Anita Geary
2025 Alumni Award Winner for Social Impact recipient, Anita Geary is quietly transforming the future of mental healthcare in regional Australia. As Founder and Director of Insight Therapies Counselling and Consultancy in Wodonga, she provides inclusive, life-changing therapy for those so often left behind: children, trauma survivors, carers and neurodivergent individuals.
“At Insight, we believe in the power of safety, connection and healing,” says Anita.
“It’s about the people we care for, the communities we stand beside, and the shared commitment to wellbeing that we hold so close to our hearts.”
Since graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work in 2020, she has poured her energy into building a multidisciplinary team that now walks alongside thousands of people each year who may otherwise have fallen through the cracks. Insight also offers group programs to cut wait times and increase accessibility to care, and provides subsidised therapy to people experiencing financial hardship – enabling many to engage meaningfully with mental health support for the first time.
“The most powerful moment in my work came when a client said, ‘I’ve never felt so seen and heard before – not just by you, but by me as well.’ That has stayed with me ever since, and sits at the core of everything I try to create through my practice,” Anita says.
Anita’s social impact extends far beyond her own practice. She is a passionate advocate for animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and co-author of Australia’s national AAT competency standards, embedding the practice in hospitals and training frontline mental health workers to deliver better patient experiences and outcomes.
As an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, Anita has also co-designed innovative programs supporting communities often overlooked by mainstream services. She was part of the co-design steering group creating leadership pathways for women with disabilities affected by violence through the SPARK Innovation Project, and works extensively with community health and disability advocacy groups. Each initiative builds capability and generates lasting change where it’s needed most.
Working in systems that often failed those she supported sits at the heart of Anita’s determination to do things differently.
“My vision for Insight came not from one moment, but many small ones – a deep belief in fairness, a drive to sit with people in the hard places and a commitment to building something that felt safe, connected and human,” Anita says. “As a social worker, putting yourself forward for recognition can feel uncomfortable. So much of the work happens quietly, behind the scenes. To have it formally recognised like this means a lot.”
