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Winner - Rehabilitation Counsellor of the Year 2022

Australian Allied Health Awards – https://www.alliedhealthawards.com/

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The expression, “we are the sum of our experiences” really resonates with me and I really believe that through adversity, amazing things can happen. I was honoured and humbled to have been chosen as the 2022 Australian Allied Health Awards Rehabilitation Counsellor of the year. A prestigious national award recognising allied health professional across Australia. I’d like to think that this award is a demonstration of the sum of my experiences and all the wonderful people who have supported me throughout my journey.

I work as a Senior Rehabilitation Consultant and Health and Wellbeing Specialist with Rehab Management in Hobart and my professional background is in Psychology and Rehabilitation Counselling. I completed an Undergraduate Degree with the University of Tasmania majoring in Psychology/Sociology then completed a Graduate Diploma of Rehabilitation Counselling, a Master of Rehabilitation Counselling in 2008, and returned to study to complete a Bachelor of Psychology with First Class Honours in 2014. I’m often told that my superpower is my empathy, which I think has also helped me to really relate to the people I have supported through my career.

My work is varied and I complete work for a range of referrers and clients but the biggest part of my role and by far the part I find the most personally rewarding, is the MyPulse Health and Wellbeing Program. I have been fortunate to have been heavily involved with the program since its initial set up and implementation and have come into contact with many program users as well as all the wonderful Departmental staff who continue to support it.

Since receiving this award, I have been asked how I got into the field of Rehabilitation Counselling. I originally had always wanted to be a Clinical Psychologist however my journey into Rehabilitation Counselling was determined largely by a life changing experience. At the age of 20 when completing my Psychology Undergraduate Degree, my partner at the time was diagnosed with an aggressive Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He had gone into the doctor to get a mole checked. The mole was fine, but the doctor noticed a lump in his neck and it went from there. The experience was life changing, I went from leading a fairly standard 20-year-old life – experiencing young love, studying, working and thinking about embarking on some world travel, to suddenly being a full-time carer while juggling 2-jobs and continuing my studies. Caring for someone undergoing Stage IV cancer treatment involving intensive chemotherapy, radiation therapy and all that comes with the cancer journey (and later a clinical trial), was life changing and catapulted me into maturity. We had literally entered a whole new world of intensive treatments, daily blood tests, appointments, non-stop uncertainty and I often felt helpless knowing I couldn’t change what was happening and seeing so many people around us whom we built connections with, suddenly passing away. Receiving news at the age of 20 that the person you love may only have 6-months to live, was like being hit by a monster truck – we were totally unprepared and it didn’t seem real. My coping mechanism was to do what I could and ensure he wasn’t alone on that journey. As the treatment was intensive and being that he had no family in Hobart, I was by his side 24/7. When he was hospitalised, I would sleep next to him in a little recliner in the hospital and remember showering and leaving from the hospital to attend Uni or work then coming straight back to be by his side.

I remember celebrating my 21st birthday the day after his release from hospital following another 1.5 weeks hospitalisation for intensive chemotherapy (as part of the clinical trial). Where most of my friends were having big parties, I was checking his temperature, supporting him through the chemo impacts and helping him to stay alive. Those few years were a blur and watching what he went through made me appreciate how fleeting and precious life really is. Realising how easy it is to become consumed by something and forgetting the small stuff. The most amazing thing, was that the clinical trial saved his life despite his grim prognosis. After spending so much time in the RHH inpatient wards and seeing all the others who weren’t so lucky, we realised just how lucky he was. Unfortunately, I had neglected my own health throughout those few years and became significantly unwell, so spent quite some time recovering and really learnt the value of self-care. I learnt the value of health and wellbeing.

Drawing strength from my experience, I redirected my study from Psychology to focus into the medical rehabilitation and went on to apply for a Master of Rehabilitation Counselling through the University of Tasmania. I was honoured and humbled to receive The Jim Bacon Foundation Scholarship into the Care and Treatment of Cancer. The scholarship allowed me the financial means to complete my Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counselling and I wanted to use my experiences to help others. I had realised that there had been very limited support for the people around my then-partner and myself through his cancer journey, I completed my Masters Thesis in partnership with The Cancer Council Tasmania through designing and evaluating some Cancer Caregiver support groups targeted at psychoeducation and self-care for caregivers. I also assisted Honey Bacon to develop material for cancer patients and their caregivers to prepare them for what to expect and help ease their journey a little. The caregiver support groups were delivered by the Cancer Council Tasmania and I then evaluated their effectiveness. The groups were a success, and I was invited to present my research findings at the Australian Psychological Society Conference in Darwin in 2009. The support groups were also subsequently made a permanent fixture in the Cancer Council Tasmania’s programs, a legacy I felt really proud of.

I joined Rehab Management in 2016 where I have worked for the last 6.5 years including as a Health and Wellbeing Specialist within the MyPulse programs. I really enjoy empowering people to take charge of their own health and promoting early intervention vs a reactive approach. One of my regular sayings when I am talking to people about their MyPulse screen results is that “we service our cars annually (well hopefully we all do!) but often we forget to treat our bodies the same. If we are driving in our cars and hear a strange sound, we don’t just turn up the radio and keep driving! We get it checked. We act early as we don’t want $300 problem turning into a $3000 problem. Our bodies should be no different. We need to value our health in the same way.

If there’s any parting words of wisdom that I can give as part of sharing some of my experiences, it’s to act early. If something doesn’t feel right with your body or your mental health, act early. Don’t be the driver with a blown engine because you didn’t act early when you first heard that strange sound. Don’t be the person who thinks they aren’t worthy of the support or that “someone else needs it more”. Be the person who recognises the value in looking after themselves – even for those around you who care about you. Your family, your friends, your colleagues, the people you support as Emergency Services Personnel. Something really easy you can do is jump onto the MyPulse site and complete those online screens. One of our skilled team of Health Coaches will be at the other end of that screen and on the phone within a business day if anything at all shows up, you then have access to the free and confidential MyPulse health and wellbeing coaching service where you can be supported to take proactive action, where you are not alone in making changes and working through things to better your own health and life. We are all busy with competing demands, pressures, worries, busy lives. But we all have to prioritise our own wellbeing if we are going to be effective in our jobs helping others – it’s the lifejacket analogy, you put on your own before you can help others put theirs on. And sometimes we just need that motivation and accountability to make it happen – that’s exactly what the MyPulse program is for. Our outcomes and testimonials are evidence of the change we help make in people’s lives, to empower them and maximise quality of life.

Dominique Higgins

MyPulse Health & Wellbeing Coach