Counselling and Support for People Affected by the Disability Royal Commission

This year RA Tas has seen a steady increase in referrals for support from those affected by the Royal Commission into violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of people with disability.

People accessing this service often present with a complexity of concerns requiring a flexible approach. The counselling team support individuals and families by varying session times, location, mode of communication (telephone, Online) and meet their individual needs through a broad range of therapies including creative therapies, EMDR, Sand tray etc.

Broader understandings were gained through these outreach projects that identified the complexities of building relationships and trust with regional Tasmania and negative attitudes to disability within the communities.

RA Tas have developed strong partnerships with key stakeholders in delivering services to individuals and families. The counselling team worked closely with Speak Out, Advocacy Tasmania, Your Story Legal Aid and Your Story Disability Support based at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service. RA Tas participated in road shows in partnership with these organisations which included numerous regional areas of Tasmania including King Island. These sessions were beneficial in gaining a broad understanding of the complexities of building relationships and trust with regional Tasmania and negative attitudes to disability within the communities. Based on this knowledge a targeted marketing and community education project was developed to enrich community awareness of how disability can be better integrated and accepted within communities and to build an understanding of the scope of the Disability Royal Commission Counselling Service.

RA Tas began working in conjunction with Li-Ve Tasmania to develop accessible resources that provide education to people living with disability and their family and carers about trauma, what it looks like and feels like and what is means to access counselling. This is a project co-designed with people with disability and will not only improve access to Counselling and Support for those Affected by the Disability Royal Commission, but these resources have been developed in a way that they will increase awareness and access across multiple programs with a view to reducing barriers for people with disability.