Karista can help match you (or your client) to a forever home.

Supported Independent Living

We know how difficult it is to find Supported Independent Living, especially a forever home that matches your (or your clients') needs. 

That's why we've teamed up with some of the largest SIL providers in Australia and are offering a step-by-step service to find, match and transition you (or your client) into your new home.

Not only are we passionate about finding the perfect place to call home, but we want to make it easier and help you feel in control!

Would you like Karista to call or email you back about SIL? Submit the below form and one of our Client Services Managers will be in touch:

Call 1300274782

Visit www.karista.com.au

Email clientservicesteam@karista.com.au

How can physiotherapy support someone with a disability?

The NDIS brings an opportunity for Physiotherapists to support people of all ages with physical conditions like Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis or with lifelong injuries such as Spinal Cord Injury or Acquired Brain Injury. Also, people who have activity restrictions caused by non-physical conditions such as intellectual or psychosocial disability or autism can benefit from physiotherapy.

The possibilities are endless, but a good Physiotherapist always starts with the person and what they want to be able to do that they can’t do already, and where they want to head in life.

Once a goal is set, such as joining a local sports club or entering the workforce, an assessment helps understand where a person is now, and what barriers they face in achieving those outcomes. This helps to create an individually tailored interdisciplinary therapy plan to achieve those outcomes, which is often focussed on building opportunities for people to practice newly developed skills within their everyday routine.

For example, Physiotherapy can support a young man who is living with Autism who loves moving and has many sensory needs and preferences. Let’s say that young man finds sitting still for mealtimes a real challenge. His family would love for him to join them for a family meal at a restaurant when they can. A Physiotherapist will look at his mealtime set up at home, and his daily routines. They then identify motivating opportunities to incorporate movement safely into his routines, both before and during mealtimes. These strategies, as a part of an interdisciplinary approach, can help this young man to sit and eat for longer periods with his family.

How physiotherapy helped Lewis achieve his goals

Trish Hill, a passionate Everyday Independence Physiotherapist with extensive experience in Paediatrics, talks about how she supported Lewis to achieve his goals.

“Lewis is a young man living with Cerebral Palsy who I’ve been supporting since he was in Prep. He moved to warmer pastures in the Gold Coast last month, but thanks to our Everyday Independence team, he’s been able to keep his supports consistent and doesn’t have to start all over again. I’m still supporting him online until he gets settled, and then it’s high school next year for him! He’s pictured here with his dog Melody, who is having a ride in his wheelchair.”

Does your client need a Physiotherapist now?

We have Physios with immediate availability in most metro areas. Search now!

NDIS Launches First Ever Employment Strategy

The NDIS announced today, the launch of the first ever NDIS Employment Participation Program.

The strategy sets a goal to have 30 per cent of working age NDIS participants in meaningful employment by 2030.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Minister, Stuart Robert, said “This strategy is all about giving more people with disability, who have the desire and capacity to work, better access to the right supports to achieve their employment goals while breaking down barriers that they face trying to get a job”.

Using the announced strategy as their guide, the NDIA will work towards removing barriers for those wanting employment and assist participants to set and accomplish their own goals. NDIS participants and Planners will be encouraged to discuss from the beginning of their NDIS journey what, if any, employment goals they may have.

The five key areas of focus for the new Employment Strategy will be:

• Increase participant aspiration and employment goals in NDIS plans

• Increase participant choice and control over pathways to employment

• Increase marketing innovations that improve the path to paid work

• Improve confidence of employers to employ NDIS participants

• NDIS to lead by example as an employer

Source: NDIS

Announcing The Companies Presenting At The Karista "I've Got A Great Idea'' Event - 2 October 2019

Therapy Connect is an evidence based online provider of a range of Allied Health assessment and support services (OT, SP, Psych, Dietitian, Physio) for “hard to reach” participants utilising telehealth. Simone Dudley, Founder, explains how Therapy Connect has become a leader in telepractice service provision in Australia.

NECAS, or Non Electronic Communication Aids Service, were launched by Scope Australia and are  personalised, high quality, non-electronic communication aids such as calendars, communication boards, alphabet boards, checklist and a wide range of other communication aids for children and adults with severe speech or language disorders. Scope provides information, free resources (webinars and handouts online), training and therapy for people with communication disabilities and their support networks.

Busy Beans provides barista training and support, to participants allowing them to move into either disability employment services or mainstream supportive employment.  The program aligns strengths of people with Autism and intellectual disabilities who often do well with repetitive tasks, but the digital app compensates for common challenges like short-term memory, multi-tasking and taking money. Matthew Ting, Founder of Busy Beans, will explain how the ability to scale up to thousands of coffee providers means participants can secure employment, and be paid at the award wage, allowing financial independence. 

Ready TechGo  provides personalised one on one technology training that empowers NDIS participants, enabling them to remain independent and connected in a digitally driven world. Lisa Du will explain the range of technology lessons Ready Tech Go provide, and how they are personalised to the individual whether they seek help with how to use Facebook, email, how to scan illustrations or photos, how to fill in forms online.  Ready Tech Go allows individuals to learn at their own pace, on their own device, and in the comfort of their own home with a patient and supportive tutor.

Tali is an online assessment and therapy training tool for children with attention difficulties who struggle to focus their mind on a task, to listen, to absorb information or to control impulsive behaviors and emotional outbursts.  Marcus Hughes will outline how this digital tool, backed with 25 years of clinical research undertaken by Monash University, is delivered via a touchscreen tablet and strengthens attention skills by using the program for 25 minutes a day for 5 weeks to deliver measurable and meaningful improvements.

myDriveschool is a simulation game that teaches people how to drive online. Delivered via a PC with a portable steering wheel, it is designed to bridge the gap between theory and practical driver training. Lisa Skaife, founder of myDriveschool, has found unexpected take up of this game with people with special needs (autism, learning difficulties, engagement issues), disability (physical/mental) & assistance for clients requiring rehabilitation and will describe how it increase competency levels and reduce anxiety for drivers in a safe & controlled environment.

genU GAMER is a digital technology that embraces the gaming sub-cultures, by encouraging and supporting individuals through the use of digital technology and tabletop gaming. By utilising popular gaming hobbies, GAMER provides platforms for young people to develop social skills and build their capacity by exploring, testing and practising a wide variety of valuable life skills. Developed by service provider genU, GAMER uses “off the shelf” games but leverages them in a purposeful way so that the natural and fun act of playing them is linked to real world advantages, coping abilities, self-identity and social integration.

And here's a look at the bio’s of our three Industry Experts panellists who will lend their expertise to critique and comments on each of our companies:

SUE PEDEN

Sue understands disabilities deeply, caring for two of her four children who were born with a rare, life-shortening, genetic disorder and personally experienced the issues faced by carers. Sue joined the board of Carer’s Australia in 2013.

Working in marketing and communications for more than 30 years, including establishing her own agency which was sold five years later, Sue’s professional focus is business and brand strategy, consumer insight and stakeholder management. Sue understand consumer behaviour and how to leverage that to achieve business objectives. Her current business, Sue Peden Communication Consulting, works with large multi-nations through to start-ups.

Sue has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was recently awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) for Significant Service to Community.

KEVIN STONE

With more than 40 years’ experience in the disability field, Kevin has worked relentlessly to improve the lives of people with disability, both as an individual advocate and systemically by influencing state and national policy. As Chair, Kevin has been at the forefront of developing national policy and representing and championing the voice of self-advocates. Kevin has also served as the CEO of the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability (VALID) since 1989.

Kevin is the author of a number of training programs and resources and has contributed to significant person-centred reforms that have increased the independence of people with disability. These include the introduction of individualised funding, Victoria’s self-direction initiatives, and the campaign for an NDIS. Kevin has also represented people with disability and their families on state and national reference groups and ministerial advisory committees over the past 25 years.

Kevin was recognised by the Order of Australia on the Queen’s Birthday 2019 Honours List for his significant service to the Disability Community.

DEB DEAN

Deb is a strong and visionary leader with an excellent ability to co-opt stakeholders to achieve the same vision.  Currently Deb is leading the Victorian Boosting Local Workforce team of NDIS with the objectives of reducing barriers that impact providers, to improve the operation and efficiency of the disability labour markets structure, and to accelerate learnings for providers.

Prior to her 20 years of as a project leader across project for many companies in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors, Deb trained and worked in Nursing. Like many working in the disability industry, Deb has a family member who qualifies for NDIS and brings a carer’s deeper understanding of autism and related issues.

Deb brings extensive experience in the commercial realities of NDIS and balancing those with the needs of participants.

NDIS Announces New Price Guide

The Minister for the NDIS, Stuart Robert has announced today that as of 1st July 2019 new price guidelines will be taking effect.

Some of the key changes are:

• Price Increases - Changes are being made to prices for remote and very remote areas, personal care and community access, capacity building supports, consumables, assistive technology, home modification and specialised disability accommodation.

• Temporary Transformation Payment - A new Temporary Transformation Payment has been introduced for providers of personal care and community access. Each line item has its standard price listed, along with a higher price that has the 7.5% TTP loading applied.

• Travel - Travel rules have now been standardised with one rule for all providers.

• Cancellations - The definition of cancellations has been updated and simplified. Cancellation limits have also been lifted, however the NDIA does encourage providers to limit the amount they charge for.

• Therapy - There are now different prices for Therapy Assistance (Level 1 & 2), Psychologists, Physiotherapists and other forms of therapy. Exercise Physiology has also been brought into the Improved Daily Living support category.

• Low Cost Assistive Technology - There are now a number of line items relating to low cost assistive technology, with a maximum price of $100 next to each one.

• Non Face-to-Face Supports - Clarification has been given on what type of non-participant facing support providers can bill for.

For further information about what these changes will mean for you and your provider, please visit either of these links:

Disability Services Consulting

National Disability Insurance Scheme

Source: Disability Services Consulting and NDIS

International Women's Day

What began as a day of recognition by the American Socialist Party for the female garment workers of New York City in 1908 has since become under the guidance of the UN an internationally recognised day of celebration of Women on the 8th of March.

To celebrate this day, Karista wanted to acknowledge Australian women who have made healthcare and medicine what it is today.

Emma Constance Stone

Constance Stone as she was also known, was Australia’s first practicing female physician. Born in 1856, Stone grew up in Melbourne and was educated by her mother, a former governess. After developing an early interest in anatomy, Constance left Australia to be trained in medicine in Canada and the United States. Her home university, The University of Melbourne would not admit women into medicine. Constance returned to Melbourne in 1890 where she became the first woman to register with the Medical Board of Victoria. Later, in 1895 the Victorian Medical Women’s Society was formed in Constance’s home with the object being ‘effecting a closer relationship between medical women graduates and undergraduates and to advance the knowledge to further their interests generally’. By 1896, eleven female doctors decided to set up a hospital of their own, using their own vision and under the leadership of Constance. This hospital went on to become The Queen Victoria Hospital which was a first of its time. Constance Stone died in 1902 from tuberculosis.

Elizabeth Kenny

Elizabeth Kenny began her career in medicine as a nurse during WW1, treating the soldiers who survived the battlefields of France. By 1932, she had returned home to Townsville and set up her own backyard clinic treating long term polio patients and those living with cerebral palsy. At the time the standard treatment involved restricted movement, braces and calipers and often total immobilisation. Kenny rejected all of that and instead developed a program using hot baths, passive and active movements and massage. Many of her contemporaries laughed at her but she was not to be deterred. In 1937 the Queensland Government created clinics in Brisbane and Townsville for long term polio sufferers using Kenny’s methods; patients came from interstate and overseas to participate in her program. In 1937, her passage was paid by parents to England where she set up a ward at the Queen Mary’s Hospital in Surrey. Again, she was confronted by doctors who tried to discredit her motives. In 1940 she was invited to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where unsurprisingly was was confronted by more doctors who tried to discredit her. However, by 1942 her methods had begun to be accepted and the Kenny Institute was built in Minneapolis with other clinics following. Elizabeth Kenny died at home in Toowoomba in 1952.

Elizabeth Blackburn

Elizabeth Blackburn is the first Australian woman to win a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Awarded in 2009 she shared her prize with co-researchers Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for their co-research and discovery of the genetics of DNA and their links to cancer and other illnesses.

Rhonda Galbally and Helena Sykes

It was through Rhonda Galbally and Helena Sykes’s with Bruce Bonyhady activism and submissions to parliament that the Rudd/Gillard Government was able to create and eventually enshrine in law the NDIS. In a submission to the Rudd Labor Government’s Australia 2020 Summit they stated the creation of the NDIS would:

"First, with an insurance model the families of people with disabilities can have confidence that the needs of their family member will be met, reducing the stress and risks of family breakdown. Second, a life-time approach to care ensures that early intervention and equipment is available immediately following diagnosis or injury, leading to better and lower cost long-term outcomes. Third, active case management facilitates as normal a life as possible and minimises the risks of over-dependence on publicly funded support. Fourth, a NDIS would provided funding for research, development of best practice models and public education to reduce the incidence of risky behaviours leading to disability”.

Julia Gillard

On the 29th of November 2012, Julia Gillard introduced the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill (NDIS Bill) into Parliament. Not only was Julia Gillard Australia’s first Prime Minister, she was also instrumental in ensuring that the NDIS Bill passed parliament and that the States worked cooperatively and allowed the trials and eventual implementation to begin. Julia Gillard, is now the first female chair of Beyond Blue an Australia’s first independent and non- for-profit organisation focused on depression and anxiety.

Sources: Australian Dictionary of Biography, United Nations, Nobel Prize, NDIS, Culture Trip

NDIS Changes in 2019

Changes are coming to the NDIS in 2019, what can you expect to change and how will this effect you?

Improved Planning Supports

• New participant pathways - changing how your journey starts, improved customer interactions when creating your NDIS plan

• Better links with all supports including informal, employment and community

• Face-to-face planning support will be offered to participants during the critical pre-planning and plan implementation stages.

• Improved connections between NDIA planners and and Local Area Coordinators (LACs), who will become a consistent point of contact during the participant's journey

• Improved training for LACs and planners - Helping them to understand the diverse range of needs and situations of their participants

• Critical information will be presented in Easy English and languages other than English.

Different Supports for Different Needs

• A complex needs pathway has been established. The aim is to provide specialised supports for people living with a disability who also have other complex needs. These people will now be supported by a specialised team of support coordinators, planning teams and NDIA liaison who have experience in managing those with complex and high needs.

• Clearer guidelines for determining which people with hearing impairments are eligible for the NDIS. Newborn children and people with severe or profound hearing loss or auditory neuropathy have been escalated for urgent response.

• Improvements are also being made to better-support people with severe and persistent mental health issues – known as a psychosocial disability – who are eligible for the NDIS.

• Training for support coordinators to improve planning and understanding of different disabilities

Provider Changes

• Clear and easy to understand policies for pricing

• Simplified registration process with a nationally consistent approach

• More efficient payments with a dedicated team to help resolve claiming issues and help providers understand the payment system better

• Regular engagements with providers to help the NDIA to better understand business needs and raise awareness of the purpose of the NDIS.

If you’d like to the full list of changes being made this year please follow this link .

Source: NDIS

ANOTHER YEAR BITES THE DUST: 2018 WITH THE NDIS by DSC

It is that time of year again. It is officially acceptable to have put up your Christmas tree and to be candidly counting down the days on your calendar until the work year is over. Your body might still be in the office, but your mind has probably already checked-in to an all-inclusive Pacific resort that boasts of a generous happy hour and little-to-no climate change related disturbances. You’re living the dream.  Well, almost.

While our eyes might firmly be on the prize, the year is not over yet. And if there is one thing this time of year lends itself to more than season’s greetings and absent work hours, it is reflection. In that spirit, we thought we would take a brief moment to reflect on the NDIS year that has (almost) passed.

NEW PARTICIPANT PATHWAYS

The year began on a positive note with the release of the Pathways Review, which acknowledged that the NDIS had fallen seriously short of community expectations in the ways it interacted with Participants, families and providers. The Review promised the end of the phone planning era- which to everyone’s complete astonishment had apparently not been a resounding success.  As part of a sweeping set of reforms, we were promised a new Provider Pathway and General Participant Pathway, as well as cohort specific pathways for children under six, people with complex support needs, people with psychosocial disabilities, people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people living in remote or very remote communities, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Since then, the NDIS website has also alluded to a LGBTQIA+ pathway. You can read more about the Pathway Review in our article from February.

The new General Participant Pathway has been trialed in Victoria. The NDIA deemed the trial a success and (we are told) the Pathway will soon roll out across the rest of the country. However, the cohort specific pathways have been moving at a considerably slower pace.  In October, the Agency began running workshops to learn about the needs of these cohorts. In November, it was announced that the Complex Support Needs Pathway would commence its rollout, beginning in Brimbank-Melton and Western Melbourne. So progress is a bit slow, but still:

INDEPENDENT PRICING REVIEW

 Also in February (it was a busy, hopeful and dreamy age), McKinsey & Company released their hotly anticipated Independent Pricing Review (IPR). The review was designed to explore the challenges that the NDIS provider market faced and to make recommendations to avert market failure. Amazingly, the Agency gave its support to all 25 of the IPR’s recommendations. Some of these were implemented in the 2017/18 Price Guide, including a 2.5% Temporary Support Overhead (TSO) and new rules about provider travel and cancellations. Last week, the NDIA also announced a new pricing tier for self-care, social and recreational support for Participants with "very complex" support needs. Unfortunately, they are yet to define what “very complex support needs” actually means. Details, huh?

QUALITY AND SAFEGUARDING

Year 2018 was a huge one for quality and safeguarding, beginning in February with the establishment of the Quality and Safeguarding Commission. There is now officially a new sheriff in town and his name is Commissioner Graeme Head (get it, “head”?). Jury is still out on how well he responds to jokes about his name, but from then on, the Commission became the gift that kept on giving. We got a new Code of Conduct, Practice Standards, draft Practice Guidelines and a new portal. All this only just in time before NSW and SA transitioned to the Quality and Safeguarding Framework in July 2018. A lot has been happening in this space in a short amount of time. It’s a bit of a pain in the short term, but when we finally have a nationally consistent quality and safeguarding regime it will (hopefully) all be worth it. 

SDA AND SIL

It has been a rollercoaster of a year for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) and Support Independent Living (SIL). It began in April with the release of the SDA Provider and Investor Brief, a document our consultant Brent Woolgar described at the time as full of “new contradictions, new terminology, new risks, new uncertainties.” From this low point, the NDIA did manage to repair some of the damage throughout the year with the release of new data and information that offered providers a bit more market clarity. We are now waiting on the final, DRC endorsed outcomes of the SDA Framework Review which is due late January 2019 (so we can probably expect it some time in August). In the SIL space, the new Quoting Tool released in September (only two months late) has transformed an exceptionally complicated and resource intensive quoting process into a fairly complicated and resource intensive quoting process. It’s all about those baby steps. On a more positive, less sarcastic note, there is a real optimism emerging within the SDA market and we are quietly optimistic that 2019 is the year SDA takes off.

THE NDIS TURNS 5

 This year marked the 5th Birthday of the NDIS. While the Scheme is still young, it is growing up fast. Slowly, it is beginning to form its own character, values and traditions. It will not be long before the NDIS is a teenager and starts pretending it does not know us in public. Before that day comes, we need to make sure we are taking every opportunity we are given to create a better NDIS. Particularly, opportunities that arise through pug related gifs.

Moving image: With a tear falling from his eye, a pug looks down at a birthday cake marked "NDIS" and cannot bring himself to blow out the candle.

Year 2018 has been a busy one for the NDIS. As the rollout continues and the Scheme matures, we can probably expect there to be many more like it. But now is not the time to worry about what the new year will bring. It is nearly Christmas after all. Presents and public holidays await you. So, for the time being, let your mind travel back to that beautiful Pacific island and forget all about those four pesky letters: N-D-I-S.   

From all of us at DSC: enjoy your well earned break and have a happy new year.

Feeling Lonely? We can Help

Loneliness, we’ve all felt it at some stage in our life. In a world where we are more technologically connected than ever, many people including older Australians are finding themselves isolated and lonely.

It’s not just in Australia that loneliness has become a problem, in the UK the Government has appointed a Minister for Loneliness. The United States is also looking into the issue with research showing that about half of all Americans have reported feeling lonely at some stage.

Why has social isolation and loneliness become a problem? Our population is aging, and more people are finding themselves loosing lifetime partners or friends and developing conditions that limit their mobility. It’s not just older Australians who are feeling isolated, interestingly a recent study in America showed that it was also Gen Z (people aged between 18-22), a generation we consider to be the most connected who are increasingly finding themselves socially isolated.

So, what can you do about it if you are feeling lonely and need some company? Plenty. There are many groups and organisations set up to help the older members of our community feel more connected. Some suggestions are:

• Join a group. Why not try that painting class you’ve been thinking about? Join a book club or Men’s Shed

• Make a date. How about a regular coffee or lunch date with a friends or family? Or visit your neighbour for a cuppa

• Volunteer. There are many organisations looking for willing volunteers

• Make a call. Why not call that friend you haven’t spoken to for a while

• Get active. Commit to a weekly exercise class. Always wanted to know what Yoga was about? Well, now’s your chance

• Ask for help. If you’re finding yourself struggling to do the shopping or clean the house, speak to My Aged Care or the NDIS to see what funding you might be eligible for

Source: ABC and Better Homes and Gardens

Meet Tess: the mental health chatbot that thinks like a therapist

Therapy robots are an accessible option for caregivers who are busy assisting others but could use their own care.

 Source: The Guardian

Most days, Jillian Bohac feels overwhelmed. After her husband was hit by a truck while riding his bike, he suffered a brain injury that produced so many clots, she says, that it “looked like a night sky” on the CT scan. Once the most independent man she knew, he now needs help putting on his shoes. Bohac, a social worker, is now a full-time caregiver for her husband. “I’ve gained weight, lost all my friends, have anxiety – I’m a mess,” she says. “My focus is him, 100%. As a social worker, you’d think I’d know better, but it sneaks up on you, the self-neglect. You’re aware you have needs, too, but it just doesn’t work out that way.” When asked if there are enough supports out there for family caregivers, she is adamant that there are not.

Bohac is not an outlier. As of 2012, according to Statistics Canada, over 8 million Canadians provided care to a chronically ill or disabled friend or loved one. The country has an ageing demographic and an increasing number of long-stay home-care patients, so the number of older people in Canada who could need the assistance of caregivers, informal and professional, is growing. Many caregivers say they don’t have money to hire private care or a support network. For those in the middle of their careers who can’t afford to quit, government-funded programs that provide caregivers help from nurses and personal support workers become increasingly important. But those resources aren’t always immediately accessible to caregivers, and the system can be backlogged, depending on the area where a patient lives.

Tess is a mental health chatbot. If you’re experiencing a panic attack in the middle of the day or want to vent or need to talk things out before going to sleep, you can connect with her through an instant-messaging app, such as Facebook Messenger (or, if you don’t have an internet connection, just text a phone number), and Tess will reply immediately. She’s the brainchild of Michiel Rauws, the founder of X2 AI, an artificial-intelligence startup in Silicon Valley. The company’s mission is to use AI to provide affordable and on-demand mental health support. Rauws’s own struggles with chronic illness as a teenager brought on a depression that led him to seek help from a psychologist. In learning to manage his depression, he found himself able to coach friends and family who were going through their own difficulties. It became clear to him that lots of people wanted help but, for a number of reasons, couldn’t access it. After working at IBM – where he worked with state-of-the-art AI – Rauws had his “aha” moment: if he could create a chatbot smart enough to think like a therapist and able to hold its own in a conversation, he could help thousands of people at once and relieve some of the wait times for mental health care.

It was precisely that potential that caught the attention of Saint Elizabeth Health Care. A Canadian non-profit that primarily delivers health care to people in their own homes, Saint Elizabeth recently approved Tess as a part of its caregiver in the workplace program and will be offering the chatbot as a free service for staffers. This is the first Canadian health care organization to partner with Tess and the first time that Tess is being trained to work with caregivers specifically. “Caregivers are really great at providing care. But they are challenged at accepting care or asking for help,” says Mary Lou Ackerman, vice president of innovation with Saint Elizabeth Health Care. And there’s no doubt that many need support, given the high rates of distress, anger and depression. Caregivers often juggle their duties with their careers and personal responsibilities. The mental planning can take its toll. They might be in charge of, for example, organizing rides to appointments, making sure their spouse is safe when they run out to get their medications, clearing snow from the wheelchair ramp and checking their spouse does not fall while going to the bathroom at night.

To provide caregivers with appropriate coping mechanisms, Tess first needed to learn about their emotional needs. In her month-long pilot with the facility, she exchanged over 12,000 text messages with 34 Saint Elizabeth employees. The personal support workers, nurses and therapists that helped train Tess would talk to her about what their week was like, if they lost a patient, what kind of things were troubling them at home – things you might tell your therapist. If Tess gave them a response that wasn’t helpful, they would tell her, and she would remember her mistake. Then her algorithm would correct itself to provide a better reply for next time.

One of the things that makes Tess different from many other chatbots is that she doesn’t use pre-selected responses. From the moment you start talking, she’s analyzing you, and her system is designed to react to shifting information. Tell Tess you prefer red wine and you can’t stand your co-worker Bill, and she’ll remember. She might even refer back to things you have told her. “One of the major benefits of therapy is feeling understood,” says Shanthy Edward, a clinical psychologist. “And so if a machine is not really reflecting that understanding, you’re missing a fundamental component of the benefits of therapy.”

In your very first exchange with her, Tess will make an educated guess – drawing on the other conversations she has had with people and with the help of algorithms – about which form of therapy might be most effective. That doesn’t mean she’s always right. If her attempted treatment – say, cognitive behavioural therapy – turns out to be wrong, she’ll switch to another one, such as compassion-focused therapy. How does Tess know when she’s wrong? Simple: she asks. “Tess will follow up on issues the user mentioned before or check in with the patient to see if they followed through on the new behaviour the user said they were going to try out,” says Rauws.

Tess’s great value is accessibility. Many caregivers found Tess convenient to talk with because she could be reached at any time – something they don’t have a lot of. “Caregivers say they can’t get out of their home. They’re so boggled with so many things to do,” says Theresa Marie Hughson, a former shelter worker who had to retire from her job three years ago to care for her relatives, including her husband, who suffered from chronic pain for over 19 years before passing in July. Hughson, who’s from St John, New Brunswick, says that when she was really burned out from caring for her husband, she tried to use a mental-health service for seniors offered by the province. It took a month for her to get her first appointment. “There was nobody there when I was really having a struggle coping,” says Hughson.

It may be some time before we integrate chatbots fully into regular care. While she is trained to act like a therapist, Tess is not a substitute for a real one. She’s more of a partner. If, when chatting with her, she senses that your situation has become more critical – through trigger words or language that she has been programmed to look for – she will connect you with a human therapist. In other cases, she might provide you with the resources to find one. That said, many caregivers who chatted with Tess said they felt more comfortable opening up to her precisely because they knew she was a robot and thus would not judge them. Julie Carpenter, a leading US expert on human-robot social interaction, cautions against overestimating the effectiveness of mental-health algorithms. “I think we can come really far with AI as a tool in psychological therapy,” she says. “However, my personal opinion is that AI will never truly understand the subjective experience of a human because it’s not a human.”

Carpenter suggests that we have to recognize that chatbots are machines, despite their increasing sophistication. They do what we tell them to do. They think how we teach them to think. How well we reflect, and act, on what we learn about ourselves – what scares us, what calms us down – is largely up to us.

Some useful links for our young ones

It can be difficult to talk to children or young adults who are finding it hard to articulate their needs. Below are some easy to access online resources to help. Considering our young ones are so computer savvy sending them to links to assist in the process, or it could be something you access yourself to assist in the discussion. See below - some great links:

Bullying at work - WorkSafe Victoria - click here

Victoria Legal Aid - Workplace Bullying - click here

Kids Helpline – click here

Lifeline – click here

Beyond Blue - click here

Youth beyond Blue – click here

Headspace - click here

Youth Off the Streets - click here

Department of Health Victoria - click here

StreetSmart Australia - click here

Homelessness Australia - click here

Department of Health and Ageing - Mental Health - click here

Asperger Syndrome and Adults - Better Health Victoria - click here

Autism Victoria - click here

Autism Help – click here