Mind Australia Occupational Therapist Sasha Chopra says having a safe space to feel connected and share your feelings is equally important for clients and practitioners.
Working with Mind’s allied health team, Sasha provides mental health support via telehealth and by visiting Victorian NDIS participants in their homes.
Sasha and the allied health team provide specialised assessment, behaviour support and functional skills support to help people experiencing mental health and wellbeing challenges to improve their personal relationships and develop skills for daily living.
“For me with mental health, it’s really nice to be able to give back to people: to be able to make a change in their day and create a sparkle of light for them,” Sasha said.
“Making a difference to someone can be as simple as helping them to create a schedule. To give someone a calendar and have them think; ‘you’ve changed my life, now I can go take a shower’.”
At Mind Sasha has made a name for implementing creative wellbeing practices for her clients and colleagues, and in December 2022 she won an organisational excellence award for her innovation and creativity in helping others improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Mind’s allied health team covers a broad footprint across Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales, so staff often aren’t able to connect face-to-face.
To help increase communication and collaboration across the allied health team, Sasha initiated a weekly online wellbeing meeting where staff catch up, debrief and perform mindfulness activities together.
“I felt like we were missing that office interaction where you get to bounce off each other. I thought it would be great to have a space where we could talk about our days and share how we’re feeling,” Sasha said.
“People can come in and talk about how they’re going. It means we can all check in on each other, and we have a social space where we can talk about our lives outside of work. It’s about bringing everyone together and feeling connected.”
To learn more about Mind Australia support services near you contact Mind Connect on 1300 286 463.
If this article raises concerns for you, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islanders can also call 13 YARN (13 92 76) a 24/7 national crisis support telephone service staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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