NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN) funding supports psychology services in Orange, NSW

The RDN-administered Health Workforce Scholarship Program (HWSP) has been empowering the team at PsychSolutions to meet the high demand for specialist psychology services in Orange, NSW with funding to upskill and supervise trainees. 

Melissa Theobald is Director at PsychSolutions, a Clinical Psychologist and descendant of the Wiradjuri people.

“When I first started working in Central West NSW there was a huge need for psychological support for children and adolescents and not enough psychologists to meet the demand. So I to set up my own clinic to fill the gap. RDN has been an enormous help, funding training for me and my team so that we can meet the psychology needs of our community,” says Melissa.

PsychSolutions has accessed HWSP funding to supervise early career and Provisional Psychologists. This increased capacity to supervise has aided in the growth and development of other psychologists through the supervision process.

Melissa and her team have also accessed the Health Workforce Scholarship Program (HWSP) to upskill.

“We see a huge amount of trauma in children and adults in our practice, and in the past people would have to travel to urban centres like Sydney to access specific trauma related interventions. Now, thanks to HWSP-funded specialised training, people can access this type of intervention locally,” says Melissa.

The HWSP provides scholarships and bursaries to help health professionals in rural and remote Australia retain and enhance their skills, capacity and scope of practice. The Program is an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Health, administered in New South Wales by RDN.

Pictured: Melissa Theobald, Clinical Psychologist and Director at PsychSolutions.

The Health Workforce Scholarship Program

The Health Workforce Scholarship Program (HWSP) is available to medical, nursing, midwifery, allied health, dental and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals providing primary health services in a rural NSW MMM 3-7 location, or in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) in a MMM 1-7 location.

Find out more about the Health Workforce Scholarship Program.