Helping you feel better

New counselling service to tackle mental health

Last month’s headspace Match for Mental Health was supported by a number of community groups and businesses, including support from the Limestone Coast’s newest social work and counselling service – FeelBetter Limestone Coast – the event being a perfect launch pad to promote their services and showcase their commitment to mental health and wellbeing in the Limestone Coast community.

Local, award winning, accredited (AASW) social workers Celeste Raymond and Rachel Fenn (pictured at the recent headspace Match for Mental Health) have more than two decades of combined experience in the sector, studying and working alongside each other for 15 years and having built a strong an ever-expanding network of connections in the mental health space.

“We went to university together and worked together across the human services sector in Mount Gambier,” Celeste said. “We saw a gap in the market, and we are still discovering gaps we didn’t know existed, and we wanted to provide an easily accessible service.”

The duo is headquartered at 1/2 Mitchell Street, Mount Gambier, offering support for mental health and wellbeing, managing anger concerns, stress, grief and loss, anxiety and depression, drug and alcohol concerns, employment concerns, relationship worries, school attendance concerns, motivation, trauma-related concerns, parenting concerns, legal concerns, domestic violence concerns, life changes, gambling concerns, financial concerns, any worry or concern.

Being part of the headspace Match for Mental Health was a no-brainer for Celeste and Rachel, given they are all about starting those conversations that bring mental health out of the shadows and into the light.

And FeelBetter Limestone Coast is already looking to build relationships with local sporting groups with promoting and supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of the local sporting community, particularly focussed on reaching and supporting adult and young males to support their mental health, being a high priority.

Celeste is the founder of local football mental health and wellbeing initiative ‘Switch the Play’ which she developed and launched with Nangwarry Football Club – a club where Celeste has strong family connections, including husband Shane in the senior coach role – while Rachel’s family is also involved across the Mid South East and Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara football and netball competition.

The diverse nature of what FeelBetter Limestone Coast can offer across the expertise and experience of both Celeste and Rachel also means clients form that connection in one place. “People don’t want to tell their story over and over again,” Rachel said. “The lack of resources in the community can make it hard to provide continuity of care and that is what we want to provide.”

“We want to reduce barriers to people who are struggling and then finding it hard to access services,” Celeste said.

When it comes to mental health and wellbeing, both Celeste and Rachel, thrive on working in partnership with their clients.

“We come from a position of capacity building,” Rachel said.

“We focus on people’s strengths and empower people to make changes that they want to make to their life.”

“We very much work alongside our clients – there is never any pressure to do something – we are there to help them to work out what they want to do,” Celeste said. “It’s about problem solving their own life at their own pace.”

To access FeelBetter Limestone Coast’s services or to find out more head to the FeelBetter website,

email [email protected] or call
(08)8726 8142