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If you live or work in a drought-affected area and you need to communicate with friends or other community members who are also impacted by drought, then it’s possible you may have slipped into a counselling role by accident.

Personal trainers, shop assistants, hairdressers, supermarket cashiers, bank tellers, receptionists, tradies of all kinds and anyone else who deals with people, can often get caught up unwittingly when customers or clients either dump ‘stuff’ or start talking about their problems coping with drought and farm related challenges.

Community members are not usually trained or taught to recognise the signs that someone is dealing with trauma or stress, nor how to respond appropriately or (if applicable) where to refer for appropriate services and supports. That is, until now.

For a limited time, Gippsland Lakes Community Health and Lifeline Gippsland are offering FREE TRAINING to help community members gain the confidence and skills required to be able to listen, ask, recognise and respond appropriately, when someone needs support. While this training won’t turn you into a qualified counsellor, it will help you understand effective ways to help the people around you who need it.

If you relate to this and you would like to know a little more about what to do in tricky situations, Lifeline Gippsland’s FREE Accidental Counsellor Training will be available in Sale on Wednesday 6 November and Bairnsdale on Tuesday 12 November from 9.30am to 4pm at each site.

Places are limited, so to secure your place or to find out more about this free training, please phone Andre Zonn on 0429 953 063 or email andrez@glch.org.au