If you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone to talk to, the services below provide free and confidential emotional support, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year:
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Call Lifeline Australia at 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service at 1300 659 467.
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If you are under 25 call Kids Help Line at: 1800 55 1800.
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If you are feeling worried or struggling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, call Beyond Blue's Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Line at 1800 512 348, or chat with a trained mental health professional here.
If you think you have a medical emergency and are at risk of harm to yourself, please call emergency services immediately on 000 or take yourself to a hospital emergency department.
To learn more about the process of getting help from a psychologist in Australia, please click here.
Need Help with your
Mental Health?
A Few Words on Seeking Help
(when you are training to become a Psychologist)
Research shows nearly half of all Australians will experience a mental health problem, such as depression or anxiety, at some point in their lives. This means, statistically speaking, having a mental health problem is very common.
Research suggests that previous experience with a mental health problem may be even higher amongst psychologists. For example, one research study in the UK found two-thirds of clinical psychologists had experienced mental health problems themselves.
This finding makes sense to me; that a person would be interested in studying and working in an area that they have had lived experience in. And I think this can be a real advantage in helping clients.
However, honours year can be hard. Training to be a psychologist can be hard. Sometimes, when things get hard, we can revert to–or start using–unhelpful ways of coping.
I believe one of the most important things you can do in training to become a psychologist–whatever stage you are at–is to seek help from a professional when you need it.
One of the great benefits of becoming a psychologist is that you get to know yourself better.
As part of that journey, I think it is so important to learn what parts may be triggering or difficult for you, and to get as much support as you need to develop effective skills to cope with the challenges of training and practice.
You can learn more about the process of finding and getting help from a psychologist here.
