Mrs. Elenani Vuru
Head, Counselling Unit
St. Giles Hospital, Fiji
Mrs. Elenani Vuru has recently completed a double degree in Psychology and Social Work, and works at the St. Giles Psychiatric Hospital, Fiji. She has experience working as both a psychiatric nurse and is the head of the counselling unit at St. Giles.
Until very recently, mental illness in Fiji was stigmatized and mental health care was centralised, with St. Giles Hospital being the only psychiatric hospital in the country, aside from some irregularly run mental health clinics (started in 2005). In 2010, the government of Fiji issued a New Mental Health Decree, and has actively instituted a number of programs aimed at de-stigmatizing mental health in the community. The work of the Fijian Government has been named by the World Psychiatric Association as a 9-month “Paradigm shift in Mental Health”.
As an ALA fellow, Elenani attended a mental health conference, as well as spending extended periods of time in NWMH Aged Service, MidWest Area Mental Health Service, Clarendon Clinic, as well as other community mental health services.