Blog

Melanie’s Story Melanie’s story tells how mental challenges affected her and her family  In my teenage years I noticed that my family members were a bit concerned about experiences that I was having so I was quite young at the time. Having these experiences needing to go and see professionals meant that I wasn’t ableRead more

Robinsons Kid’s Story The Robinsons Kid’s story talk about how mental health issues affected their whole family “I think the hardest thing was when Mum kept on staying in bed and when we got home from school we would have to run around and get stuff for her. I would get the other two up forRead more

The Journey From Carer To Peer Worker Melissa is a Peer Support Worker at HelpingMinds^® but her journey, like so many others, started as a carer   My first contact with HelpingMinds^® was over a phone call I made reluctantly and nervously. I did not think there were supports for me as a carer, notRead more

Sharon’s Story Sharon’s story tells how mental challenges affected her family  “Other people look at the person that’s got the illness and say “but there’s nothing wrong with them”, and then you try and explain it and they go, “but she is never like that” and you go “you don’t see what’s behind closed doors”.Read more

Simon’s Story Simon’s story tells how mental challenges affected his family “Well it’s impacted my life big time in the sense that it’s changed my social life, in the sense that I found that I had to look after 3 children who had a mental illness. The hardest thing I guess is  to explain toRead more

Tanya’s Story Tanya’s story talks about how mental health issues affected her family “I noticed that he started to change two years ago and I watched him all the time and then it was around Christmas time, in December that he had a bad episode and he was admitted to the hospital. I just broke down,Read more

Vicky’s Story Vicky’s story talks about how it is for her as a mental health carer “Somedays it’s a grind, somedays it easy.   But he has sleep apnea, heart problems, diabetes, blood pressure. There is a list of things that you have to combat everyday. I think people just don’t understand what’s involved with beingRead more

Youth Counselling HelpingMinds® offers free professional youth counselling, education and support to young people ages 8 -17 years who have a friend or family member with a mental health issue. Counselling appointments operate for 30-60 minutes weekly or fortnightly. All counsellors are professionally trained and qualified and use therapies suited to each young person’s needs.Read more

Neenya’s Story Neenya’s story tells how mental challenges affected her family and her as a carer “I took her in to see the doctor, and was pretty amazed when he said she had schizophrenia. I wasn’t aware of just how much impact on myself and her and the family. In those days there was noRead more

School Holiday Programs Counselling & Support School Holiday Programs   HelpingMinds® invites young carers (8–17 years) to join our school holiday program. These activities provide a safe, fun environment to encourage positive attitudes. They assist in enhancing communication and problem solving skills, confidence, resilience and promote positive peer relationships. All activities are age specific andRead more