As more Canberrans head into COVID isolation, a team behind the scenes has worked throughout the pandemic to ensure stable mental health.
The mental health and wellbeing team under ACT Health was created at the beginning of the pandemic. The group of six, including social workers Jerry Wilkes and Chaylee Brikcius, takes calls from those struggling in isolation.
From major problems such as domestic violence to being around for a chat when some suffer with loneliness, the team works to cater to the needs of everyone.
Since Canberra has appeared to be in a third wave, Ms Brikcius noted "winter has brought us a higher number of cases and referrals".
"People are confused [asking] have I got the flu, have I got COVID, what if I get both? So the cold weather in the winter definitely has increased our referrals," she said.
Referrals to the team have varied throughout the pandemic due to different case numbers and changes to public health measures.
March this year was the most difficult month, as 1052 calls came through to the team, April had 960 and January 810.
While numbers dipped in May with 683 calls, the team expected numbers to grow over the winter period.
"The fact of unsafe places to isolate has probably increased, because it's cold and it's winter, there's more need for people with unstable accommodation," Mr Wilkes said.
The range of cases dealt with by the team has meant their methods of support need to be flexible and able to adapt with what an individual needs when calling.
"Whatever is presented, we can usually assist someone to problem solve ... we use different frameworks and approaches," Mr Wilkes said.
Both Mr Wilkes and Ms Brikcius found their job involved having a vast range of contacts to refer people to the correct medical service.
"We have some times where individuals are quite unwell and as we're doing our assessment, it's clearly important that they connect with a medical professional," Mr Wilkes said.
"We're always using the human rights framework and approach, we end up doing a lot of solutions focused work with people and brief interventions because we're really only working with somebody for seven days," Ms Brikcius said.
The role as a mental health and wellbeing professional is something the Mr Wilkes and Ms Brikcius are aware can have a strain, which is why staff are prioritised.
"It's about understanding what self care actually looks like practically, not just a throw away term for us in the office," Mr Wilkes said.
"It is about knowing that we can debrief within our team with another colleague and breaking up to day, making sure that we have a bit of a routine to our day and we're not just on the phone the whole day."
"Fun and humour is also something in our team that we like ... we also have staff that come to us and just encouraging teams to look after their wellbeing," Ms Brikcius said.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
