Kylie Bell Counselling

19/07/2022

A little late in the day, but I am so pleased to pass on the news that Medicare has extended the extra 10 sessions of rebateable sessions under a Mental Health Care Plan - this Pandemic Support Measure now expires on 31st Dec 2022.
http://www.mbsonline.gov.au/internet/mbsonline/publishing.nsf/Content/240DC3AF97EEAF79CA2585BC00827909/$File/Factsheet-additional-10-Practitioners.v4.30.06.22.pdf

12/06/2022

So many people I have been speaking to lately are super-stressed or heading to burnout. The continuing uncertainty about Covid in the community, the middle of the year (which means winter for some of us) and the high cost of living (petrol prices in Perth are really high right now!) to name a few of the gripes we have. Look after yourself, friends. There is only one of you - and you are precious.

If you like this brief handout, you can download a longer version with more burnout-busting ideas - from my website: www.kyliebellcounselling.com.au

It's not only employees who experience burnout. So do students, parents and caregivers. The rule to avoid burnout is: start early. Stress and chronic stress are the signs that burnout could be coming. When stress won't abate then that's the time to care for yourself so you don't end up burning out.....

01/06/2022

A new month, and winter is here!
And before you go barreling in, I encourage you to pause and reflect for a moment on how each of these things are working for you.

Sleep - are you feeling well-rested? Quality and quantity of sleep?
Thoughts - are your thoughts mostly helpful or have they become a little self-destructive?
Relax - are you giving yourself time to relax?
Outside - are you getting outside at all?
Nutrition - how's the quality of your food?
Girlfriends - are you giving yourself opportunity to talk with friends and socialise?

I consider this to be my "Wellness Prompt" (if you want more info on this head, and a guide to step you through, over to join my Facebook group link in bio on my website).

24/05/2022

You know, when you take care of yourself, it doesn't mean you are ignoring everyone else.

It simply means that you are saying "I'm important too".

If you have the mindset that by giving yourself a bit of self-care, you are somehow 'less than' - well, reach out. Let's work on changing that mindset around.

And considering that you too are important.

18/05/2022

Not everyone gets to work their dream job, or pursue their passion or purpose all the time.

Sometimes, we need to focus on paying the bills above all else.

I'm keen to know - where do you sit?

Is your job your passion or purpose?
Or does it just pay the bills?

11/05/2022

Looking for some talk therapy?
Let your GP know that you want to see a Mental Health Social Worker!
That's exactly what I am here for.

I hope the series of posts I've shared on what is a Mental Health Social Worker has been useful for you.

If you see your GP for a mental health care plan and say that you want to see a MHSW: you can use the info in this series to explain what we do.

Any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to let me know.

04/05/2022

As a Mental Health Social Worker myself, I focus very much on a person's strengths.

I believe that focusing more on labels or diagnoses isn't terribly helpful a lot of the time.

Psychologists focus a little more on the diagnosis or problem. That is a general statement and there will always be exceptions.

However, they are trained to conduct testing (intelligence tests, for example) and very much focus more on brain architecture, research and pathology (fancy term for what's wrong with a person) than do social workers.

Social workers are thinking all the time about how society makes it harder for people to be healthy and attain their goals (fancy term for that = systemic disadvantage😉).

02/05/2022

I'm hearing a lot of working parents stressed about lack of time.
Do you relate?
I thought I'd share 7 Time Management Tips - hopefully you pick up one new thing to try from this list.

1️⃣Menu Plan - plan your meals in advance, in one go. Create your shopping list from that, and then only go to get groceries once. Saves time and money, trust me!

2️⃣Build your kids' independence - teach them how to do things to help out around the house and to help themselves so that they don't always have to rely on you for simple things - obviously age-appropriate tasks!

3️⃣Routines - establish them. And be consistent. If the kids know that when they get home from school/after school care, they need to x/y/z, it will become second nature to them after a period of time. Yes, it can be hard setting them up, but boy oh boy does it pay off.

4️⃣A place for everything - storage and organisation. An absolute life-saver.

5️⃣Prioritise - recognise that you are not super parent, and you can't do everything. Just do those most important things.

6️⃣Delegate - ask for help!

7️⃣Know your time suckers - where do you lose time? I know to never go to get groceries when I'm hungry - I lose time (and money) wandering aimlessly thinking about yummy food. I also know that whilst a bit of down time aimlessly scrolling Facebook is a bit of decompression for me, it can easily escalate in to losing LOTS of time.

Let me know if any of these are useful tips!

29/04/2022

What does 'assertiveness' mean to you?

I asked this exact question to my friends a few weeks ago, and I'm keen to hear your take - the variety in responses was interesting and got me thinking.

I think it's time to open up the discussion around what meanings we give to some things.

So...what does 'assertiveness' mean to you?

27/04/2022

Did you know that Mental Health Social Workers are experts in complex situations?

Some say that they eat complexity for breakfast (yep, that's me!!).

MHSW's focus on the person in their family, community, society and all the factors that make that person unique: their cultural background, their socio-economic status (fancy term for how much money they earn!!), how they grew up, any particular challenges they face/d.

Got a complex situation and need some help wading through? Get in touch and let's see if I'm the right mental health support person for you.

26/04/2022

In service of this maybe being useful for someone - I want you to know that we ALL have times where we feel stuck, and that, well...life is just tough sometimes.

Honestly? No one has it all figured out.

We are all humans climbing our own mountains.

And the only reason I can give you any helpful stuff at all is simply perspective.

That, and my qualifications and training, of course.

I can see you over on your mountain struggling to climb it - because I'm on my own mountain...and I see you over there. So I can point out hazards. Or offer hand-holds when it gets rocky.

If you needed to hear this today, let me know - just comment "Thank you" if you needed to know you are seen today.

22/04/2022

When did you last really pay attention to your physical health?

If you could do with some small, practical steps to help you towards a health overhaul, head over to my Facebook group, Working Parent Wins, where I've shared just that!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/workingparentwins