Job burnout is a serious health issue
Job burnout – we explain what it is, what the risks are, how individuals can protect themselves, and how employers can support their employees' wellbeing.
What resources can you find on the Responder Assist website?
The new Responder Assist website houses a range of resources that emergency workers and those supporting or treating them may find useful. Resources include a set of handy downloadable fact sheets that can be viewed online or printed out and kept nearby for ease of access.
What is the Specialist Network of Clinicians?
At its core, the Responder Assist team's mission is to improve mental health outcomes for emergency workers in Victoria. The Specialist Network of Clinicians (SNC) was created to support this mission. Together with the Responder Assist clinic, the SNC forms a key strategic pillar that enables specialised mental health treatment for emergency workers. So what exactly is the SNC? Clinicians that are part of the SNC have specialised training and extensive experience in treating mental health issues in the emergency services sector. They engage in ongoing training and supervision to ensure that they are up to date with the latest developments in research and evidence-based trauma treatments for emergency workers.
What can emergency workers expect when they contact the Responder Assist clinic hotline?
Are you an emergency worker, or do you form part of an emergency worker’s support network? You can contact the Responder Assist clinic hotline service on 1800 329 191 Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm. This confidential and independent service provides treatment by specialist clinicians trained in working with emergency services personnel who have experienced trauma. Accessing the service is straightforward, and those who need help can be referred by the health professional treating them, or an emergency worker can refer themselves. Read on to find out what to expect when you call the hotline.
How Responder Assist’s research is supporting emergency workers
Responder Assist provides an assessment and treatment service to ensure emergency workers can access care that is tailored to suit their needs. Alongside this, the Responder Assist service also provides training and support to mental health clinicians who treat emergency workers. Research is already underway to help ensure that the Responder Assist clinical service is continually improving and meeting the needs of emergency workers and the practitioners supporting them. Two new studies have been designed to gather insights from clinicians and emergency workers.
PTSD Awareness Day 2022
As many as a million Australians, at any time, can be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), yet it's still under-diagnosed and under-estimated. Let's stand together and share support and knowledge this PTSD Awareness Day.
World-first brain training early intervention program to prevent PTSD in Australian military personnel transitioning into civilian life
How can a computer game help prevent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Australian veterans? Phoenix Australia's research team, including one of the lead researchers Olivia Metcalf, has "reverse-engineered" a computer game used to prepare Israeli soldiers for combat, transforming the game's original function of "dialling up soldiers' alert levels" to do the opposite instead.
The RESTORE Trial
Phoenix Australia's national Rapid Exposure Supporting Trauma Recovery (RESTORE) trial, Australia’s largest-ever treatment trial of PTSD in miltary personnel and veterans, aimed to reduce the 10-week timeframe for prolonged exposure therapy, the current gold-standard PTSD treatment, down to two weeks of intensive daily therapy. The results were incredible.
New opportunity for African women to participate in SOLAR Program
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested us physically, socially, and psychologically, and having to rely on coping strategies and support networks has been overwhelming for many of us, and the strain has been particularly great for some of the most marginalised people in our community. Phoenix Australia is working with women from marginalised communities who want to help their communities recover, using the Skills for Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) program.
The Legacy of the Anzacs
In honour of Anzac Day, we interviewed Phoenix Australia Ambassador Sharon Bown, who reflected on the significance of Anzac Day and the importance of Phoenix Australia’s work supporting the mental health of veterans struggling with mental health issues associated with trauma, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Read more.
