*Emotional trigger warning – content involves suicide*
7 th May 2019
What an amazing day I have had today! I met with a fantastic organisation called Headspace, at their Nundah branch. I was fortunate to spend time with the community engagement co-ordinator and the clinical services manager.
What struck me about this service was the wrap-around care they provide. Young people aged 12 to 25 years can self-refer and get access to mental health services, a GP, a dietitian, work and study support, alcohol and drug services – all under one roof. And what a roof that was! An old bank that they have transformed into a friendly, colourful centre, with non-gendered toilets. Yet more impressive is the fact that the young people they work with helped design the centre.
Headspace also have a youth reference group which helps them to design support programmes and enables consultation to ensure they provide services that young people request. Young people can stay with the service as long as they want to, some are with them from age 12 to 25! Headspace also works with schools, to deliver assemblies and train teachers in mental health support. They can have 10 therapeutic sessions every calendar year.
All of this made me reflect on how fortunate we are at NWCH Lincoln to be able to provide our funded clients with 21 sessions, yet that’s unfortunately the maximum available from our funding sources. It appears to be so much easier here in Australia to receive government funding for support services and furthermore, that counselling and therapy is highly valued.
Headspace are supporting young people with suicidal ideation and intention, and they document how their support really helps young people to find hope again. I am in awe of the set-up they have and the funded services they are able to provide. What a fantastic model of support and one that we can but aspire to in the United Kingdom. You can read more about Headspace Nundah here: https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/nundah/
This afternoon I met a man called Conrad Townson from Children & Young People Solutions. We both used to work in North Wales but in different eras, so a mutual contact put us in touch. Conrad moved out here 3 years ago and is helping Australian authorities to better understand CSE – child sexual exploitation, and identify it at the earliest possible stage. He trains organisations to spot the signs and symptoms of CSE and has established an innovative CSE panel. We know young people who experience CSE are more at risk of suicidal ideation and/or intention, so being able to spot the signs and symptoms earlier reduces this risk and the risk of CSE. What a remarkable man with a clear passion to make a difference in the world of CSE. Great work Conrad! You can read more about his business here: www.cypsolutions.com.au
RECENT POSTS
I don’t think I could recommend NWCH enough! My counsellor is great, I feel understood and hopeful and never judged. Thank you!
Young person Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
My son is opening up to Wayne about all aspects of losing his Dad - happy memories and the painful truth that he won’t be coming back. Wayne has taught him to acknowledge the pain but also remember the many happy times. The counselling he has had with Wayne has been invaluable.
Mum of her young son Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
Coming in for couples counselling, we were both nervous about how the session would work having not done anything like this before.
He listened to each of us and made it feel very light-hearted and easy. We were able to share our feelings and thoughts and Ian gently guided us to explain our views to help us see each other’s views and gave us things to think about for next week.
Couple Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
Personally, I was a very sceptical individual and initially attended as a good Will gesture to my family who had encouraged me to do so……. that being said I found myself to be able to talk to (let’s be honest, a stranger) about my life and its difficulties in an open and comfortable fashion……. don’t get me wrong I’m no soft touch! But I found it genuinely comforting to be able to do so! …. it makes me ask and look for answers from myself ….. rather than someone with a title telling me what’s wrong……,
Adult Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
The match of counsellor has meant my husband looks forward to his sessions & already is feeling happier & we as a family are seeing a difference. It is detail like this that makes asking for help via the NW Counselling Hub stand out – plus the reassurance all counsellors are qualified.
We cannot recommend the NW Counselling Hub enough and thank them for all they are doing for our family.
Adult Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
“We want to support our team when ‘life happens’. We asked NWCH to be our ‘go to’ support service for counselling and emotional support to help members of our team, if they need it, get them through some difficult personal issues such as bereavement and anxiety. The team at the hub are incredibly supportive and have provided a lifeline to our team”
Lincoln Employer referring employees to NWCH Counselling Service.
“NWCH have been providing counselling services to our employees for a few years now and I can honestly say that they have made a significant difference to many of their lives.
We are a company that believes in investing in our staff, and it is great to see when that investment is so profound and has such a positive impact, especially when it comes to people’s wellbeing.
Thank you NWCH, for enabling us to offer our teams such fantastic support and help to feel better when they face challenging times.”
HR Manager at Micronclean Ltd
OFFICE
CONTACT INFO