SAMSN’s Clinical Advisory Committee

SAMSN’s Clinical Advisory Committee (CAC) provides expertise and direction to SAMSN on matters related to clinical programs undertaken and proposed. The Committee provides an interface between external advice and the internal operations of SAMSN’s services to support SAMSN’s purpose: To build a support network that gives voice and agency to male survivors and their supporters.

The Committee is a collaboration between professionals, community represenatives and men with lived expertise in the development of excellence in service delivery. We are honoured to enjoy the wisdom, time and generosity of our CAC members.

Rob Hall is an Adelaide Social Worker and one of three facilitators of SAMSN’s eight-week groups and monthly support meetings in Adelaide.

Rob has been working in the area of gender abuse since the 1980s and co-founded Nada Counselling, Consulting and Training in 1994 with a view to working in the areas of trauma, violence, abuse and workplace harassment. Rob has settled on Narrative Therapy, and Invitational approaches because they take account of the politics of abuse, the social implications and personal effects. He believes men getting together and reclaiming their lives and relationships from abusive experiences has personal and political significance.

Rob continues to be involved in developing therapeutic approaches and training. He has experience in working individually and in groups; with adolescents and adults and is committed to learning from the people who consult with him. Rob provides training, professional supervision and consultancy to government, community and other agencies regarding ethical therapeutic interventions.

Andrew Anderson is a Family Therapist with over 15 years’ experience working with the Aboriginal Medical Service-Redfern, Relationships Australia-NSW, New Street Services and most recently with Mackillop Family Services as a Therapeutic Specialist in the Out of Home Care Sector.

Andrew has had experience working with survivors of trauma and abuse in varying contexts. Andrew has also had experience of working with men who have been abusive within relationships as well as working with young people who had sexually harmed another young person.

Andrew has also delivered Aboriginal Men’s programs within Aboriginal communities across NSW and provides Cultural Supervision and training to teams within Government agencies as well as Non-Government Agencies.

Gail is a registered Psychologist with over 30 years of experience working at the Family Court, Relationships Australia, Domestic Violence Crisis Service, ACT Women’s Health Service and the Australian National University.

During this time, she has worked with many men and women who have suffered trauma as a result of interpersonal violence including childhood sexual abuse. She has also over the years, provided both clinical supervision and training in trauma related work.

Having worked extensively in the area of offering support and change opportunities to men struggling with the use of violence in their most important relationships, she has a particular interest in services for men, which she sees as often too scarce.

Gail is a long-time member of the Australian Psychological Society.

Lindsay was a participant in the first eight-week group that SAMSN ran in the Newcastle in 2014. Since that time Lindsay has been a regular at SAMSN’s monthly meetings and has co-edited our e-newsletter for eight-week group alumni. Lindsay has also been involved in SAMSN publicity efforts and attended Supporters Workshops and SAMSN presentations for health professionals.

Lindsay while now a retired person, has a background in Education holding executive positions within schools in the NSW Department of Education.

Lindsay has a keen interest in developing opportunities for SAMSN to reach out to men across the nation spreading the message of hope and recovery.

Professor Patrick O’ Leary is the Director of the Violence Research Prevention Program at Griffith University’s Criminology Institute. He has extensive experience in various executive roles in Universities and the community sector.

Professor O’ Leary is an internationally recognised researcher, with significant expertise in domestic violence/gender-based violence and child protection. Prior to entering academic work Professor O’ Leary worked as a social worker in sexual assault, counselling and domestic violence services. For over twenty years he has conducted research on the effects of child sexual abuse on men.

Professor O’ Leary has published extensively in high quality journals, and his work has influenced international domestic violence and child protection policy and practice. He has worked extensively in social development contexts in many countries. Professor O’ Leary was an Expert Academic Advisor to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and a Senior Research Fellow with UNICEF’s Office for Research. Since 2013 Professor O’ Leary has worked with SAMSN in an advisory capacity and now is the Chair of the Clinical Advisory Committee.