Lifeline Accidental Counsellor workshops on offer for bushfire-affected Cessnock residents

And as a testament to the need and desire for this training, the first two workshops booked out within days, and a third workshop has been announced for September 17.

Lifeline's Accidental Counsellor workshop is aimed at those who would like to be able to safely and effectively support friends, family, colleagues, and strangers who are in distress or experiencing a crisis.

The workshop will provide participants with basic skills and a structure to provide immediate support and assistance using the 'Recognise, Respond, Refer' model.

Council has been working closely with bushfire-affected communities following the Black Summer of 2019-20, and with poor mental wellbeing in the community still prevalent, residents have acknowledged a need for better skills and knowledge in how to best provide support for others in distress.

"Council acknowledges the very real compounding effect of the stressors associated with the bushfires, floods and COVID, on the mental wellbeing of our communities. By offering these free online training courses in mental health first aid, council is helping to build resilience in our communities by increasing the capacity of residents to help one another," council's community recovery officer Melissa Boucher said.

"Council is utilising funding from Resilience NSW to work with Lifeline to offer these free online training courses to our community.

"We hope many people will join these free sessions to learn how to better help their family, friends, neighbours or strangers."

No pre-existing knowledge is required and the course is open to all residents of the Cessnock local government area. This course is not intended to train participants to offer professional counselling services.

The workshop will be run on Zoom on Friday, September 17 from 9.15am to 1pm. A 90-minute eLearning component must be completed beforehand.

Register at cessnock.nsw.gov.au/events or email melissa.boucher@cessnock.nsw.gov.au for inquiries.