Who the group is for:
Our online support group sessions for carers of school aged people who live with ME/CFS or long COVID, will run once a month and will consist of up to 12 carer participants. This group will be hosted by a professional facilitator through Emerge Australia. These sessions will take place through our virtual support space. The aim of the group is to help connect carers with other carers who have a shared experience of caring for a person who lives with ME/CFS or long COVID.
Why should I attend?
Accessing support to talk with other carers who are going through similar experiences is one of the primary requests that we receive at Emerge Australia. We have designed this program to provide a safe space – with a facilitator – where carers can meet once a month. Our virtual space provides the option to further connect online in the virtual discussion room, which carerss will have access to after each session.
To ensure that carers and people with ME/CFS and long COVID continue to be supported beyond the life of the program, a “volunteer community champions” pilot project is being developed. This will upskill community members to volunteer their time as group moderators. More information about this pilot project will be available in the new year.
Outlines of the program:
Each group will have access to their own virtual support room, here you will find:
- Five 60-minutes virtual support sessions run once a month for five months.
- A professional facilitator who will run and support each session.
- Access to the virtual room’s notice board that will provide a summary of the session or handout.
- Access to the virtual support room’s discussion board, allowing you to engage and communicate with other participants between sessions.
- Opportunity to participate in the volunteer community champions pilot project, that aims to enable your group to keep connected long after the 5 sessions have been completed.
What Do you need to bring:
- Laptop/iPad
- There will be an introduction session hosted by Emerge Australia towards the end of January 2024 with facilitated session commencing in February.
For carers of people school aged children there will be two groups running in the first half of 2024.
Group 2 (3 places left)
Session will run from 2pm to 3pm (AEDT), once a month, on the following Thursday in 2024
- February 15
- March 21
- April 18
- May 16
- Jun 20
Following the five sessions, the group will have the option to continue in our ongoing virtual carers room, if a volunteer community champion, upskills into the moderator role.
To join group 2, click here:
https://emerge.zohobookings.com.au/#/customer/group2schoolaged
Group 1 FULL
Session will run from 2pm to 3pm (AEDT), once a month, on the following Tuesdays in 2024
- February 20
- March 19
- April 16
- May 21
- Jun 18
Following the five sessions, the group will have the option to continue in our ongoing virtual carers room, if a volunteer community champion, upskills into the moderator role.
For more information or if you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Meet your facilitator:
Amanda Westphal
Amanda Westphal is an experienced and compassionate counsellor (Level 2 ACA) situated in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Amanda is recognised for her unwavering dedication to nurturing self-care, self-compassion, and fostering acceptance. Her specialisation extends to offering support to carers and individuals contending with chronic illnesses, areas that resonate deeply with her professional ethos.
Her academic foundation includes a BA in Social Science (Counselling), amplifying her capabilities to blend scholarly knowledge with a compassionate perspective.
