Amanda: Hi, I'm Amanda. I love being around the ocean, Surfing, swimming. And I'm a Mental Health Practitioner.
Kristen: Hi. My name is Kristen. I enjoy the sun, walking my dog, and I am a Mental Health Social Worker.
So my background of what I studied was my Undergrad in Developmental Psychology and Sociology, as well as I have a Masters in Social Work.
Amanda: My background's in counselling and I gained a lot of the skills that are very important to work in mental health for older people.
Kristen: I really enjoy working with older people and in the space that we do, it's quite independent, but also working with a team that's passionate around older people's mental health.
I think it doesn't matter what you study. On our team,we have Counsellors, Social Workers, people who studied psychology as well and having that wide range of different backgrounds and disciplines really makes our job very interesting and very fascinating. And we learn and bounce ideas off one another.
Amanda: We often have meetings and we bring a lot of different aspects to the table. We kind of brainstorm if sometimes one person might be having a bit of difficulty. We all support each other on the team.
Kristen: The support that you get within the role is really important for professional growth and development.
Amanda: I would highly recommend this career path for somebody leaving school. The main reason for me is I just find it so rewarding to be able to meet with one of your clients and see that they're really making a positive change in their life and their overall wellbeing. They're happier and healthier within themselves, smiling, connecting with friends and family.
It really makes me so happy at the end of the day.
Read our fact sheet with Mental Health Practitioners Amanda Jones and Kristen Makaric, to learn more about a career in mental health.