Our 0800 What’s Up counsellors have varied and interesting work listening to and talking with tamariki and rangatahi about what’s going on in their lives. But it can be challenging and stressful too, especially when young people are contemplating suicide.

Maintaining good boundaries and having structures in place for self-care are critical to our counsellors being able to show up each day at their best for the young people who need them.

Counsellor Rosie* has always been an empathetic listener and was naturally drawn to psychology at university. However, it was the practical element of counselling that she found most satisfying, being able to make a real and immediate difference in someone's life. She has been working for our free helpline, 0800 What’s Up, for six years and says, “It’s important for everyone to have space to talk and I like the uniqueness of the service. I can provide help in the moment as well as ongoing support, and I love how the concepts I learnt during my undergrad in anthropology and psychology come together.”

Taking the hardest cases

Rosie says the hardest cases are the ones that involve someone with an imminent concern for their wellbeing. "They don’t always want to make a plan initially, but a part of them wants to be safe if they’ve reached out,” she says. “I can provide a platform for their safety with information to help them get support. I often have very limited information so it’s challenging. How imminent is the risk and how likely are they to act on their plan? Have they made previous suicide attempts, do they have support networks? I try to tap into the reasons why they would stay alive and connect them to that.”

Over the last year, 0800 What’s Up counsellors have responded to over 100 young people where there was immediate concern for their wellbeing. Our counsellors developed safety plans to deescalate the immediate risk and/or referred tamariki to specialised services, including mental health providers, Oranga Tamariki and the Police. The seriousness of the issues has meant that recruiting skilled staff and providing ongoing training to our counsellors has been a key focus for the year.

Taking time for herself

Making time for herself away from work is vital to Rosie’s wellbeing, especially after a stressful call. She has a dog and lives by the beach, so enjoys lots of walks. She loves to read and relaxes with hot baths, baking, massages, and spending time with loved ones. She enjoys particularly close relationships with her siblings and parents, talking to her mum at least three times a day.

“My mum was a librarian and instilled a love of reading and learning in me and being interested in ideas. My dad is a food nutrition scientist and his worth ethic is admirable.”

Travel with her family has been a big feature of Rosie’s non-work life. “I’m going on a trip with my dad soon to China and I’ve been to India, Las Vegas and Paris with him when he was on work trips. My younger sister lives in London and last year I visited her and we did a trip around Europe. I want to try to do a trip with my sister every year. It’s a great way to catch up when we don’t live in the same country. She’s the best person to travel with ever. We have so much fun!”

Maintaining a balance between the challenges of her work and her own interests enables Rosie to be an effective counsellor and she has no plans to change careers any time soon.

“We get amazing feedback,” she says “and personally it’s always cool to turn up to a shift. It’s great when I feel like I did good today and am happy to come back tomorrow.”

About 0800 What’s Up

All children and young people need a safe place to talk. Sometimes, it’s about the little things, sometimes it’s the big stuff. Our 0800 What’s Up helpline is here to help with all of it, even the problem that may seem too big to solve.

Barnardos’ early intervention approach means that we focus on helping build resilience, empowering children and young people by supporting them to solve their own problems, providing tools and strategies before things get too hard.

Tamariki and rangatahi can a 0800 What’s Up counsellor on 0800 942 8787 or chat online at www.whatsup.co.nz.

* Name changed for the purposes of privacy and anonymity.

Close family relationships balance the challenges of counselling