Become a DRN psychologist

The DRN was established in response to the Black Saturday Victorian bushfires in 2009. In the days following the fires, the APS received phone calls from hundreds of members offering their services to those affected. The APS also received several phone calls from emergency response agencies, including the Australian Red Cross, inquiring about additional support to assist with the recovery effort. The APS responded by establishing the DRN for members to register their interest in disaster recovery and this has since grown to a national network. 

When joining the DRN, you will receive a DRN Psychologist General Practice Guide, which outlines helpful information about the background, operations and services that the DRN provides. There is also a dedicated DRN PsyCommunity page where you can connect with other members, and the APS DRN team can put you in touch with an experienced DRN member for mentoring. If you have any queries or questions, please reach out to the APS DRN team at [email protected], who manage the day-to-day operations of the DRN.

Typically, the APS DRN team will send a text message when the DRN has been activated, including some preliminary details about the service request. Once the request has been accepted, further instructions and information will be sent to the DRN psychologist via email by the APS DRN team.

All DRN services are outlined in detail in the DRN Psychologist General Practice Guide, which is emailed to all DRN members upon joining. Currently, the DRN offers three key services to workers and volunteers within organisations who have a signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the APS DRN:  

• Independent wellbeing checks: A one-off telephone wellbeing check focused on the worker or volunteer’s mental health and wellbeing (up to 45-minutes). 

• Group-based wellbeing sessions: A group-based psychoeducational session focused on maintaining wellbeing as a worker or volunteer, delivered either in-person or online (1-hour). 

• On-site deployments: Attending the scene of a disaster, emergency or collective trauma event in the immediate response phase to offer wellbeing support to workers and volunteers. 

The DRN provides wellbeing services to a range of not-for-profit organisations, including healthcare services, emergency service providers, crisis centres, disaster recovery services, councils, neighbourhood centres, and other organisations. To receive wellbeing services from the DRN, organisations must sign a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the APS. Once an MoC is signed, anyone from the organisation is eligible to receive DRN support. This inclusive approach recognises that the impacts of disasters, emergencies and collective trauma events may extend beyond those working on the frontline (e.g., in administrative or other support roles).

Generally, DRN services are provided pro-bono; therefore, no payment is provided. There are however some instances where DRN psychologists may be reimbursed for some travel and/or accommodation expenses or if they are delivering a service outside their typical volunteer role.

We understand that your capacity to volunteer for the DRN will fluctuate over time, therefore there is no obligation for DRN psychologists to volunteer any set amount of time per year. Even if you cannot volunteer your time to provide wellbeing services, you may choose to support in other ways such as reviewing resources.

The APS DRN team works closely with the organisations we support to develop a tailored package of DRN wellbeing services that align with their needs. DRN wellbeing services can be tailored to the preparation, response and recovery phase of disasters, emergencies and collective trauma events. Some organisations request DRN services on an ad-hoc basis, while others have organised for their workers and/or volunteers to receive these services periodically (e.g., on a quarterly basis) as a proactive wellbeing initiative.

The DRN is designed to be a complementary service and sits alongside your other workforce wellbeing supports, such as EAP. However, unlike most EAP providers, the DRN: 

• Provides one-off wellbeing services that are tailored to the preparation, response and recovery phases of disasters, emergencies and other collective trauma events. 

• Can provide wellbeing services in a proactive manner, by directly reaching out to teams of workers and/or volunteers to offer support. 

• Is delivered free-of-charge by psychologists with a special interest and training in supporting frontline and emergency support workers and volunteers.  

No. DRN services are designed to be delivered as a one-off service. Any request from the worker or volunteer receiving the call for ongoing support should be met with clinically appropriate referral options for mental health professionals. If you identify that the worker has ongoing treatment needs and you have obtained consent, you may wish to provide a direct referral to another service. If the worker prefers a private psychologist referral, you may recommend for them to speak to their GP. An additional option may be to provide the APS ‘Find A Psychologist’ service. 

Any delivery of DRN wellbeing services should be delivered to the same professional, ethical and legislative standards as per any other psychological practice outside the DRN. Further considerations around confidentiality are outlined in the DRN Psychologist General Practice Guide which is provided to all DRN members. 

You will be required to record and store your own records while volunteering as a DRN member in a safe and secure location in accordance with the APS Code of Ethics and ethical guidelines.