Canberra Interactive Care Incorporated

Some of us have recently successfully completed the Mental Health First Aid Course. This will greatly assist us in the work that we do. If anyone else would like to undertake the Course it is next being offered at Key2Learning in Watson on Friday 25 August and Saturday 26 August from 9.00am-4.00pm. The cost is only $100pp (against other similar Courses by different providers at $250-$275pp).

Interactive Care is a Model of Health Care that first came to the forefront in 2015. It is a clinical model that can be applied to a variety of health and social issues that has at the forefront “person engagement”.

Simply put, it means people (and in this instance, vulnerable community members ie specifically those with mental health illnesses) learning to take responsibility for their own lives and needs (with a little bit of help from us). That is, where individuals are engaged in their own attempts to improve their lives, develop resilience and confidence and to end the cycle of dependency – the better the outcomes are for achieving this.

Our services at Canberra Interactive Care Incorporated include pro bono services for vulnerable community members, training our organisation’s members in co-ordinating and/or delivering such services, and providing education and material resources.

We work closely with other community organisations (ie other charities and street pantries) and volunteer groups to help us achieve our Aims and Objectives.

The Interactive Care Model has a conceptual framework encompassing five components:

1.assessing the person’s capacity for engagement
2.the exchange of information and the communication of choices
3.planning between the community member and the organisation’s members
4.determining what interventions are required (services, education and/or resources) and
5.evaluating regularly (through mentoring, support and friendship groups).

Our organisation and its members provide these services pro bono.