Community
16 August, 2024
Doctor numbers grow in mental health
DOCTOR numbers at South West Healthcare’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Services continue to grow.
A recent addition to the team, Dr Freddie Johansson has this week been announced as the new clinical director.
Moving to Warrnambool with his family after years training and practicing as part of an inner-city London service, Dr Johansson has enjoyed the early days of his sea change.
“I had a real interest in being part of a smaller regional mental health service and the team at South West Healthcare has been able to build an exciting staffing group of not only psychologists but also a strong education system for registrars,” Dr Johansson said.
“The education reputation of the service also really impressed me and I’m keen to be part of efforts to generate a supported space for allied health professionals, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists and nurses to create a foundation for providing the best care for our South West communities.”
Dr. Johansson said he was also attracted to the position due to the opportunity at South West Healthcare to tap into people with lived and living experience which has been an incredibly important focus of the service.
“It’s been evident in my first weeks here that the organisation has a really strong focus on listening to consumers to build services that the community can be part of shaping and delivering,” Dr Johansson said.
“Our lived and living experience service group do an amazing job in delivering care for consumers. Their own experiences and understanding of what they’ve faced makes them very motivated people who give a lot of themselves in supporting others.”
Dr. Johansson believes it’s also important to change community perceptions around mental health.
“You often see and hear about worst case scenarios or those requiring lots of support, however the vast majority of consumers that have a mental health episode recover completely, much like a physical injury,” he said.
“Quite often we find that even if they’re admitted to our service, many only ever have one admission, recover and lead incredibly productive lives.”
Executive director of mental health, Richard Campion, said Dr. Johansson’s appointment added another piece to the ever-growing complement of mental health clinicians in Warrnambool.
“We currently have more doctors than we’ve ever had before in the mental health and wellbeing service at South West Healthcare,” Mr Campion said.
“Providing services for infants and children right through to older adult consumers across our team, we’re incredibly privileged to have Dr. Johansson on board to help us continue to provide great support across the service.”