Dinah Thomasset
Villagehood Australia Founder & CEO | Maternal Mental Health Advocate & Speaker
Dinah Thomasset is a passionate advocate and expert in maternal mental health, peer support, and early childhood development, with a career spanning over two decades across Australia, France, and the UK. Her extensive experience in the not-for-profit, government, and corporate sectors has equipped her with a unique ability to navigate and influence diverse environments.
Dinah’s journey into community development and advocacy is deeply personal. As a migrant mother who faced postnatal depression and suicidal feelings, she transformed her hardships into a powerful force for good. This personal experience led her to establish Villagehood Australia, a grassroots charity dedicated to supporting mothers and their children during the critical early years.
Through Villagehood Australia, Dinah has facilitated workshops, developed essential resources, and built strategic partnerships to address the mental health and wellbeing of mothers from diverse backgrounds. Her lived experiences fuel her passion for advocating systemic change and amplifying the voices of marginalised communities. Over the years, Dinah has demonstrated her dedication to empowering communities and supporting families with culturally sensitive and innovative solutions to enhance their participation, connection, and overall wellbeing.
Dinah’s speaking engagements are marked by a compelling blend of personal anecdotes, evidence-based insights, and practical strategies. Her presentations resonate with audiences through her passionate and empathetic delivery, inspiring others to drive meaningful outcomes in maternal and family health.
Everyone Wants to Hold the Baby but Who is Holding the Mum? Peer Support as a Preventative and Cost-Effective Solution to Postnatal Depression
This presentation by Dinah Thomasset, Founder of Villagehood Australia, explores the critical role of peer support in preventing and addressing postnatal depression, with a particular focus on the experiences of migrant mothers. As a migrant mother herself, Dinah understands firsthand the heightened challenges of motherhood in a new country—social isolation, cultural adjustment, and the absence of a traditional support network—all of which increase the risk of postnatal depression.
Drawing on her own lived experience and the journeys of mothers within Villagehood Australia, Dinah highlights the transformative impact of peer support as an accessible, culturally sensitive, and cost-effective solution. Villagehood Australia, South Australia’s only mother-centric peer support charity, has demonstrated significant improvements in maternal mental health through programs like Mummy Chat Group Coaching and Singing Hearts, with up to a 50% increase in mental health scores and parenting confidence.
With 1 in 5 women in Australia experiencing postnatal depression within the first two years after birth, and migrant mothers at even higher risk, peer support provides a vital safety net that complements traditional healthcare services. This presentation will showcase how investing in mother-centric peer support leads to better outcomes for mothers, children, and the broader community—creating a society where no mother feels alone in her journey.