Meet Tess Marotta, Spiritual Health Lived Experience Advisory Committee member

‘Spirituality is not something I learnt from external sources but is the essence of my being’. - Tess Marotta

Tess grew up in a strict Catholic family, raised by her Italian grandparents. From a very young age she learnt the value of faith and the value of connecting to spirit, especially during times of stress and illness.

Her deep connection with spirit has allowed Tess to find inner peace, meaning, and purpose in life.

While she does not consider herself religious, Tess sees that spirituality has been her guiding light, the bedrock for her values.

Having had a turbulent childhood, Tess found strength in her faith. Her search for meaning and purpose brought her to study a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology), after which she worked as a counsellor, where her spiritual foundations guided her work. 

Tess now works as a mental health advocate, and a support group facilitator where she holds space for people facing the challenges of life. She provides safety, connection, and sense of belonging, and fundamentally believes that each person is a unique and wonderful gift to the world, and that the divine lives through each and every one of us.  

Tess has worked as a consultant with a number of health services, influencing service development, policy, and program implementation. She brings her lived experience perspective and expertise to these roles.  Tess is passionate about the co-design process, mental wellbeing, Biophilic design, and Suicide Prevention.  She sits on several local government advisory committees related to Disability and advocating for the LGBTIQA+ community.

Tess joins the Committee with a passion for advocating for compassionate, inclusive, and respectful spiritual care in the health care setting. She brings her unique perspective, beliefs, and values to the wonderful tapestry of SHLEAC, and is committed to the ongoing promotion of safe person-centred spiritual care, founded in excellence.

SHLEAC formed in June 2021 to raise awareness through leadership, education and consultation of the need, importance, and place of spiritual care in mental health care. SHLEAC will achieve this by contributing to the Victorian Mental Health Reform process via the principles of co-design and co-production. As the host organisation, Spiritual Health Association welcomes the expertise and guidance from the advisory committee members.