About ConnectEd
Welcome to ConnectEd! We wanted to share a bit about who we are so that you can get a sense of…well…who we are! We don’t have fancy marketing or a mission statement, but we do have a bunch of beliefs that sit behind a lot of the decisions we make.
Be a human + a professional
We value the shared humanity within us all. Whether you are a young person, an old person, a never-graduated, graduated with multiple degrees or whether you are doing it tough or thriving in life – we know that we’re all pretty much the same beneath it all. We all have good days and bad, find some things easier and others harder and we’re all doing our best. So even though are team are incredible, highly educated and trained psychologists, we also recognise that we are human too. So we aim to bring ourselves into the work that we do, and walk alongside you, rather than far out in front, telling you how you should do things. You might have noticed in our about us section that we have who we are as a person first, and who we are as a professional second? That’s not an accident! We know that we will be better professional through embracing our unique personality and style and combining this with our knowledge and skills
We all benefit from connection
All of our team come with a background in school and community work. What this has taught is the value of community and connection. Knowing that there are people in this world who will listen, care and connect helps us feel a sense of place and purpose. The path to wellness doesn’t look the same for everyone, and while we know that the contribution we can make as psychologists is a very important one, we also greatly value the important role that other people and place can play in helping us flourish.
A client’s right to choose
We really value giving each person the right to make their own decisions about their healthcare. While this is a key part of any health service, we try to take this a step further and have formal and informal processes in place to support this. We allow you (where appropriate) to book with the psychologist you would prefer to see (rather than just assigning you to the next person available. Combined with the point below, we try to give people as much information upfront so that they can make informed decisions, and where there are questions, we openly and honestly answer them (which sometimes includes saying “I don’t know” or “I’m sorry, that was my mistake”). The other side of a client’s right to choose is the belief that each client holds their own responsibility for their health journey and logistics. This is always done with support (e.g. making the process of managing appointments as easy as possible, setting realistics goals in therapy). As psychologists, we have to believe that each person has the right to determine their own path, and we respect that right and responsibility.
Share information freely and simply
We make a really conscious decision to share a lot of information, which relates to the point above. Within the clinic, we try to make things as clear and accessible as possible. Some examples of that are especially found on our website – we make all our fee information available (including providing estimates for our assessments), information about what to expect seeing a counsellor and who each of our team are as people and professionals. The other way we share information freely and simply is in a lot of the content that we share through our Facebook page. We write lots of blog posts, host free webinars and aim to share our knowledge in a way that is relatable and useful to the people reading it
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Mental Health and wellbeing is serious stuff. The stories that we get to hear from each person are unique, powerful and challenging, and we never want to minimise the personal experience of each individual. In those moments in between though, we all appreciate the opportunity to let some of that tension out with a good laugh and to acknowledge that there can be some good in amongst the bad.