Valerie Ling

10/11/2025

I’m not going to lie. When I saw the email was from the Archbishop, I thought I am in trouble.
Phew!

10/11/2025

This weekend I completed my Mental Health First Aid training. Both sessions I was moved by the ethos of this course. If everyone of us knew the inner trappings of mental illness and addiction, and had a way to listen and introduce the hope of healing and a new way of being, how much less frightening and lonely a world it would be. Overwhelmingly I was moved by my course mates, the genuine and gentle conversations, the learning and the commitment to care. As a clinical psychologist I went home feeling lighter and so much more filled with hope knowing that this training is equipping people to have every day conversations of hope.

Thank you to Joshua Ling and Ian Schoonwater for facilitating this.

08/11/2025

For my lady leaders and business owners - this is a brilliant analysis of how the Swiftverse was built. Great one for a book club.

Key takeaways:

1️⃣ Build a world, not just a product. Success isn’t about output — it’s about creating a culture people want to belong to.

2️⃣ Be anti-fragile. Don’t just bounce back from change — learn to thrive on it.

3️⃣ Change the game. When the rules don’t serve you, rewrite them. Power isn’t always given — sometimes you have to design it yourself.

4️⃣ Be a unicorn. Consistency, excellence, and uniqueness matter. Mediocrity is crowded; originality isn’t.

5️⃣ Own your story. Take control of your narrative and how your work is seen. Silence lets others define you.

6️⃣ Build community. Influence grows when people feel part of something bigger than themselves.

7️⃣ Use disruption as fuel. The moments that shake you can also shape your best moves.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3iHEp8IP71Pa8H1lt3W9Em?si=V3eKATUFST64CjBlsX7tqg

Sinéad O’Sullivan · Audiobook

23/10/2025

" In addition to chronic occupational stress, clergy spend considerable time socializing with people in homes, church events, and meetings and thus, are often around food they feel obligated to consume. "

Quoted from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/4KDWJ5YRHCNRDVIYAEXM?target=10.1111/jssr.12859

17/10/2025

With thanks to Sydney Anglicans for accepting me as an approved Pastoral Supervisor! I currently have space for senior leadership pastoral supervision (globally - I am insured, even for the USA) to walk with you in the highs and the lows of ministry, but definitely always in the victory of the cross.

https://supervision.mtd.org.au/supervisor-list/user/252/

16/10/2025

Imagine. Imagine if we are all part of the links to respond to cues we see, when someone can't even say what they are thinking or feeling. Imagine. That it could be your brother, your daughter, your friend, your person who has someone who steps in at just the right moment. Imagine, you could be that person for someone else. Come and get accredited as a Mental Health First Aider, and have the confidence that matches your compassion to take action when needed and make the difference to someone's life. Details for registration in comments:

Kellie shares her heartfelt experience of using Mental Health First Aid skills to support her housemate during a difficult time. Noticing something was wrong...

14/10/2025

The 2021 National Church Life Survey (NCLS) reported that about 1 in 5 churchgoers seek professional mental health support. This mirrors the broader Australian data, showing that the church is not immune to mental health challenges.

Of those experiencing distress:

40% felt their church offered good support,

23% rated it as adequate to poor, and

38% said their church was unaware of their situation.

Less than half felt confident in their church’s pastoral care.

At our psychology practice, we’ve found that many Christians seek help not because they’ve been diagnosed, but because they’re unsure if what they’re feeling is normal or where to find help. This highlights a critical issue — the signals of mental distress often go unnoticed in our church communities.

This is where Mental Health First Aid becomes essential.

Pastoral care begins with noticing and responding to signs of distress — but to do so well, we must be equipped. This training is ideal for:

Church members who notice a friend struggling and want to respond appropriately.

Lay leaders navigating complex situations who want greater confidence.

Staff and ministry teams carrying the weight of care.

Professionals in church life — mentors, health workers, supervisors — who are often the first point of contact.

Those working with 18–25-year-olds, where early detection of distress is key to lifelong wellbeing.

Let’s be churches that not only preach God’s design for flourishing, but also act by pointing people to early help and practical care.

Equip yourself to notice, respond, and care well — register for Mental Health First Aid today.

Both our trainers bring rich frontline experience:

Rev Ian Schoonwater, Police Chaplain, brings insight into hidden mental health struggles across our community.

Rev Joshua Ling has led rehabilitation services and worked in prisons, aged care, and church ministry.

👉 Register here:

12 Hours Face to Face Training (Over two Saturdays. 6 Hours each Sat (9am - 3pm). Lunch is not provided. The Mental Health First Aid course is...

10/10/2025

I am not sure what happened on October 6th to have this spike!? This year I did not get around to producing a Season 3. There wasn't a clear message to share. However, seems like the podcast is still being listened to. Season 1 of the Clergy Wellbeing Down Under podcast focused on the findings of the type of psychosocial hazards clergy experience. Season 2 focused on our findings of the wellbeing experiences of ministry kids.

Catch it here:
https://effectiveserving.com.au/ministry-wellbeing-podcast/

09/10/2025

At the Centre for Effective Serving we often talk about the ecosystem of care as a "fish tank". Glad to see the NSW Government contribute to our thinking!

Some days you may feel lost and uninspired, and that's okay. 😣 On World Mental Health Day, we're here to remind you that not every day will feel like this.

If you're having a tough time, take a moment for a mental health check-in and some self-care.

If those hard days are happening more often, you can reach out for free support:
• Lifeline 13 11 14 or https://www.lifeline.org.au for chat and text options
• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 or https://kidshelpline.com.au
• Transcultural Mental Health Line on 1800 648 911 Monday to Friday between 9:00 am and 4:30 pm
• 13YARN (24/7) support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 13 92 76
• For connection to specialist mental health services call the Mental Health Line 1800 011 511

09/10/2025

As quoted from Safe Work Australia -

"On average, work-related psychological injuries have longer recovery times, higher costs, and require more time away from work. Managing the risks associated with mental health hazards not only protects workers, it also decreases the disruption associated with staff turnover and absenteeism, and may improve broader organisational performance and productivity."

09/10/2025

It was a season of babies. I had processed about 5 maternity leave applications in the 12-24 months. Because we did not know this was around the corner, we also had a volume of students, short term placements in the psychology practice I lead. Which meant we had a high level of turnover of team, and handovers from staff. The practice took a hit financially, and we had to make some keen decisions to ensure our remaining team still had jobs.

The psychosocial costs were:

1. Commercial instability - exposure of the leadership team to financial pressure, client unhappiness (anxiety and uncertainty), and recruitment fatigue. When you deal with one maternity leave position being vacated, you deal with planning for contingencies of the baby can come at any time.

2. Job insecurity for the rest of the team: it is quite apparent to remaining team that expense cuts due to financial hits are being made. Could this mean their jobs would be at risk?

3. Change fatigue of clients, team, and leadership. There is no sense of "landing"

4. A type of hypervigilance that settles on the whole practice, the threat of cost - culture of transparency and trust.

5. Threat to leadership (specifically me!) emotional labour - called surface acting. This is where someone avoids or numbs how they are truly feeling - and pushes through, and makes reactive, surface level responses to clients and team. The preferred method - deep acting, where the leader takes time to reflect, acknowledges the emotions, articulates them, grounds them in appropriate ways, and returns to team with authenticity, yet with direction. This is a season of co-creation of reality.

It is another example of how psychosocial hazards can go un-noticed, but come at significant costs to an organisation and the team, and ultimately to the people we serve.