Community Services

Our qualified and professional staff and volunteers are here to offer no-judgement support whenever you need

Waratah offers counselling services throughout the South West Region in Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River and Collie. We also offer telehealth appointments in these localities.

Waratah provides free, specialised and therapeutic intervention, counselling and support services for people who experience or have experienced sexual assault, sexual abuse, and family and domestic violence. We use trauma-informed principles and practices.

Our qualified and professional staff are counsellors, social workers, and psychologists. All our counsellors and administration staff work from a trauma informed perspective. We are here to offer safety and support from your first phone call, throughout your counselling sessions and when you are getting ready to leave counselling. We also provide after-care and you are welcome to return to Waratah if you need further support and counselling in the future.

To attend our services you can contact us directly. Or you can be referred to our service by a support organisation or a professional.

Waratah offers the following counselling services.

Our qualified staff and volunteers are here to support you

Coordinated Response Service

Family and Domestic Violence Coordinated Response Service includes Waratah, the Department of Communities and the WA Police.

Together, they form the Family and Domestic Violence Response Team.

The partnership jointly reviews and responds to domestic violence incident reports from the WA Police. The team considers the concerns raised in the incident report, undertaking risk assessments, multi-agency case management to identify how each agency can support the family and working directly with families and individuals where incidences of family and domestic violence have occurred. Direct work with families involves safety planning, referral to support and counselling services and assisting families to plan for any pending legal recourse. This team holds safety and support at the heart of the work they do with families.

Court Based Services

Waratah provides support for people attending Court for matters relating to family and domestic violence. Our staff use case management principles and practices to ensure people are supported, connected to the right services and supports and can manage their safety needs during these challenging experiences.

Waratah supports people who are attending court due to Violence Restraining Order applications, offering a safe space for victims of violence when waiting for hearings.

Waratah staff also support women and men who are attending Family Court when there has been or continues to be violence in the relationship. Waratah’s Court Support Worker works collaboratively with legal professionals and human services to coordinate support and enhance safety for all parties involved in the court matter.

Education and Training in the Community

Waratah is the South West’s leading provider in trauma informed therapeutic practice regarding sexual assault and family domestic violence.

Waratah also plays an important role in the community by increasing community knowledge and skills and challenging the myths surrounding sexual assault, sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Waratah provides presentations, workshops and small-group learning to schools, community services, health-based services and community groups. We provide a safe and positive learning environment with an emphasis on respectful discussion, affirming approaches, the development of professional and life skills and open and honest communication.

Please contact Waratah to discuss pricing for presentations and workshops.

Education Programs for Children & Young People

Waratah offers the following Education Programs for Children and Young People:

My Body, My Rules: for younger children
This group based program highlights the importance of Protective Behaviours. In a group format younger children are engaged in discussions and activities to highlight personal safety, including identifying early warning signs, body parts, positive networks, secrets and grooming behaviours
Gender and Equality
Waratah provides education around the fundamental differences of sex, gender, orientation and gender roles. This presentation encourages young people to engage critical thinking around concepts of outdated social construction of gender versus contemporary social justice and equality.
Equality in Relationships: Boundary Setting
This presentation introduces the basic qualities of a healthy relationship and educate young people on what behaviours constitute abuse while simultaneously building personal skills to communicate and navigate potentially harmful relationships.
Equality in Relationships: Consent
Consent is sometimes not as black and white as it may seem, this presentation will introduce young people to some of those complexities and how to navigate them.
Image Based Abuse and Pornography
Image based abuse (or “revenge porn”) can have a devastating effect on a young person’s mental health. In this presentation Waratah educates students by exploring what constitutes image based abuse and empowering students to know their rights in these situations.
Child Exploitation and Grooming: how to stay safe online
Waratah provides a contemporary overview of child sexual exploitation and grooming in Australia. The presentation assists young people to build awareness of the signs of grooming and/or exploitation, how they can disconnect these relationships and how to raise their concerns with appropriate adults in their network.

Education Programs for Community Based Services

Waratah is the leading provider of trauma informed practice in the South West of Western Australia. Waratah recognises the difficulty educators, health professionals and human services professionals may have in responding to trauma-based behaviours.

Waratah provides a number of interactive presentations that provide a framework and support for staff to proactively identify, assess, plan and respond to the needs of children who are living with trauma.

The following presentations can be provided individually or as part of a package.

Impacts of Trauma
This interactive presentation provides an overview of the impact of trauma on a child’s brain, the link between trauma and challenging behaviours and how to respond to challenging behaviours that are displayed by children who have experienced or are experiencing trauma.
How to handle disclosures
When a disclosure of abuse or sexual abuse is made, it can be very distressing not only for the person making the disclosure, but for the person who receives it. Your response to any disclosure of abuse can be the first important step for a victim and can have lasting impact. Responses will vary in terms of circumstances and needs In this presentation Waratah provides that guidance and shares a framework for responding to disclosures.
Harmful Sexualised Behaviour
Harmful Sexualised Behaviour (HSB) are sexual in nature and age inappropriate. These kinds of behaviours can extend from sexual knowledge/talk, inappropriate sexual activity/play to genital penetration of self or other children. HSB can occur openly in front of others, however these behaviours can also occur in secret and involve coercing other children to engage in the behaviours. In this presentation Waratah staff discuss how to identify these behaviours, respond appropriately, identify referral pathways and provide safety planning for the child and other children.
Signs of sexual abuse / signs of grooming / signs of sexual exploitation
This information session will provide examples of behaviours that may indicate a child is in an abusive situation. Waratah equips attendees with the skills to identify these behaviours in children and raise appropriate concerns in a trauma informed manner.
Image based abuse and pornography: upskilling young people
Waratah provides professionals with contemporary information about issues that are relevant to working alongside young people. We provide guidance about how to speak to young people about Cyber Safety, demonstrating the importance of clear and open communication styles, using the correct lingo and using creative ways to engage the audience. Attendees will leave the session with increased confidence in working alongside young people to address image based abuse and pornography.

Professional Supervision

Waratah staff are tertiary qualified, highly trained, ethical and professional. We offer supervision for professionals who are undertaking case management and/or counselling with families impacted by family and domestic violence, sexual abuse and/or sexual assault.

Waratah values safe, engaged, productive and networked relationships with other professionals. Please contact the service for more information about supervision offerings.