Alfred Health is a leader in health care delivery, improvement, research and education. We are the main provider of health services to people living in the inner southeast suburbs of Melbourne, from ambulatory, to inpatient and home and community-based services.

Have you been/or are you, a family member or significant other of a person with a first episode of psychosis and/or complex mental health?

If the answer is YES - we are looking for YOU!

• Part-time (2 days/wk), Fixed-term - Until June 2021
• Based in Bentleigh with some travel required between locations (working from home negotiable)
• Lived experience as a family member or significant other of a person with a first episode of psychosis and/or complex mental health, ideally a young person

What's in it for you?

• Opportunity to work for an innovative youth mental health program that is making a real difference in the community!
• Scope to build community support and collaboration to achieve better mental health outcomes for young people and their families
• Opportunity to be involved in changing perceptions and reducing stigma surrounding mental health issues!

ABOUT US:

headspace Early Psychosis is one of the world's most comprehensive youth early psychosis programs being delivered through one program in each Australian state. Through this new initiative, young people and their families have timely access to comprehensive evidence-based early psychosis services. This program aims to intervene early with young people who have unusual sensory experiences and/or beliefs and their families and supporters. The service builds on strengths and resilience, uses the wisdom of lived experience and fosters hope, potential, and recovery.

Family Peer Support

The Family Peer Support Work (FPSW) Program works in conjunction with our clinical teams to provide support to family members or other carers in the network of the young person. Family members and friends often provide the main safety net and support system for a young person. Evidence shows that when family and friends are involved with services, outcomes for young people improve.

The aim of Family Peer Support is to:

• Minimise the impact of a first episode of psychosis and/or complex mental health on family and significant others of young people within the service; and
• Support the engagement of families and significant others with the service in order to enhance the process of recovery for young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING:

As our Family Peer Support Worker, you will draw from your own lived experience to offer support either face to face or over the telephone, to families of young people aged 12-25 years attending the Enhanced headspace service and who are experiencing a first episode of psychosis.

WHAT YOU HAVE:

• Lived experience as a family member or significant other of a person with a first episode of psychosis and/or complex mental health, ideally a young person (essential)
• An interest to support others using your own lived experience (essential)
• Confidence to advocate for yourself and families in a clinical environment
• Bi/multilingual - Pashto/Dari/Urdu/Vietnamese/Khmer (desirable)
• Appropriate work visa
• Current Victorian Driver's License
• Current Working with Children Check or willing to obtain one, and be willing to undergo a Background Check

OTHER BENEFITS:

• Access to salary packaging, discounted health insurance and banking
• Frequent professional development opportunities
• Opportunities to participate in the headspace discovery college
• Great work-life balance
• Located close to public transport, shops and restaurants

If this opportunity sounds like it is for you, click the Apply Now button, including your resume and cover letter.

For more information regarding the position please contact Jacinta Kuklych on ph: 0419 193 521.

Alfred Health is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects the community we serve. Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are encouraged.

Website: www.alfredhealth.org.au