About Mental Health

Our team offer assessment and support of the mental health of CCC patients who are on treatment, and their caregivers.  This includes those who may have pre-existing concerns, current concerns, and/or are at risk of developing mental health concerns in the context of the patient’s cancer/illness. The mental health team also provide consultation to the patient’s care team to consider optimal ways to support patients, caregivers and families during treatment with the CCC. 

Our team of mental health clinicians uses a variety of developmentally appropriate and evidence-based therapeutic approaches, strategies and interventions to support young people and their families to adjust to the psychological and emotional challenges of their cancer/illness. We work closely with the CCC psycho-oncology team and wider CCC care teams, as well as psychiatrists, social workers and other allied health clinicians. 

Strong emotional reactions are a very normal response to diagnosis and adjustment to illness. Our team commonly helps patients, caregivers and families to: 

• Adjust to the patient’s illness, treatment and/or being in hospital 
• Talk about the patient’s illness and treatment in age-appropriate ways
• Cope with the patient’s treatment and side effects
• Understand and support changes to mood, thinking and behaviour
• Learn to ease stress and anxiety

What to expect from a session with the mental health team

An initial consultation with a CCC Mental Health clinician will involve discussing the main mental health concerns and reasons for seeking support from the CCC Mental Health team. For patients aged under 18 years old, a CCC Mental Health clinician will first contact the primary caregiver to discuss concerns.  

Some patients, caregivers and/or families may benefit from one session alone, while others may find that a number of sessions are required and more helpful for them. Sessions may involve seeing patients or caregivers individually or seeing two or more family members together. The CCC Mental Health clinician will discuss this with each family and consider what would be most appropriate for the family’s situation. 

The CCC Mental Health service is an acute hospital-based service for patients on active CCC treatment for their cancer/illness and is not able to provide longer term support. If longer term support is required and/or the patient becomes ineligible for the CCC Mental Health service (e.g., is no longer required to attend CCC for regular medical appointments, is no longer on active treatment for their cancer/illness), the CCC Mental Health team can assist with linking families to external services/supports. 

All CCC Mental Health clinicians have completed a postgraduate degree (Masters or Doctorate) in Clinical Psychology.