Carers are often overwhelmed by a complex health system and navigating legal responsibilities. Asking questions, responding to requests for information, advocating for consideration in systems that are complex and difficult to navigate, can be stressful and seem overwhelming.

In Discovering My Voice we seek to create an understanding of how to use your voice to be heard in a system that is sometimes deaf. Strategies for presenting your case objectively, enlisting the support of others and navigating systems successfully will be covered. It will also create an awareness of how being emotionally intelligent can transform interactions with others and help you get what you need in a respectful way. With an exploration of boundaries and how they are a part of a good management strategy for carers, this session will also provide an opportunity to share stories of system failures.

Objectives:

To explore the experiences of carers interacting with health systems.
To provide a strategy for voicing concerns and asking for what you need.
To explore the value of Emotional Intelligence in navigating human to human encounters.
To explore boundaries and their value for carers.

Who is this workshop for?

People who support others, ie parents, friends, relatives, children, siblings (carers).
Carers who feel disconnected, frustrated and isolated carers who may or may not have experienced or be aware of their own loss and grief.
Workers who want to better understand the carer experience.

What to expect:

This will be an interactive session, in a conversational style.
A safe space for sharing will be created and maintained.
Support after the session is available via our support groups and counselling team.
A light morning tea will be provided at 11:00am. Dietary requirements should be stated in registration.
To walk away with a new understanding of how to use your voice and an awareness of grief literacy and emotional intelligence.
A renewed sense of hope for the future.

About The Facilitator

Facilitated by Hayley Solich, a multi-award-winning systemic carer advocate and carer engagement training specialist, who has a lived experience of caring for family members living with mental and physical health challenges. Awarded the WA Mental Health Consumer Impact Inspiration Award and the City of Stirling Community Citizen of the Year Award in 2019, Hayley is a leading voice on carer engagement, having presented to 15 public mental health facilities, and at several state, national and international conferences on the topic of Carer Engagement and Peer Work.

In her past role as the Carer Co-Chair of the National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum, Hayley was the initiator of the Mental Health Family/Carer Experiences of COVID Research Project, which recently attracted the prestigious ANZSWWER Conference Achievement in Research about Community Education, Community Development and/or Social Action by Individuals or Teams Award.

As an educator with two decades of experience, Hayley is passionate about sharing wisdom to create abundance and brings to the course her lived experience of caring and her broad knowledge of the caring sector in Australia.

She is the host of The Gold Digger Podcast with Hayley Solich, a writer for HoneyBee Lifestyle Magazine and past editor of Finally at 40 Life Begins Magazine and Golden Pen Magazine.

Hayley has a lived experience of grief and loss, having lost family members to miscarriage, road trauma, heart disease, brain cancer, and Alzheimer's, with friends dying by suicide. Hayley currently works as the Business Development Manager at The Grief Centre of Western Australia and is engaged in systemic advocacy within the mental health space.

This event is a partnership between The Grief Centre of WA and the Mental Illness Fellowship of WA (MIFWA).