Martin Fraser, School Psychologist, Allambie Heights Public School

I'd never really considered psychology as a career and never even aware of it, but I was fascinated by people, and then just coincidentally doing a couple of psychology electives and feeling like something clicked for me, and that was where a passion was and where I wanted to go.

I actually never even realised, just with the psychology, no education background, that I could work in a school.

Angela Helsloot, Principal, Allambie Heights Public School

Martin's an active school counsellor in the fact that he's not a person that believes he just sits in an office.

He sees his role in our school as integral to supporting everybody. And so with that, he will meet with parents, he will meet with staff, he will visit classrooms, he will run group sessions in our classrooms and in the playground.

Martin Fraser

I do a lot of group intervention as well. So working with a small group of people and focussing on common themes or areas of interest and needs, it's consulting with other staff and families.

There is an element of assessment as well, which can be academic, social, you know, assessing various risks and needs to young people.

Lauren Brincat, Senior Psychologist, Education

Sometimes people have a bit of a, I guess, preconceived notion as to what school counselling looks like. A lot of people are quite familiar with psychology in movies, which is lie down on the couch and tell me your feelings, tell me about your childhood.

However, we're working with a really diverse group of young people from ages 3 through to 18, sometimes older, from different cultural backgrounds, in rural and remote areas, as well as in our metropolitan cities as well.

So I think some people are quite surprised when they know how integrated our service is within the school.

Martin Fraser

In my previous roles as a psychologist, I found working with adults and older populations that there had often been mental health issues present for a long time without ever accessing or receiving the right support.

And so for me, the principle of early intervention is going back to the younger ages when people are first starting to present with any kind of difficulties and trying to support them at that point.

And for me, there was no arena that made more sense than to work in the school system.

Angela Helsloot

His ability to work with staff, to work with students, and to work with parents actually just has everybody on the same page.

And sometimes those conversations are difficult to have with all stakeholders. And so Martin's calming presence and his knowledge is invaluable to us as a school community to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all.

Lauren Brincat

When you're working as a psychologist or a school counsellor, you're often working with quite emotionally demanding situations, and so if you are working in isolation, it could could lead to burnout.

So it's really important within my team, within the department, that we support one another to make sure that we're delivering, I guess, the best service to our young people.

Martin Fraser

The positive outcomes we do see working in the school environment is actually one of the best privileges of the job because you are part of that community.

So there's no greater feeling for me than when you can help someone else or be part of a positive aspect of their journey in life.

You can make such a difference in a role like this. And at the end of the day, if that's something that drives someone, I couldn't recommend it more highly.

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