CARERS WEEK 2020: WHAT IS CARER COUNSELLING?
Carers Week 2020 occurs from Sunday 11th October to Saturday 17th October 2020. Carers Week is Australia’s annual celebration of carers and aims to raise awareness of carers, the caring role and relationships, and carer supports and services.
In this blog post we explain what exactly carer counselling is and what happens in a counselling session. Check out our other blog post “Why carer counselling is vital” to find out more about this service.
But first, what is a mental health carer?
A mental health carer is someone who provides emotional, practical and/or financial support to someone close to them living with mental ill-health.
You may not even realise you are a carer. Often, you are the parent or partner, sibling, grandparent, child, friend or co-worker, who is looking out for someone who is struggling with their mental health.
Being a carer is hard. It can be an isolating, frustrating and exhausting experience. HelpingMinds provides free confidential services such as counselling, peer support, group support and advocacy to help carers navigate through these difficult times.
So, what is carer counselling?
Carer counselling is a free and confidential service that HelpingMinds provides to support people who have a family member or friend with mental health challenges. During these one-on-one sessions with a qualified counsellor, you can explore your situation and receive support for the challenges you are facing. Counselling gives you a safe, non-judgmental space for you to express how you are feeling, ask questions, discuss concerns and have open, honest conversations. For some people, just the process of telling their story to a counsellor, being heard and listened to, is helpful.
You don’t have to go through it alone!
What is Peer Support?
Having a loved one that lives with mental ill-health can be very isolating. Not everyone understands what you’re going through. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who’s been there.
Our Peer Support Workers have been in your shoes. They use their experience to help support people in a similar situation. Support can be a chat in-person or over the phone, or at a peer support group. It’s all about non-professional non-clinical support from someone who understands and will listen to your story.
Connecting with a Peer Support worker is a great way to learn from someone else’s lived experience, build confidence and self-esteem, and increase your ability to cope with life’s ups and downs.
To connect with a Peer Support Worker at HelpingMinds contact us today on (08) 9427 7100
You are not alone in your journey.
There are over a quarter of a million mental health carers in Australia.
We see you.
We hear you.
We can help.
If you are supporting a loved one with mental health challenges, even if they have not been diagnosed, we can support you. Call HelpingMinds on (08) 9427 7100 or visit www.helpingminds.org.au.
