The Black Summer bushfires reached the south-west slopes of New South Wales in the final week of 2019. Within two weeks, three fires had merged to form a devastating 600,000 hectare megafire that claimed several lives and destroyed hundreds of homes.
The emotional toll on the Snowy Valleys community, which fell at the junction of the fires, was immense. When mental health clinicians Jacinta Elphick and Jenni Wines were appointed by the Murrumbidgee Local Health District in bushfire recovery roles in mid-2020, they encountered a community in crisis.
