#222 Perimenopausal Mental Health with Professor Jayashri Kulkarni

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni is one of Australia's leading psychiatrists and researchers specialising in women's mental health. She is the Director of the HER Centre Australia (Health, Education and Research for Women's Mental Health) and Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University. Professor Kulkarni's work focuses on mood disorders across the female lifespan, with particular attention to the neurochemical effects of reproductive hormones on brain function, including perimenopausal depression and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. She is the developer of the Meno-D rating scale and has been a leading voice for over four decades in the recognition and treatment of hormone-related mental illness in women. In this episode, Dr. Ashlea Broomfield speaks with Professor Jayashri Kulkarni about the mental health impact of perimenopause. They discuss the role of oestrogen and progesterone as neurosteroids influencing mood, cognition, and behaviour; why mood symptoms often precede vasomotor changes by years; which women are most at risk and why; the distinct clinical profile of perimenopausal depression and how to avoid common misdiagnoses; and how to approach hormonal treatment in practice (including contraceptive options, transdermal oestradiol, micronised progesterone, and tibolone) alongside a review of the evidence around MHT safety. RESOURCES "The primary care management of perimenopausal depression" — Kulkarni J et al. Australian Journal of General Practice 2026;55(4). Read here HER Centre Australia — Research, clinical resources, and the Meno-D scale: monash.edu/medicine/her-centre Meno-D rating scale — Available via HER Centre Australia and as an appendix in the AJGP article above Healthy Hormones — GP-led community, resources, and webinars: healthyhormones.au <li class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; ta