Wellbeingsupportspace

17/06/2026

What do you love about this space?

For me, finding the right therapy room was about so much more than four walls and a chair. As I searched for the perfect space, there were three things I knew I needed.

First, I wanted a room that felt safe and welcoming — somewhere clients could walk in, take a breath, and feel comfortable being themselves.

Second, natural light was important. A bright, calming environment can make such a difference, creating a sense of warmth and openness that supports meaningful conversations.

Third, I was looking for privacy and quiet. Therapy requires a space where people can speak freely, knowing they won’t be interrupted or overheard.

After visiting several locations, I found a room that brings all three together. It’s a space designed for connection, reflection, and growth, and I’m excited to welcome clients into it.

Sometimes the right environment isn’t just where therapy happens—it’s part of the healing process itself.

12/06/2026

✨ What Does Social Work Support Look Like at Wellbeing Support Space? ✨

One of the questions I get asked most is, “What does a social worker actually do?”

The answer is different for everyone because social work is about understanding the whole person and what’s happening in their life.

At Wellbeing Support Space, we start with a chat to get to know each other and make sure we’re a good fit.

From there, we’ll complete a psychosocial assessment together to understand your strengths, challenges, supports, goals, and what’s important to you.

We then work together to develop goals that are meaningful to you. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Regular social work sessions might focus on:

💙 Mental health and wellbeing
💙 Building confidence and independence
💙 Adjusting to disability, illness, injury, or life changes
💙 Family and relationship challenges
💙 Advocacy and navigating complex systems
💙 Capacity building and problem solving

Sometimes support also means helping people connect with other services and supports, making sure they have the right people around them.

Along the way, we regularly review progress, celebrate wins (big and small), and adjust goals as life changes.

And when the time is right, we reflect on what has been achieved and plan for what comes next.

For me, social work has always been about walking alongside people, helping them identify their strengths, and supporting them to live the life they want.

📍 Based in Adelaide
💻 Telehealth available Australia-wide

11/06/2026

A project update!

A few of you may know, I was successful in obtaining a practitioner research grant from the Australian Association of Social Workers to lead a research exploring the Value of Social Work in the NDIS.

Today, the research human ethics application has been approved! ❤️👏🙌

Very excited to start the next phase of the research with an amazing team mentoring me through it.

If you are interested in knowing more and being on our stakeholder register please contact me. You can inbox me or send me a email [email protected].

05/06/2026

A self-compassion exercise I’ve been reflecting on recently is this.

What would you say to your best friend if they were in the same situation as you today?

It’s interesting how easily we can offer kindness, understanding, and compassion to the people we care about, yet often struggle to offer the same to ourselves.

If my best friend had experienced a health scare, was feeling exhausted, trying to balance work, family, parenting, and recovery, I know exactly what I would say:

“Slow down. Rest. Be gentle with yourself. The work will wait. Your wellbeing matters too.”

So this long weekend, I’m trying to take my own advice.

I’m giving myself permission to enjoy the simple things. Spending time with my family. Having a coffee in the sunshine. Watching my girls play. Doing the things that allow me to continue to rest and recover.

Not because I’ve earned it.

Not because everything on my to-do list is finished.

But because I deserve the same compassion I would so freely offer someone else.

Maybe that’s something we could all practice a little more.

What would you say to your best friend today?

03/06/2026

Thank you to the Australian Association of Social Workers for capturing my social work story… I really appreciate it!

https://www.aasw.asn.au/social-worker-spotlight/social-worker-spotlight-cate-sherlock/

❤️🙌

Home » As told to Dr Matt Loads From her earliest days in the profession, Cate Sherlock has been guided by a simple belief: advocacy changes lives. Today, as a member of the NDIS AASW Advisory Committee, she channels her voice and experience into shaping policy and raising awareness of the value of...

26/05/2026

A huge apology to anyone I have had to cancel or postpone with recently.

Unfortunately, I’ve become a little unwell and need to take some time to rest and recover.

It’s funny how hard this can feel as a social worker. We spend so much time encouraging others to prioritise their wellbeing, listen to their bodies, and practice self-care… yet often struggle to give ourselves that same permission.

For now, I’m trying to practice what I preach — slowing down, resting, and allowing myself the space to recover properly. 🤍

23/05/2026

For anyone supporting or working alongside people with an NDIS plan, this is incredibly important to watch.

As Social Workers, we need to deeply understand these reforms and the direct impact they will have on the people we work alongside every single day.

Social workers operate at the intersection of people and their social, cultural, and physical environments. Across all settings, we hold a dual focus: supporting individuals in their day-to-day functioning while also identifying and responding to the systemic issues that create inequity, exclusion, and injustice.

These reforms are not just policy changes on paper — they will shape access to support, participation, wellbeing, and quality of life for many people and families across Australia.

21/05/2026

14/05/2026

This is really important to read for anyone with an NDIS plan, or providing services within the scheme.

NDIS Minister Mark Butler has introduced the NDIS (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill to the House of Representatives.

The Bill is the first step towards implementing the Scheme re-design that the Minister outlined at National Press Club in late April.

Today, we're just sharing a very basic overview. We will be publishing an in-depth analysis of the new legislation and its implications in next week's newsletter. We've opted for accuracy over speed, because the consequences of this Bill are far-reaching and legislation takes time to get your head around.

What we can say today is that the new Bill:

- Defines functional capacity for NDIS eligibility. A Technical Advisory Group will later advise the government on what is the appropriate level of functional capacity to qualify for the NDIS.

- Tightens the criteria for plan reassessments, so they can only occur when there is a ‘genuine and ongoing’ change in the person’s support needs and can only be requested by participants or plan nominees (not providers).

- Reinforces participants can only receive funding for impairments that have met the eligibility criteria.

- Allows the government to reduce the funding for particular groups of supports, like social and community participation.
Requires all plans to have an end date. When a plan ends, unspent funds will not roll over. New plans would contain the same funding minus any one off funding allocations, plus indexation.

- Redefines the reasonable and necessary criteria. Including through considering what it is reasonable to expect the NDIA to fund, with regard to consistency with other schemes, NDIS sustainability and family contributions.

- Tightens the criteria around establishing that a disability is ‘permanent,’ including by requiring people to have undertaken all appropriate treatments.

- Allows the NDIA to take into account an applicant’s eligibility for other government schemes when assessing NDIS eligibility.

- Amends the definition of an NDIS provider, considering the recommendations of the NDIS Registration Taskforce.

- Gives the NDIA more compliance and enforcement powers.

- Requires participants, plan nominees and providers to retain records for a certain period of time. Civil penalties will apply for failing to do so.

- Requires claims to be made within 90 days of delivering a support.

- Enables a new approach to plan management- where participants can select from a panel of approved plan managers. Plan managers could also be banned from providing other services under the NDIS.

- Enables the Minister to set prices for NDIS services.

- Allows for automated decision-making in the NDIS.

- Prohibits participants or plan nominees from managing NDIS funds if they’ve been convicted of certain offences.

There are also some minor amendments to facilitate the rollout of new framework plans and transitional matters related to the implementation of this Bill.

We know these are big changes, and there’s a lot to take in. Stay tuned for our more detailed analysis next week.

You can find the Bill and Explanatory Memorandum here: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fems%2Fr7487_ems_35e6531f-c440-4faf-98d6-7c7ddd8bd539%22

13/05/2026

These are thoughts I’ve had for a long time about the NDIS, therapy, and what meaningful capacity building should actually look like in real life.

Ironically, ChatGPT helped me make sense of it all by helping me structure the thoughts already sitting in my head. 😂 (So please forgive me if that offends anyone.)

I’ve always believed the role of the therapist is not only to build the capacity of the person with an NDIS plan, but also to support and upskill the people around them — families, carers, support workers, educators, and the wider team.

Because the reality is, therapy does not just happen in a one-hour session.

It happens in the everyday moments:
• during routines
• in the community
• during emotional regulation
• while parenting
• during social interactions
• when navigating systems and daily life

Support workers are often the people spending the most time alongside the person, which means collaboration matters.

And yes — there are some incredible support workers doing amazing work.

But one of the biggest ongoing challenges I see is the communication barriers that can occur when there are multiple systems, coordinators, team leaders, and provider structures sitting between everyone involved.

If the person with an NDIS plan has provided consent, therapists should be able to collaborate directly with support workers to provide education, practical strategies, coaching, and ongoing support. We are highly trained professionals working alongside the person, with the person at the centre of everything we do.

The best outcomes happen when everyone understands the “why,” everyone is working toward the same goals, and strategies are embedded into everyday life — not just written into reports.

To me, true capacity building means that over time, supports should reduce because the person and the people around them have been empowered, coached, and equipped with the knowledge and confidence to continue implementing strategies in everyday life.

With big changes ahead in the NDIS space, I am genuinely curious:

What gets in the way of this?

How do we do this better?

Because I truly believe there is room for stronger collaboration across the sector.