Category: Uncategorized

Three to six months. Yes, you read it right. This is the general wait time to see a psychologist face to face. 1 in 3 psychologists are unable to see new clients according to the Australian Psychological Society (APS) post pandemic. Would you wait 3 to 6 months if your car broke down on the side of the road? No, you would call ‘Roadside Assistance’ as soon as possible. So why wait to see a mental health professional when there are services available? Because of common misconceptions.

There are other professionals in the allied health industry that are well-trained, qualified and experienced to help with your mental health issues. The public may not realise but social workers and counsellors can also address the mental health concerns addressed by the GP and provide support and evidence-based intervention strategies. Social workers are just as passionate about serving the community in an efficient way.

We cannot afford to lose yet another life.

At Asoka Health, we offer same-day counselling services so you can speak to a mental health professional as soon as possible. It means that you can  simply pick up your phone and make an appointment. You can either talk to a mental health professional on the phone or face-to-face within a 24 hour timeframe (business hours). Get peace of mind knowing someone can assess you, and determine if you need to access crisis services or can book on-going appointments. As a new business, eager to serve the community, we are thrilled to accept new clients without having to put them on a waiting list. Life and death can be dependent on it.

We have people on a waiting list experiencing suicidal thoughts. We have people who are going through life-challenging situations such as job loss, housing crisis and relationship breakdowns. There are parents who are in desperate need to help their children who are going through mental health challenges and refusing to go to school. However, our public mental health system is inundated and overwhelmed.

Please don’t wait, reach out! Asoka Health is here to support you here and now.

References:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-14/psychologists-facing-tsunami-of-demand-this-summer/13054708

https://psychology.org.au/for-members/news-and-updates/news/2022/australians-need-psychological-help-more-than-ever

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-18/australia-mental-health-wait-times-covid-pandemic/100457162

Photo: https://lynchburgbusinessmag.com/the-waiting-list/

“Oh, he is just seeking attention.” It is common that people assume that self-harmers are attention seeking and overly dramatic. Either they feel triggered by the act or do not know what to do, therefore simply ignore or threaten them to stop when your loved ones self-harm. I know that parents feel lost and helpless as they are unable to support and don’t even know where to start. Please be assured that self-harm is more common than you think. According to the Young Minds Matter survey, around 11% of people aged 12-17 have deliberately hurt or injured themselves without trying to end their life. This is an alarming statistic.

Why do people self-harm? Many people self-harm in order to respond to intense pain, distress or negative memories, thoughts and feelings. It is a way to escape from the reality that causes them stress and troubling situations. Young people face significant amount of distress, challenges and feel stressed due to the pressure from school, peers, and home. Some common triggers are having difficulties with parents or family members, peer pressure, school or work problems, depression, bullying, sexual problems, low self-esteem and drug and alcohol use to list a few. There are many myths surrounding self-harm such as thinking self-harm is an attempt at suicide. This is not true. Most people use self-harm to stay alive rather than end life. However, the risk related to self-harm can consequently lead to death. Those who self-harm is at a higher risk of attempting suicide at some time. This is the reason why we as adults need to be vigilant and seek professional help as soon as possible.

How do we help those who self-harm? The best thing is not ignoring or dismissing their concerns and worries. It is helpful that parents or carers manage their emotions to stay calm and approach the young person with empathy. Making ultimatums to stop their self-harming behaviour is known to be unhelpful and make things worse. Also ask the young person directly if they are feeling suicidal. I know it can be quite confronting for you. This is why Asoka Health is here to support you and your loved ones. We have same-day counselling services to make accessing a mental health professional easy. It is as easy as picking up the phone and calling us. Our mental health professionals can offer support, advice and assess your loved ones either on the phone or in person within the 24-hour timeframe (business day). Asoka Health prides to offer quality, professional mental health services where you will feel confident that your precious stories are kept confidential. Don’t wait 3-6 months to see a psychologist. Getting help earlier means any deep-rooted problems can be detected and your loved one can get appropriate support as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you.

Written by Esther Hockey

Social Worker at Asoka Health

References:

Health of young people – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (aihw.gov.au)

Orygen The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health: MythBuster Self-harm

Photo:

To Write Love On Her Arms by GirlBehindTheGlasses on DeviantArt

Looking beyond individual development and considering wider influencing factors in the context of development, is a key component for social workers at Asoka Health to explore. I like to view child development as complex systems of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment. Focusing on the immediate environment of family, school and healthcare relationships, to life transitions such as starting a new school, parents’ divorce or moving house, all play a major role in a child’s development.

If there is a breakdown in one system, it can often trigger breakdowns in other systems. An example of this can be the Brisbane floods of 2022, creating household financial stress, resulting in children being removed from social activities, creating fear and anxiety on our little ones. If you picture a deck of cards that have been sprawled over a table, some upside down, not in place, social workers can create a collaborative care plan to best suit the goals and ambitions of the individual and families to get the cards aligned again.

Written by Nikolas Fitzgerald

Social Worker

Image source: http://psychologydos.weebly.com/psych-journal/journal-8-urie-bronfenbrenners-ecological-systems-theory

“Do you do psychological assessments?” asked a client. I could feel the sense of desperation and despair in his eyes as he shared his feelings about things that are just not working out in his life. He wanted to know ‘what was wrong’ to finding solutions to his life problems. I then turned around and acknowledged his desire to better his life and if he would like to have assessments done, that is possible. Then I took the opportunity to share the holistic approach to mental health- we try to find ‘what is going right’ in one’s life first, and identify their strengths. We can together identify external strengths they already have in their lives such as supportive friends or family members. The client was pleasantly surprised by this but was also interested to learning more about the holistic approach to mental health.

Being a social worker in many different settings including schools, public mental health care, and Non-Governmental Organisations, I have been drawn to the holistic approach to mental health. Humans are not just physical beings. We are emotional, spiritual, physical and social beings. Whilst I appreciate the medical model of tackling mental health issues, I find it most fascinating to incorporate holistic mental health approaches to support clients to overcome their challenges. Through holistic mental health care, one can become the most capable human being to maintain optimum mental well-being.

We need ongoing, mental health care services that are consistent with one’s values and style. It is like hiring a gardener that you like. You won’t just need a gardener to come by one day and look after the garden. You would need a gardener to come by regularly to weed, feed the garden and maintain its health. Same with your mental health. It is so important to link with a mental health service that can support you throughout your life’s journey, on a sunny, cloudy, rainy or stormy day. That is why I am so excited to be a part of the Asoka Health team to deliver the services that you would need on any given day, without judgement. We want you to feel welcomed, appreciated and cared for without sorrow.

Why not reach out to Asoka Health today and explore how you can grow your mental garden to its most beautiful state? I would be delighted to be there for you as you blossom and thrive in every aspect of your life. We are a team of qualified, compassionate and caring mental health professionals that believe in your strengths. Thanks for reading the blog and I look forward to working with you.

Written by Esther Hockey

Social Worker at Asoka Health

Source photo: https://www.freepik.com/photos/flower-garden

Asoka in sanskrit literally means without sorrow or painless. After many years of hearing stories about how painful people’s journey to wellbeing has been, it was only fitting to find a name that matched our intentions. Psychological wellbeing is paramount to achieving overall health and wellbeing. So here we are embarking on a journey to ease your sorrow and pain as you move forward to stepping into complete wellbeing – physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. This is especially important to us here at Asoka Health for children and young people and of course the system that generally supports them – their families. Our mission is to help our children and youth transform their mindset in an effort to unleash their leadership potential and ensuring that journey is as sorrowless as possible.

Written By Geetu Pratap

Psychologist at Asoka Health