Debbie Mole

About me

I have 35 years experience here and back in the UK where I did my nurse training. I moved here nineteen years ago. I am married with fur children.

Throughout my adult life I have been a voice for animal rights and have set up a number of charities both here in Australia and in Thailand. The charities have raised funds and provided education, my aim is to help end some of the suffering and making parts of the world a kinder place for animals.

My experience

I have worked within the realms of public, private, not for profit and charities. I have been instrumental in setting up, developing and managing services for young people at risk of mental health issues. A newly formed service for clients with a duel diagnosis of mental health and intellectual disability. A forensic service to treat and re home clients with mental health, intellectual and developmental disabilities. I later moved on to create and manage my own private practices.

When I moved to Melbourne I worked in Case Management for over seven years, this also included crisis and assessment work in the community and the emergency department.

When the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program started, I managed a team of Nurses and then went onto develop three private practices at GP Clinics. This was an exciting time for nurses as we was able to showcase our many skills and experiences.

After seven years of being a sole provider the funding came to a close and worked with the local Primary Health Networks both in Triage and in a face to face role work with complex care team that was funded by PHN.

My current role/work

For the last three years I have been working under the NDIS as a Clinical Nurse Consultant. I created this role after I realised there was a gap between statutory services and NDIS service provision. The service began at the start of the pandemic, services were pulling out of seeing clients face to face and clients mental health was seriously declining. I decided to bring back an old and trusted role of the Community Mental Health Nurse.

The service became very popular, soon after I was joined with three colleagues. Recently two more nurses have joined us with a plan to help develop more nurses to work as sole providers.

This role is varied, the most complex and challenging I have ever worked within. This role has allowed me to be creative in my clinical work and has led me into a education realm where I activily teach and guide clinical practise.

Daily I feel recognised as a Clinician but there is an ongoing need for suitably qualified nurses to keep educating and showing external services that we are excellent at what we do. NDIS is new area of work and I am activity trying to Government Departments to realise that we are untouched and underutilised resource within this mountain of need.

My training

My training started as Hospital based Nurse, I specialised into Mental Health. I completed University having studied psychology, sociology, biology and ethics.

I decided that therapy was a huge interest to me so I worked and studied as a Trainee Psychotherapist leaning Transactional Analysis. This has fuelled a life long desire to learn more about trauma as every client I worked with had suffered sone degree of abuse or neglect.

I am now qualified in ACT, CBT, Trauma Therapist, ASD Therapist, and most recently Poly Vagal Therapist declining a program called the Safe and Sound protocol that helps regulate the Vagus Nerve.

I have studied Behaviour Support, Schema and Internal Family Systems. I plan to develop these skills and have also secured training for EMDT later this year.

I have a strong interest in the area of Intellectual and Developmental Disability and have completed training to help clients express themselves when they are no verbal or have limited use of the language skills. I can also developer a full sexual health education programme for clients who are neuro diverse that was developed by Sexual Health Victoria.

I can deliver resilience programs for children, teens and adults and have a licence to run the 'Friends Reliance" programs developed by Dr Paula Barrett.

I have also trained a "End of Life Counsellor" this is an emotionally challenging role, bust such a rewarding area of work.

Training has keep me refreshed and motivated and has allowed me to work with complex clients and see many positive results.

My approach to supervision

In all of my management roles I had the role of a supervisor, I was also a mentor to student nurses for many years. Around seven years ago I trained with Paul Spurr and qualified in Role Development Theory developed by Mike Consedine in the mid 1980's. This suited my creative side and I found that I could talk about highly emotional experiences in a rational and logical way. It allows you to work out issues and have a proactive plan to move forward.

Supervision is essential in our role. Our work is complex and calls upon us to be in the moment and leave our own baggage aside. When we do this, we are able be present and available, showing compassionate and respect without being clouded or bourdened by own issues.

This role is a privilege, as we hear and see so much, too much at times. With this privilege comes a responsibility to ourselves to look after us and practice self care. Supervision has been one way for me to achieve this.

I am an open and trustworthy person, compassionate and understanding. My years of experience has allowed me to help other nurses develop the confidence and know how to create a new way of working for them selves. I love seeing fellow nurses move on and out of traditional roles and start challenging government departments by showcasing our many skills and talents.