What is Wren?
Wren is the Women’s Recovery Network – a specialist mental health service for women across Victoria.
It provides gender, violence and trauma-informed mental health care for women and anyone who identifies as a woman aged 18 years and over, experiencing severe mental illness.
The service was established in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and is the first public-private partnership of its kind in Australia, delivered by Alfred Health, Goulburn Valley Health and Ramsay Health Care.
Services available
Located in Melbourne and Shepparton, Wren provides specialist in-patient and Hospital in the Home care for women presenting with severe mental illness. Wren’s services include postnatal care, Hospital in the Home, eating disorder care, trauma-informed therapy, and peer support networks.
Patient care teams at Wren offer a combination of recovery clinicians that are specific to the individual’s needs. These teams combine lived experience and clinical expertise, and can include psychiatrists, occupational therapists, mental health nurses and social workers, in addition to other specialists.
Wren focuses on creating a safe, respectful and welcoming environment where women feel supported and understood throughout their recovery.
Suitability criteria
Wren aims to prioritise care for women who are aged 18 and over, residing in Victoria experiencing mental illness and in addition have one or more of the following:
- Diagnostic complexity or treatment non-responsiveness requiring a period of assessment or observation on an inpatient unit develop a treatment plan to support the participant and their carers, and to support their treatment team to provide ongoing care.
- A previous experience of sexual assault and/or harassment and are at risk from a sexual safety perspective and are at risk of re-traumatisation, if admitted to a mixed gender adult inpatient unit.
- A previous experience of domestic, family or sexual violence or violence in past inpatient admissions and are consequently at risk of harm or re-traumatisation on a mixed gendered adult inpatient unit.
More information regarding eligibility is available at the Wren website.
How to get support
A referral from a GP, mental health practitioners, or maternal health nurse is required for admittance to Wren.
Resources for participants, clinicians and GPs are available on the Wren website.
Contact Wren
Wren Melbourne
General enquiries: Tel. (03) 9279 3750
Referrals: Tel. (03) 9279 3759
Operating hours: Monday to Friday between 8 am – 4 pm.
Wren Shepparton
In-home and inpatient care: Internal referrals are accepted for Goulburn Valley Area Mental Health registered clients.
For Shepparton area enquiries, please call our Goulburn Valley service on Tel. (03) 5832 2111.
Updated