Hi, my name is Darby, and I am a Clinical Psychologist in the Community Recovery Services team at Royal Far West. My country is Manly, the land of the Gayemagal people.
What does your role involve?
I deliver psychological therapy to children and provide support to parents and teachers who live in communities impacted by disaster. A lot of the children I see for teletherapy are referred for increased anxiety and post-traumatic stress responses following exposure to climate-related disasters.
Another part of my role involves travelling with my team to communities and schools in these areas. On these in-community visits, I facilitate children’s therapy groups.
How long have you been with RFW?
It’s been two years. I initially started working with bushfire-impacted communities and moved across to a new team that was formed to support the families that were affected by the floods in 2022.
Have you seen any changes in the sorts of issues children have during your time at RFW?
I have noticed a general increase in anxiety in children which often presents as children worrying about being away from their parents/carers and no longer wanting to go on sleepovers or school camps. This is not surprising given the combined impact of bushfires, COVID and floods in the communities I work with which limited the children’s opportunities for socialising with peers and attending school regularly. Due to these events, families are also experiencing increased external stressors including economic stress, loss of jobs, and having to relocate their school and/or home.
Can you describe your typical day?
My workdays can look very different depending on whether I am working from home, heading into the office, or visiting a school.
A day in-community might involve flying in a Little Wings aircraft to travel to the community. Once at the school I’m meeting with teachers and parents to understand the needs of the students. I then might spend the rest of the day facilitating children’s groups and running educational workshops for staff and parents. Back at my home base, a typical day consists of therapy sessions with children where I help them work towards their goals.
I love finding fun, online resources and getting creative with different ways to engage children over Zoom. My day might also involve consulting with teachers and parents, connecting with my team, planning for my next in-community visit, and continuing my learning and professional development. I enjoy the variety and flexibility in my role and that every day looks quite different!
Can you give us an example of a family’s positive outcomes through working with RFW?
One of the most rewarding parts of my role is getting to see children make progress and achieve their goals. An example was a girl who, at the start of therapy, felt too anxious to put her hand up in class to ask a question. Each week she would set herself a small challenge to build up her confidence talking in front of others and each session she would come back with a smile sharing what she achieved. By the time we were close to finishing our sessions she completed her biggest goal of singing a solo at the Christmas concert in front of the whole school. Her mother was overjoyed and shared the video with me which was very heart-warming.