Bushfire Recovery

Nonie Carr - Enhance Life Psychology - from the blog
Enhance Life Psychology Albert Park, Nonie Carr Melbourne Psychologist
Forest on fire

The bushfire recovery process will take time. And the government has recently announced a number of measures to support this recovery process.

Areas of Australia have been battling bushfires since November 2019. And over the period of December to January the fires ramped up and have covered significant areas of native bushland, directly impacted a large number of communities, indirectly impacted on many more, and the impact on the native wildlife of these areas is simply devastating.

Loss

The area of land that has burnt is larger than any forest fire anywhere else in the world. The number of significant flora areas that have been affected, and the sheer number of animals that is being forecast to have been lost is devastating. I’ve seen mind-boggling figures about the potential permanent loss of flora and fauna species.

The losses that have been experienced by people cannot be underestimated. Though few lives have been lost, lives have been irrevocably changed. Memories have been changed, and those places and things that often hold our memories might have been lost. And the impact of this cannot be underestimated and sometimes this impact can take time to surface. And the losses that people experience can surface in different ways for different people. And some people experience significant levels of trauma as a result of being directly in the line of the bushfires, whether as a resident or an emergency services worker.

Enhance Life Psychology Albert Park, Nonie Carr Melbourne Psychologist
Sydney, Australia 2019-12-10 Australian bushfire.

Variables

It seems that there are many variables that might have come together to create a situation where this emergency has been inevitable. There will be many more variables that will impact on the recovery from this tragedy; recovery for the Native Parks, the unique environments that have burnt, the flora and the fauna.

 


Recovery

Enhance Life Psychology Albert Park, Nonie Carr Melbourne Psychologist
New life after bushfire: Black Boys showing new life a fortnight after the fire

The recovery of the people directly and indirectly affected and the communities that they are part of is likely to take a long time. The journey to recovery will take many people contributing to the effort. And many, so many, have contributed financially to the recovery effort and it is wonderful to see how people have also contributed with donations of all sorts of other goods. And it is so humbling to acknowledge those who have contributed their time… their time to fight the fires, to care for the animals that are injured, and to care for the people that are injured, physically and emotionally, too.

 

Bushfire Recovery Access Program

The Australian Government has acknowledged that the bushfires can have a significant impact on our mental health. They have announced that they will be funding mental health support for those who’ve experienced an adverse change to their mental health as a result of the current 2019-2020 bushfires.

Better Access & Bushfire Recovery Infographic
Better Access & Bushfire Recovery Infographic

The PDF (link on next line) is a more detailed summary of the program.

Bushfire Recovery Access Program

Enhance Life Psychology Albert Park, Nonie Carr Melbourne Psychologist
The bush recovering around Peregian beach after the fires in September 2019.

 

Enhance Life Psychology is able support people who have experienced an adverse reaction to the bushfires towards recovery . We are able to offer a series of 6 bulk-billed sessions to a limited number of clients until the end of June 2020; this will be reviewed in early June.

Please contact us to discuss your needs and to determine if you are eligible for this program.

 

 

 


Here are a few links to information that might be helpful if you are struggling as a result of the fires.

Beyond Blue – Bushfires and Mental Health

Keeping mental health in check during this bushfire season – a radio interview

The Anxiety Release app – now available for free to those affected by the fires

WildTalk – for carers of Australian wildlife

Helping children cope

Information to support young people with Autism

More information to support children around the bushfires

 

Please contact us to discuss your needs and to determine if you are eligible for this program.

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