STRONG Inside: Juggling The Demands of Womanhood and Ageing
Tracks
Ballroom 1
| Tuesday, September 1, 2026 |
| 1:50 PM - 2:10 PM |
| JW Grand Ballroom |
Overview
Emily Baird, Elevate Psychology Services
Three Key Learnings
1. Women’s mental health presentations are cumulative rather than singular, reflecting the interaction of biological, psychological, and social pressures, particularly during midlife transitions. Effective care requires integrated formulation rather than siloed diagnosis.
2. Lived experience is critical clinical data; women’s accounts of their bodies, roles, and stressors must be central to shared decision-making to improve accuracy and outcomes.
3. System design significantly shapes mental health outcomes. Fragmented, time-limited services place undue burden on women to navigate care, highlighting the need for more integrated, flexible, and responsive systems that better reflect the realities of women’s lives and support sustainable wellbeing.
Speaker
Mrs Emily Baird
Director/Consultant Psychologist
Elevate Psychology Services
STRONG Inside: Juggling The Demands of Womanhood and Ageing
Abstract
STRONG Inside: Juggling the Demands of Womanhood and Ageing
Women’s mental health is often approached through fragmented lenses - separating biological, psychological, and social domains - while the realities of women’s lives remain deeply interconnected. This presentation moves beyond single-issue advocacy to explore how cumulative demands across work, caregiving, identity, and aging shape mental health outcomes and clinical presentations.
Using a case vignette, this session illustrates how symptoms such as anxiety, fatigue, and cognitive changes are frequently misattributed or underexplored, particularly during midlife transitions. It highlights the risks of siloed clinical decision-making and the consequences for women navigating complex, overlapping pressures.
The presentation introduces the STRONG framework (Self-awareness, Thresholds, Relationships, Ownership, Navigation, Growth) as an integrative model to support both clinical formulation and practical intervention. This framework centres women’s lived experience as a valid and essential source of knowledge, alongside clinical expertise.
Attention is given to improving shared decision-making, recognising lived experience as data, and supporting women to navigate health and social care systems more effectively. The session also examines how service design can better reflect the realities of women’s lives, advocating for more integrated, flexible, and responsive approaches to care.
This presentation is relevant for clinicians, service designers, and policymakers seeking to enhance women’s mental health outcomes through more holistic, person-centred, and system-aware practices.
Women’s mental health is often approached through fragmented lenses - separating biological, psychological, and social domains - while the realities of women’s lives remain deeply interconnected. This presentation moves beyond single-issue advocacy to explore how cumulative demands across work, caregiving, identity, and aging shape mental health outcomes and clinical presentations.
Using a case vignette, this session illustrates how symptoms such as anxiety, fatigue, and cognitive changes are frequently misattributed or underexplored, particularly during midlife transitions. It highlights the risks of siloed clinical decision-making and the consequences for women navigating complex, overlapping pressures.
The presentation introduces the STRONG framework (Self-awareness, Thresholds, Relationships, Ownership, Navigation, Growth) as an integrative model to support both clinical formulation and practical intervention. This framework centres women’s lived experience as a valid and essential source of knowledge, alongside clinical expertise.
Attention is given to improving shared decision-making, recognising lived experience as data, and supporting women to navigate health and social care systems more effectively. The session also examines how service design can better reflect the realities of women’s lives, advocating for more integrated, flexible, and responsive approaches to care.
This presentation is relevant for clinicians, service designers, and policymakers seeking to enhance women’s mental health outcomes through more holistic, person-centred, and system-aware practices.
Biography
Emily Baird is a Consultant Psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience working across diverse mental health settings. She has a particular interest in women’s mental health, clinical decision-making, and integrating lived experience into care. Alongside her professional expertise, Emily brings personal insight as a 46-year-old woman, mother, and wife, navigating the complexities of midlife and modern womanhood. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between clinical knowledge and real-world experience, supporting more responsive, compassionate, and system-aware approaches to care.
