Five years ago, the Cabrini Women’s Mental Health Service started out as nothing more than an idea.

“An ambitious idea,” Chief of Mental Health and Cabrini Outreach, Sharon Sherwood said. “Some might even have called it a slightly crazy idea – the idea that women deserved a dedicated mental health service designed around their needs, their stories, their strengths, and their recovery.”

That idea grew into something incredible. Since opening its doors in 2021, the service has grown substantially, according to Cabrini Clinical Psychologist, Rivkah Nathanson.

“Over the past five years, the number of clients we have on the ward continues to grow,” Rivkah said. “When we first opened, there was only a handful of clients but now, most of the time we’re almost full.”

The 30-bed unit has supported an incredible 1371 women via inpatient admissions over the years.

Through the generous support of donors, Cabrini Women’s Mental Health also assisted 36 women last year via the Access Fund. The Fund plays a vital role in reducing financial barriers to treatment and helps ensure women can access specialist care regardless of their financial situation.

But behind every admission and every dollar donated is a woman whose life has been changed.

“The impact for clients is really meaningful,” Rivkah said. “Often clients describe their experience as life-changing, which is a pretty big word they use to describe the impact of their stay and being supported by the service. It’s quite significant.”

It’s not just clients and clinicians who understand the impact the Service has, but the industry, too. Last year, the Service was named a finalist in the 2025 HESTA Excellence Awards, which recognise exceptional achievements across aged care, allied health, community and disability services.

Another significant achievement was the successful publication of “Australia’s First Women’s Mental Health Hospital” in journal Australasian Psychiatry. The publication reported the efficacy of the model of care and our experience with the broader health sector, contributing to the growing evidence base for specialist, gender-sensitive mental health care.

The journal paper was also the basis for the SBS World News media story that aired earlier this year featuring one of the Service’s clients, Tanya.

Rivkah, who has been with Cabrini Women’s Mental Health Service from the beginning, has seen it grow not just in the number of women it supports, but also in the evolution of its services.

“The breadth and scope of the service that we offer has significantly improved over time,” Rivkah said.

“The inpatient and outpatient programs have also developed in terms of the therapy that we’re providing. We’re constantly improving based on feedback that we get from clients, and at the moment it’s really a nice holistic, trauma-informed program that incorporates various different therapeutic approaches.”

As a clinician, the most important part of her role is supporting the women in her care.

“The most important thing is that women who are struggling have a place to come and get the help that they need and feel supported and cared for and get back on track to living the life that they want to live and feel supported in that.”

Supporting women is the goal Sharon had in mind when the idea was conceived years ago, although she’s quick to point out that the Service’s growth was never the work of one person alone. Reflecting on this five-year milestone, she says the credit belongs to everyone who has helped to build it.

“A service is built by lots of hands and hearts,” Sharon said. “It’s built by nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, exercise physiologists, art therapists, music therapists, pastoral care, administrators, hospitality staff, cleaners, volunteers, lived-experience voices, families and, most importantly, the women we care for.

“Together, we turned an idea into a reality. Together we turned a vision into something that has now supported hundreds of women. And together we continue to grow.”

Learn more about Cabrini Women’s Mental Health Service