Maintaining mental health is key to overall health and wellbeing. Each year, an estimated one in five Australians aged 16-85 will experience a mental disorder. The National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing also found nearly two in five Australians aged between 16 and 24 have experienced a mental disorder within the last 12 months.
Early intervention and ongoing support are crucial to addressing this.
Since 2017, The Benevolent Society’s team of six practitioners in Logan and Brisbane North have been delivering this support through the Family Mental Health Support Service (FMHSS).
FMHSS provides early intervention support to young Australians aged 0-18 who are showing early signs of, or are at risk of developing, mental illness, and assistance to their families and carers.
The Family Mental Health Support Service
FMHSS support includes outreach, group work, parenting programs, community engagement, one-on-one support with children, and holistic family therapeutic interventions.
“FHMSS is helping to build resilience and foster lasting, positive change for families where there may be a child showing early warning signs of developing mental health challenges. It is child-centred, through direct support for children and empowering parents to achieve the best outcomes for their families,” said Sabrina Pezzuto, Team Leader, Child and Family Wellbeing Service – Brisbane North and Logan, at The Benevolent Society.
“Our support includes working on emotions and how to manage these, self-esteem, friendships, coping strategies such as mindfulness or breathing techniques. The team also implement sessions including games, art, and other engaging activities based on best practice to help children build emotional regulation and emotional intelligence.”
This early intervention ensures families get timely help for their children if they’re concerned about their social and emotional wellbeing. Benevolent’s specialists work alongside schools including Bracken Ridge State School and Beenleigh State School to deliver this support. They also work with community groups and in one-to-one settings to deliver counselling and family therapy focused on the needs of each child.
Importance of involving family
The team often deliver support to children in complex situations that may involve cases of domestic violence, school refusal, and technology addiction. Recently, the team has also observed a rise in diagnosed disability and mental health conditions, as well as more engagement from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The team has seen a rise in the number of younger children, particularly in the preschool to year one age group, requiring support for issues including anxiety, speech delays, and social skills challenges.
“Early intervention and having parents and carers engaged in addressing these issues with children is key to the outcomes delivered by FMHSS. The earlier the intervention, the larger the impact we have. All staff are trained to deliver the Circle of Security to parents, and we include parents and carers in our work with children so they reinforce these strategies at home,” added Sabrina.
Positive outcomes
One of the most rewarding aspects of the teams’ work is when families reach a point where they no longer need support and feel confident in their resilience.
The team has observed a significant increase in school attendance among the children it supports, with many sharing calming techniques they’ve learnt, such as deep breathing, with their peers.
“It’s so fulfilling to see children making positive changes and using the skills they’ve learned from the team to thrive independently,” added Sabrina.
“As part of the program, we ask for feedback on the most significant changes from clients. Seeing responses from parents noting their children can now recognise their feelings before things escalate, and from children saying they have learnt to better express their feelings are all incredibly heartwarming to see.
“Children are often sad when the time comes for us to close their case due to having had such a fun and positive experience with the service.”
For more information on our range of early years and parenting support services, click here or call 1800 236 762.