Australia’s peak body for psychologists, the Australian Psychological Society (APS), has welcomed the Victorian Government’s commitment to supporting school communities impacted by the bushfires, as the 2020 school year commences.
APS Chief Executive Officer Frances Mirabelli congratulated Minister for Education James Merlino on his announcement of a $13.45 million package to support communities most impacted by the bushfires.
“Minister Merlino’s commitment to providing additional support for families, children, students and teachers affected by the ongoing bushfire crisis is to be applauded.
“These bushfires are unprecedented, and the full physical and psychological impact on Australians is not yet known. Everything possible must be done to support students, parents and teachers as they return to school this year,” she said.
The package included $4 million to boost mental health support for government and non-government schools, including additional psychologists and social workers, and $3.8 million for the establishment of a Trauma Recovery Team to provide the trauma response support to affected schools and kindergarten services.
Ms Mirabelli said these were welcome and important measures to addressing the psychological needs of these communities.
“Appropriate psychological support and care is critical to ensuring the psychological needs of these communities are both understood and addressed, now and into the future.
“Psychologists are very well placed to help bushfire-affected communities begin the process of recovery.
“This process of recovery will be long, and the benefits of ensuring adequate psychological support is provided will be felt well into the future.
“We look forward to receiving the detail about how the package will roll out,” she said.
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Through its Disaster Response Network, the APS is deploying psychologists with expertise and experience in disaster preparation and response to bushfire affected areas, to provide much needed psychological first aid and support. Read more.
The APS has compiled a range of resources to help Australians to prepare for and recover from the threat of bushfire, including guidance for parents, carers and teachers to look after children who are anxious about the threat of bushfires. See more at www.psychology.org.au
For more information, or to arrange an interview call the APS Media team on 03 8662 3358 / 0435 896 444, or email. Find the APS Media team on Twitter: @AustPsych
The APS is the largest professional organisation for psychologists in Australia, representing more than 27,000 members. The APS is committed to advancing psychology as a discipline and profession. It spreads the message that psychologists make a difference to people’s lives, through improving psychological knowledge and community wellbeing.