Location: Monash Children's Hospital
Funding Requirement: $32,000 per annum
Funding Period: (Year): annual
Aim of Position:
The Mental Health Clinician is a vital member of the multi-disciplinary team at the MCH CCC, providing psychosocial assessment, intervention and case management to children and families from the unit. The Clinician works collaboratively with the treating team to provide holistic care in accordance with statewide best practice in the field. The Mental Health Clinician was a new position introduced to the CCC at MCH in January 2008 and comprises 12 hours of clinical contact per week. The Mental Health Clinician not only sees patients, but provides support to the staff in helping them manage difficulties patients may be having. The clinician is also pivotol in referring children and families, where possible, to community agencies close to home. An important aspect of this role has been to debrief staff and act as peer support for the staff when there has been a particularly difficult situation or where a child has passed away.