Perth, Western Australia, Australia
As part of my degree, I completed a clinical counselling placement at Headspace Fremantle, where I applied my skills in a real-world setting. I undertook 40 hours of face-to-face counselling with youth, along with an additional 190+ hours at the centre. Originally a six-month placement, I extended my time to assist with ongoing cases and help manage increased workloads. During my time at Headspace Fremantle, I completed Headspace and 360 Health and Community inductions and trainings and worked closely with supervisors, particularly with difficult scenarios and/or clients. During my placement at Headspace Fremantle, I gained real-world experience in youth mental health, learning how to build trust, actively listen and support young people and their families. I was exposed to clients facing a range of different presentations, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, family struggles, financial stressors and school troubles. I was able to put my learnt counselling skills to work in an assisted environment, as well as hands-on experience with case notes, managing workloads, safety planning, confidentiality, working ethically and how organisations like Headspace run. This experience boosted my confidence and reinforced my passion for helping youths.