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challenging, but very rewardingaswell and
we have seen some very good outcomes in
the mental health sector as a result of that.
What advice would you give
to students going on a rural
or remote placement?
One of the main things I would like
students, particularly those going into
rural, remote areas to reflect on would
be being open to change. Being open
to learning from people around them,
particularly non-professionals around
them, about their circumstances, about
how life is different in rural, regional,
remote areas. Part of that is learning
how to shut up and listen to other
people, observe and take those things
on board as opportunities for learning
and being able to grow from there.
One of the other main things that I think
students often benefit from is learning
self-reflection. A lot of the time students
don’t like to do reflective journals and
reflective type practices. But, you’re put
in a position when you’re working in,
particularly remote areas, where you
need to do that reflection stuff because
it’s about understanding who you are,
being able to take ownership of who you
are, develop who you are, but also, allow
yourself to be changed in those settings.
What has been one of your
best experiences working in
these remote communities?
Probably all of my best experiences
working in rural and remote areas have
been situations where I’ve been able to
contribute to community and see that
change grow and flourish. An example
would be doing LGBTIQ mental health
work in the Kimberly and the Pilbara
regions in Western Australia and seeing
communities really struggling to take
concepts on and struggle to adjust the
way they’ve always done things and
then, start to embrace them and get to
a point where the whole community has
‘These populations
are more vulnerable,
particularly in non-
metropolitan areas
because there are rarely
LGBTIQ services or
applicable resources’