Green Leaf Wellness owner Alana Williams brings to Gloucester an accredited counselling service delivered in a safe and inviting environment.
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Originally from Newcastle, Alana and her family opted for a "tree change", moving to Gloucester via Maitland about a year and a half ago in what she says was an easy decision to make.
"I just fell in love with the town really, it's absolutely beautiful and great for young families," Alana said.
"It was just a perfect fit; I think I fell in love as soon as I drove in and saw the Bucketts and that was it.
"I thought, 'yep, I'm home now'."
Through her clinic Alana brings years of experience in the mental health field, beginning as a mental health worker and supporting people of all ages.
Her experience as a behaviour support practitioner and counsellor saw her working with families and children coping with behavioural issues, domestic violence, separation and loss.
After working in the mental health sector for more than eight years and completing her Masters of Counselling qualifications, Alana felt the time was right to open her clinic here in Gloucester.
"It's still a work in progress, it's still growing, but I think it's really a matter of getting the word out and just getting involved with the community and trying to do what I can."
Green Leaf Wellness offers individual counselling for adults and children, with Alana bringing a wide range of experience, particularly of dealing with children and teens.
She has also worked with older age groups and is currently working towards creating a support group in Gloucester for those dealing with Parkinson's disease.
Rural health challenges
About seven million people - or 28 per cent of the Australian population - live in rural and remote areas and are frequently subjected to poorer health outcomes than those living in metropolitan areas.
While rural living offers many lifestyle benefits, the availability of health services - especially in the area of mental health - lags well behind metropolitan regions.
Further complicating the situation is the presence of location specific issues facing those in rural areas, such as isolation, employment opportunities, greater susceptibility to natural disasters, and of course, limited availability to services for dealing with such issues.
"I'm dealing with clients who have a whole different set of life challenges that they're dealing with, as opposed to someone who's in the city," Alana said.
"That's why I'm here, to help people and to support people however I can."
Breaking down stigma
In this day and age it's more widely accepted, and I think sometimes prevention is better than cure; don't wait till it gets to breaking point,
- Alana Williams, Green Leaf Wellness counsellor
One obstacle Alana is looking to overcome is what could be typified as a general reluctance to reach out for assistance in the area of mental health.
While practices used to reduce and manage symptoms such as stress and anxiety have become more widely accepted in general, there still appears to be a level of reluctance on behalf of those in rural areas to take up mental health services where available.
"In this day and age it's more widely accepted, and I think sometimes prevention is better than cure; don't wait till it gets to breaking point," Alana said.
"We all struggle with things in life, even counsellors or psychologists or GPs - we're all human, so let's make it okay to talk about this stuff.
"It really shouldn't be this stigma and taboo, we go through life stages, we go through different challenges.
"Sometimes people just need to talk to someone, we don't always need a psychological assessment or to go on medication."
Green Leaf Wellness is located at Shop 4/78 Church Street in the Majestic Arcade.
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