Our services.

Choose your journey.

As a recovery-oriented organisation, Qlara services focus on giving you the support and agency over your own recovery. Mental health challenges do not define you, in fact, they are merely part of what makes you unique. And recovery doesn’t have to be difficult—it can be fun and adventurous too.

It’s your right to determine what experiences and treatment you need to live your life beyond diagnosis. Our services are designed to support you every step of the way no matter how many twists and turns.

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Areas of recovery

  • Because mental health challenges can negatively affect your sense of who you are and how you are seen by others, it is important to focus on increasing your self-worth, self-advocacy and your identity not defined by a diagnosis. We help you develop a more holistic sense of self and reduce the damage caused by any stigmatisation with a newfound sense of hope for your future.

  • Managing mental health focuses on understanding your mental health and being able to manage your mood, behaviour and symptoms. Coping with setbacks, and developing resiliency and problem-solving skills are important parts of recovery. Recovering from a mental illness requires the development of coping skills and the ability to recognise when to access various resources to sustain your mental health.

  • Having friends, meaningful relationships and an enriching social life are important parts of the recovery process. Research shows that regaining social roles that were lost or creating new roles strongly contributes to recovery. We help you with social skills training and other ways to ensure that you are connected to others. Having a sense of belonging, meaningfulness and self-esteem can help decrease stress and provide a way to lessen the impact of mental health challenges.

  • During your recovery, we can help you with basic living skills such as shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, dressing, and managing money. Having these skills to live independently is key to mental health. Having a secure and adequate home, avoiding eviction, feeling at home and respecting others is also an important competence in your recovery journey. Improving housing situations can be very beneficial to recovery, with positive effects on mental health outcomes and social participation.

  • Work has been linked to greatly enhancing an overall sense of self-worth, especially because it provides you with the ability to be independent. Working or studying in positive settings is an important aspect of recovery as it can create financial, social and emotional benefits and help maintain important intimate relationships. It changes your frame of mind from a ‘passive patient’ to an ‘active worker’ which provides a connection to the community.

  • Drugs, alcohol, gambling and other addictions are often more prevalent among those with mental health needs than the rest of the population. This link is likely to be in part a consequence of self-medicating in an attempt to cope with trauma and emotional pain, but addictions also lead to poorer mental health outcomes. We work with you to support and heal the root case to ensure that addictions are no longer contributing negatively to your quality of life.

Recovery approaches

  • At Qlara, we have a team of psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors trained to help you on your recovery journey.

    Psychotherapists go deeper and therefore spend a long time understanding the established attitudes, thoughts and behaviours that are causing problems in one’s life. The ‘root cause’ is worked on and how this impacts relationships, life responsibilities, life goals and other activities in daily life. They have more training than psychologists.

    Psychologists have formal university qualifications to better understand how a person’s mind works, both the mental and biological functions. This helps psychologists understand certain behaviours, thought patterns and emotions. The knowledge and training a psychologist has can be used to help you understand yourself better and identify the causes of the problems you experience. This process can empower you and help you thrive.

    Counsellors can help with issues and problems in everyday life. They can help you understand your thought patterns, behaviours, emotions and reasons for why certain behaviours and thoughts are troubling. Counsellors provide more short-term consultation (around a specific problem area) and don’t delve into the deeper reasons, or root cause.

  • At Qlara you will often work with a team of coaches which is unique to our organisation. Rather than assigning you one coach, we may assign two or three coaches depending on your needs and goals.

    A recovery coach is best described as your guide who helps you develop and drive your overall goals in the “Design Your Journey” process. Your coach can also help you coordinate and refer you to other services and support.

    Often, recovery coaches are NDIS experts who can help you navigate the process. Your coach can also help you on a weekly basis, building rapport, noticing changes and troubleshooting any issues you may have. Oftentimes, we match your coach to you based on shared interests, life experience or based on skills required.

  • Peer specialist support can be provided by one of our support workers. With the help of your coaches and therapists, a peer specialist can work with you on day-to-day tasks and activities such as a ride to appointments, online research for services or products or even just companionship.

  • Group support is a form of support that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time. It can be a more economical alternative to therapy or support and a great way to learn from others and connect.

  • One of the things that make us different is our ability to provide a combination of therapy, counselling, peer support and coaching. The services we offer aren’t exclusive to each other but rather used in conjunction to enable and empower your recovery journey.

Accessing recovery

  • The National Disability Insurance Scheme provides funding to Australians who have long-term and significant disability. Through the NDIS, Qlara can provide services whether you are Plan Managed, Self-Managed or NDIA Managed. We can also help you start your NDIS plan, manage it, change it and understand it.

  • Psychology services are subsidised by Medicare once you obtain a Mental Health Treatment Plan. This can be obtained from your GP. If you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan, you will be entitled to Medicare rebates for up to 10-20 individual psychological appointments per calendar year. This gives you access — subsidised by Medicare — to certain psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers. Currently, the rebate is $88.25 per session.

  • Our services are not limited to clients on the NDIS or who have a Mental Health Care Plan. Our services are available to everyone and can be paid for and accessed privately.

Other recovery services

Qlara provides recovery support to individuals, but can also provide support for friends, family members and organisations through:

  • Psychoeducation is an important component of any recovery program. Fully understanding your current situation or condition, how it causes psychological stress and what you need to recover is a vital step in the process.

  • Qlara can provide a recovery assessment. A recovery assessment looks at the areas of recovery and determines where you score within a life domain, and what type of support would help you.

    Psychologists can also conduct formal assessments using formal testing processes (that we can validate) to measure your psychological or cognitive functioning and to understand more about your perceptions and feelings.

  • Qlara can provide consultations and recommend different services to anyone impacted by mental health challenges, especially if you are finding it hard to afford support.

    We can also respond to organisational trauma and help work as teams to manage your recovery.

Contact us.

To start your recovery journey contact 1300 466 192 or email hello@qlara.co

hello@qlara.co
1300 466 192

 

Locations.

Level 2 397 Riley Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 Australia

Suite 449, 29 Smith St, Parramatta NSW 2150

Level 13 Suite 1A, 465 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood NSW 2067

 

Get in touch today.