Helping the Accidental Counsellor
Have you ever found yourself supporting your mob, a friend, a customer, a client, a colleague or even a stranger who is experiencing distress or a crisis, and you aren’t sure what to say?
Offering strategies to help those in distress, Lifeline Central West has been bringing ‘Accidental Counsellor’ workshops to Brewarrina and surrounding towns.
The aim has been to equip participants with the skills and knowledge to respond appropriately when meeting someone dealing with a personal crisis, with a particular focus on Indigenous people.
Claude Gordon, Team Leader of Lifeline Central West said it was all about awareness.
“We will show how to identify when someone may be in distress and how to respond to Aboriginal people in crisis,” Mr Gordon said. “We can demonstrate what sort of communication skills you can use; you’ll get some awareness around how to ask directly around suicide, and also the importance about self-care.”
Mr Gordon encouraged any interested community members to attend.
“It’s important that we have these sorts of chats and to have somewhere to reach out to,” he said. “The more we talk about issues and get them out there we break that stigma and get people to speak up in times when they feel like they have no one.” […]
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