Staff Profile – Carol

Turning Point consists of a diverse team that is committed to removing stigma around addiction and providing support for those that need it. We like to profile the great work that our teams do, and give people insights into what it’s like to work in the addiction treatment, training, and research sector. This is Carol’s story. 

Meet Carol

Before starting with Turning Point, Carol had a long experience working in mental health in a variety of settings including private hospital work, group work, case management and community teams. She has always loved the idea of a therapeutic approach working one on one with clients to work on deeper issues and so she grabbed onto the opportunity to be a group facilitator at Turning Point.

“When this job came up I was really interested in branching into that work in a more meaningful way, I wanted to grab onto the opportunity of having a more personal, psychological approach with clients and be able to do more group work”, says Carol.

What does Carol do?

A typical day for Carol involves running several group sessions at Wellington House which involve lots of preparation and planning to structure how the groups will run. Group sessions cover topics including what addiction is, looking at the risks and harms of addiction, lifestyle changes and stress management, just to name a few. Wellington House is a 12-bed community residential unit that provides extended withdrawal support for patients requiring additional time to stabilise their physical and mental health. While at Wellington House, clients are supported to develop their own recovery plans post-discharge and encouraged to attend counselling and mutual aid groups.

Depending on the weather, clients usually enjoying going for a walk around the local park where they can talk to each other and the group facilitators on more of a casual basis.

“The purpose of going for a walk is really to provide a bit of down time for the clients and the opportunity for clients to feel comfortable talking on a casual basis about any issues they may have. The clients often love to talk to each other because they can relate to one another and a sense of being together as a group and that sense of community is fostered”, says Carol.

What is the culture like at Turning Point?

Carol says she works within a team where “everyone cares very well for the clients and supports the idea of their journey in overcoming addiction, they take that very seriously and that’s a great thing to be around staff who feel the same way and have the same goals for clients”.

She loves watching the transformation of her clients throughout the duration of their time at Wellington house. “It is incredible to help them work through and come up with solutions and grow and change at the time they’re at Wellington house, that is very rewarding and being a part of that journey for them”, says Carol.

Carol believes Turning Point has enabled her to become a better group facilitator through many training and development opportunities.

“It’s challenging me to become a better group facilitator, that’s what it’s all about and it’s the sort of job that can always be developed and improved upon”, says Carol.

Interested in working with Turning Point?

For anyone interested in working at Turning Point, Carol believes the most important thing is to “have an open mind about what addiction means and how people experience it” and to research about peoples’ own stories of living with addiction so you can gain a bit more of an insight into what their journey is like.

One way of doing this is by reading Real Stories from Rethink Addiction, which help tackle the harmful stigma and misinformation surrounding addiction. These are real people who have lived with addiction, supported a family member or friend, or have been involved in providing clinical care or peer support, and we encourage you to take a look.

Want to work at Turning Point? We currently have several amazing opportunities which you can view here.