Committed to a better and brighter future

9 Oct 2020

At 23 years-old, Janaya had experienced mental health difficulties her whole life due to sexual abuse and a traumatic childhood. On top of this, she was navigating the challenges of being a mum to two young children. 

Recognising that she needed help, Janaya went to Headspace and from there, was referred to St John of God Social Outreach community mental health services (CMHS) in Mandurah. 

“The service I received was the best experience I’ve had with counselling,” Janaya said. 

“I really connected with my clinician, and most importantly, she was not judgmental at all.” 

St John of God CMHS provides free mental health services for anyone with a GP referral and Mental Health Care Plan. 

During the 2019-20 financial year, the service supported 1,142 clients, who gave it an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 and an average score of 4.1 out of 5 when asked about the impact the service had on their overall wellbeing. 

Janaya was in the process of receiving treatment when the service had to limit seeing clients face-to-face due to COVID-19. 

Thankfully, St John of God CMHS quickly introduced telephone and video counselling to allow clients to continue to receive vital care. 

“I thought telehealth was great because I could be at home, in my comfort zone, with the kids and I didn’t have to organise anybody else to take care of them,” she said. 

Thanks to the support she received from St John of God CMHS, Janaya is now in a much happier place in her life and can see a better and brighter future for herself and her family. 

“The biggest change for me has been rewiring my brain to have a different point of view on a lot of things and not to immediately start crying or run away from my problems,” Janaya said. 

“I now see a future that was really hard to see when I first started attending counselling. I’m aiming a lot higher with my goals now than I ever thought I would.”