Simply choose the counsellor you would like to talk with and select an available time. Pay for the session via our secure payment system. 10 minutes before your appointment, make sure you logged into the Client Software Program (you have already downloaded) using your normal Collective Support login details. This will automatically dial your counsellor and inform them you are waiting and ready for your session. Then, all you need to do is wait for them to accept, and you can start talking Face to Face.

Bunbury website reaches out

A NATION-WIDE website to help people battling depression and other life challenges will be launched from a Bunbury home this month.

Rob Martin and his partner Nichola Hartwell have been working non-stop on their website Collective Support since August last year.

Mr Martin sold his house for the site.

Having battled with depression himself, Mr Martin said there was not an all-encompassing support network for those needing help.

He often found websites would direct users through a maze of other sites and help lines would still leave you feeling alone once you hung up the phone.

“With my background in marketing, I wasn’t happy with the service,” Mr Martin said.

“What was lacking was I didn’t know where to find help.”

Collective Support is designed to help sufferers of depression, cancer, divor-ce, grief, domestic violence, sexual assault and relationship breakdowns to find all the resources needed in one spot.

By logging on and becoming a member, people from Bunbury and across Australia will have access to counsellors via video link, books dealing specifically with their issue and a forum to talk with other members.

Mr Martin has lined up counsellors from around Australia for the network.

“It’s about helping everybody, not just rural but metro as well and it brings a service to the bush not there before,” Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin said the website aimed to build a sense of community, something lacking in many people’s lives.

The first part of the website, depression, should be up and running by the end of the school holidays.

The other six topics will follow.

With the new Federal Government anouncing the want and need for online doctors, its great to see one company excelling in the market. The following link will take you to online doctor and you too can ask your doctor if the too can offer the service.

It now makes country living more accessable to city services. No longer is it a pipe dream but reality.

http://www.onlinedoctor.net.au/

I have come to realise that this is very important in many ways, taking time out from the normal stresses can be the tonic required to makes us feel alive again.It doesn't have to be anything fancy, it just needs to be away. Nowadays its even more important, no phones, computers, or other devices. Just away with family , friends, with nature and a different way of living for a short time. Time to revitalise and reinvigorate ourselves, have some fun and get un-serious.

Take a BREAK it may be just what you need.

Self enlightenment is a great thing even then the need to find yourself means also to be able yo loose onesself. Relationships transform the I AM into the WE ARE a plural , more than one. If we can concentrate more on the We in relationships and move away from the I ,the posibility of success is far greater. Yes we need to be confident in who we are and what we stand for ( notice I have not mentioned what you have as possessions can never determine who we are) but we also require a feeling for the other/s in a relationship. We can,t find ourselves in another person, but we can find the other that brings joy and happiness into our lives. Enlightenment is great, but failed relationships are disasterous.

Difficulties occur when the transaction between two people is of a scewed nature , for example your adult may be trying to speak to the other persons child, their parent might be trying to deal with your parent, or we could have transaction between the child of both people. Whether we respond to another person as a child adult or parent will determine what happens in that transaction. To complicated? Not really. Everyone has within them a child adult and parent and we use one of these when we respond to other people or situations. If you can determine where your response is coming from (parent adult child) you could then have a better understanding of yourself and others. By changing your response base (parent adult or child) you can change the outcome of the interaction.

If a bully comes up to you and threatens to hurt you you could respond in three ways: The child could run away in fear or fight the bully, the parent could accuse the bully of how wrong he is and how bad he is or it could accuse you of being soft, the adult would take into consideration all the data and facts at their disposal try and diffuse the situation or take the best course of action for that situation, understanding that the bully you are facing is acting out his/her child.

In your world does the child have prominence or is it the parent, how often do you respond with your adult?

The thing is nothing will ever change if no one points out that something is wrong, or if no-one takes ownership of the part they play in the family struggle year after year. The problems are usually not one persons fault, but a collective issue that requires a collective solution. So unless you want to go through the same difficulties again next year, you may want to look at yourself first, and see if you are part of the problem or part of the solution. You can be both and the solution has to start somewhere.

I just cant believe all the distruction in Queensland or the top of Western Australia by the floods. Lets just hope the rain finally stops sooner rather then later

Bassman 

Whatever your feelings about this time of year and how you reflect on them it always seems that the build up is better than the actuality of the whole event. Sometimes our expectations exceed what is possible and so we are always disapointed.Whatever your situation was this festive season I hope that it was uplifting and positive for you and all those that you love. If it was a negative experience then go forward in the hope that next year it will be better, if it was a positive experience then take as much from it as you can . All in all this time of year is and always will be what you make of it whether its positive or negative. You can take the best and discard the rest, or you can make sure that it will be what you want next year. Enjoy whats left of the season, relax, recharge and focus on the postives that will come this new year, and they will come, just be sure to recognise them when they appear.

Please leave your views and comments on mental awareness and let us know how you feel about the situation.

Hayley was born with congenital heart disease, had surgery in melbourne (we live in Adelaide) at 8 weeks of age. From then on she never looked back. Her condition did not affect her day to day living, she had to have repair surgery later in life. This was done in September 2010, and was extremely successful. Hayley had never been healthier.

Then, she was swimming with a friend... I'd told her to go off and swim so I could organise her birthday, and she collapsed on a pontoon at Fishermans Bay, near where we live at Port Broughton, South Australia. She was given cpr by people around her, she stopped breathing for 20 minutes and was eventually resusciated. She woke up, but wasn't herself, she was screaming in teh ambulance.

she was airlifted to Adelaide by helicopter, and  had suffered extensive damage to her lungs when she stopped breathing. the doctors think it was a very unexpeted cardiac arythmia. sorry about my spelling. the cat is on my keyboard.  Her surgeron from Melbourne flew over, and operated to put hayley on a very special heart lung machine, but after 2 days her brain stopped responsding and we had to turn her machines off.

i am a single mum. Hayle is and was my life.  My relationship with her father hasn't been good for a very long time. 

I have great friends and family, and a wonderful job, but no one sees the inner pain.  It just gets harder and harder. i take antidepressants and have for a few years. I am on a very low dose.  I function really well and get to social events and the like, but there is no smile in my eyes any more. and I don't think there ever will be.

Thanks for listening.

However, at school the teachers expect to be able to tell her what to do. She instantly becomes verbally abusive. She gets suspended about once a month. Which is fine with her and probably her goal anyway. She has said she never wants to work.  

I can see no future for this child other than being thrown out of home. I am not willing to financially support someone who refuses to cooperate in any way. Not even enough to get welfare payments. 

Ive looked at programs for troubled teens. But they all seem to be centred on extreme violence, crime and/or drug abuse. She currently stays away from these issues. However, i feel it is just a matter of time. 

But first I would like to mention what is likely to happen to you in 5-8 weeks time.  When we first have a tragic and or traumatic event happen to us our brain starts pumping out hormones to help us cope and adjust.  This continues for roughly 5-8 weeks, depending on the person, then all of a sudden the hormones stop, you will be forced to go cold turkey.  You could be driving down the street or making dinner or doing the shopping and you hit an emotional wall.  Most people think they're going crazy because they've got through what they thought was the worst and now they're a blubbering mess on the floor, I can assure you what you're feeling is perfectly normal, it is your body trying to cope with the lack of hormones in your system.  Please know that you will get through this too and seek help to support you with your emotions  if you need to.

The most common stages of grief in the usual sequence are:-

• Shock
• Denial
• Emotional, psychological and physical symptoms
• Depression
• Guilt
• Anger
• Idealisation
• Realism
• Acceptance
• Readjustment
• Personal growth

Also please know that you're not alone, there are many, many resources out there to support you now and going forward, so put up your hand and ask for help, we're all here waiting for you.

Kind regards,  Toni