategies to provide qualitative services for self-care and self-belonging in Aboriginal mental health.

Lisa said that taking on the Aboriginal Mental Health Coordinator role in the South West region has been one of the proudest moments of her career.

Lisa shared that the new Senior Project Officer position provides her with the opportunity to upskill in eating disorders and disordered eating, elevating her knowledge and skills to complement her degree.

“I highly recommend a career in country health,” Lisa said.

“The opportunities are endless, with multiple disciplines, especially for Aboriginal staff.

“The additional support and guidance provided by staff in executive roles and central office is highly commendable, which, in my experience, has a positive impact on staff satisfaction.”