Social and emotional wellbeing FAQ
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Who can get social and emotional wellbeing support?
Supporting your wellbeing is a really important part of the Yoorrook process. Yoorrook provides confidential wellbeing support to anyone who wants to tell their truth. We can support you on your own, as well as the people supporting you.
What does social and emotional wellbeing support look like?
Our Social and Emotional Wellbeing Team is here to support you. You can ask for help at any time on your truth-telling journey.
Support services are completely led by you. This support can look like:
- Someone to yarn with at Yoorrook events such as hearings and yarning circles
- Someone to call for support if you or someone you love isn't feeling so good
- Confidential counselling
- Connecting you with community-based services you might need before and after you tell your truth
- Someone there to support you alongside a Truth Receiver when you tell your truth. This might include helping you make a plan to feel safe while you tell your truth
- Checking in on how you are doing down the track
- Advocating on your behalf
- Providing referrals for ongoing support services
Is it free?
Yes, these supports are available free to people telling their truth to Yoorrook and their families.
How can I get support?
You can call 1800 YOO RRK (1800 966 775 free call) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm to arrange a first yarn with a member of the team.
You can also email [email protected] or [email protected] to arrange a first yarn.
If you need to speak with a counsellor urgently or outside of office hours, you can contact 13YARN (13 92 76). 13YARN is the first national crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping. 13YARN offers a confidential one-on-one yarning opportunity with a Lifeline-trained Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter who can provide crisis support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In an emergency, please call 000.
Who provides Social and Emotional Wellbeing support at Yoorrook?
Our Social and Emotional Wellbeing Team includes counsellors from First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing and Social and Emotional Wellbeing support workers.
Who are First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing?
First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing, is an Aboriginal community-controlled health service aiming to improve access to affordable primary health care.
First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing have a lot of experience providing culturally safe, confidential services, which is why they were chosen to provide social and emotional wellbeing services for people telling their stories to the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
What wellbeing support services are available?
Our Social and Emotional Wellbeing Team can provide services such as:
- General counselling
- Advocacy
- Psychotherapy
- Family therapy
- Restorative justice
- Koorie mental health care
- Trauma support and counselling
- Helping to strengthen coping skills
They can also connect you with many other community-based health and wellbeing services at your request.
Team members come from lots of professional backgrounds including experience in:
- Youth justice
- Child protection
- Criminal justice
- Health promotion
- [Women and children and their families affected by] family violence
- Complex trauma
- Forensic care
- Nursing
Team members have professional qualifications including:
- Masters of Counselling
- Masters of Psychotherapy
- Doctor of Psychology
- Psychiatric Enrolled
Team members are PACFA, ACA and AHPRA accredited, trauma informed and culturally safe.
Who supervises non-First People Counsellors?
The Yoorrook Social and Emotional Wellbeing Team includes First Peoples staff and non-Aboriginal staff.
First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing provides ongoing cultural supervision to all non-Aboriginal staff in the team.
Are my records kept private and confidential?
Yes. The clinical records and referrals of anyone getting help through Yoorrook are managed by First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing to make sure they are kept private and confidential.
Clinical records kept by First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing cannot be accessed by the State or any State agency and will not be included in any public record or archive of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
Am I a patient of First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing if I access support through Yoorrook?
No, you are not a patient of First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing if you get help through Yoorrook, unless you ask to be.
What is Yoorrook’s approach to social and emotional wellbeing?
Yoorrook’s social and emotional wellbeing supports, delivered by support workers and counsellors from First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing, are holistic and confidential. The foundations of our support are connection to family, kin, Country, culture, community and ancestors.
We do this by:
- Supporting self-determination: You choose the supports, healing and wellbeing approaches that you want to use. We will also prioritise healing and wellbeing approaches that are designed and delivered by First Peoples.
- Embedding protective factors: Connection to culture, family, community and Country are built into everything we do at Yoorrook. If you want, we will support and build on your existing strengths and connections to keep you safe and strong.
- Supporting healing and trauma recovery: We recognise the importance of traditional and contemporary healing and wellbeing approaches in recovery from trauma, grief and loss.
- Ensuring culturally safe supports: Our supports and processes include cultural perspectives and respect the rights, views and expectations of you, your family, kin and community. Our team will work to make sure your supports work together.
- Taking a person-centred approach: We will work with your needs and expectations.
- Confidentiality: Your records and referrals are kept private and confidential.