When someone enters a residential aged care home, the transition is rarely simple. It means leaving behind a familiar home, beloved routines, and often long-standing connections to neighbours, community groups, and places of meaning. For many, this move represents not just a change of address but a profound shift in independence and identity.
These changes can take a toll on mental health. Feelings of loss, disconnection, and isolation are common, particularly when residents are navigating declining health alongside the emotional challenges of ageing. For families, knowing their loved one may feel alone or misunderstood can be deeply distressing.
To help address this critical need, Capital Health Network (CHN), the ACT’s Primary Health Network, has partnered with Think Mental Health to deliver the Think WISE program, a free, in-reach psychological support service tailored specifically for residents of participating Residential Aged Care Homes (RACH) across the ACT.
This program doesn’t just fill a service gap. It honours the emotional wellbeing of older Canberrans, recognising that mental health support is just as important in later years of life as it is in youth.
Why Mental Health Matters in Aged Care
Mental health is often overlooked in aged care. The focus can naturally fall on physical needs, medications, mobility, nutrition, while emotional wellbeing is seen as secondary. Yet the two are inseparably linked. Depression, anxiety, and unresolved grief can impact appetite, sleep, physical recovery, and overall quality of life.
Loneliness is one of the most pervasive issues in aged care settings. Even surrounded by others, residents may feel cut off from the lives they once lived. Long-standing friendships may be harder to maintain, and simple pleasures, whether it’s walking to a favourite café, playing social tennis, or pottering in the garden, are often lost.
This is where Think WISE makes a real difference. By bringing qualified mental health clinicians into aged care homes, the program provides a safe, confidential space where residents can talk openly, reflect, and receive personalised support.
Meeting Residents Where They Are
One of the strengths of Think WISE is its flexibility. Instead of asking residents to travel outside the facility to attend appointments, something that can be stressful or impossible, clinicians visit them in their own environment.
This approach not only reduces barriers but also respects the rhythms of daily life in aged care. Appointments are scheduled around meals, activities, or family visits. Mental health support is integrated seamlessly into the resident’s routine, making it feel less clinical and more like part of everyday living.
Jeanette Bruce, a Mental Health Clinician with Think Mental Health working in the Think WISE program, says this approach is crucial.
“The core principles of counselling are person-centred and include providing a safe, confidential, non-judgmental space where you can build trust and rapport with people – creating a therapeutic space people might not have in their lives that can support their wellbeing,” Jeanette explains.
For Jeanette, the work is not just meaningful but rewarding. She describes her role as creating connections with people who may otherwise feel unseen.
Respecting Wisdom and Experience
Supporting older people with mental health needs requires more than clinical skill. It requires an appreciation of the values, experiences, and cultural context of a generation that has lived through enormous social change.
Jeanette notes that for some older people, the idea of talking to a mental health professional still feels unusual.
“Even the concept of someone like me going into an aged care home to provide mental health support would have been unimaginable a few decades ago,” she says.
But times have changed. While stigma may still exist, the Think WISE program is gently breaking down barriers, showing residents that it’s okay, and important, to talk about feelings of sadness, grief, or anxiety.
Jeanette emphasises that despite physical limitations, many residents retain strong cognitive abilities and a rich sense of identity. Recognising this means including them as active participants in their care.
“A loss of autonomy can begin with the loss of access and or ability to do things like getting out in nature, going to the local tennis club or meeting with friends at a café,” she says.
Mental health care, she believes, must be about restoring dignity and supporting residents to find meaning in the everyday.
Small Gestures, Big Impact
It’s not only about formal counselling sessions. Sometimes, the most powerful acts are the simplest.
Jeanette encourages anyone who works in aged care, from nursing staff to hospitality workers, to recognise their role in supporting wellbeing.
“You don’t have to be a therapist; just by acknowledging people, making eye contact, smiling, and treating people with dignity and respect, you can have a positive impact,” she says.
This holistic approach extends to Jeanette’s own practice. She has built strong relationships with staff across roles, from the Director of Nursing to the Activities Coordinator and the reception team. These partnerships help create a culture where mental health is everyone’s responsibility and where residents feel part of a caring community.
Think WISE as an Innovation
The Think WISE program represents a forward-thinking model of care. Rather than treating mental health as separate from physical health, it recognises the interconnectedness of the two. By embedding support directly within aged care homes, the program minimises barriers while maximising impact.
Jeanette likens her role, and that of her colleagues, to “gymnasts,” flexible and responsive, tailoring care to the needs of each individual. Whether it’s helping someone process grief, supporting adjustment to life changes, or simply providing a listening ear, Think WISE adapts to meet residents where they are.
Stories of Connection
While confidentiality is central, Jeanette shares that the work often involves helping residents reconnect with parts of themselves they thought were lost. For some, it’s about finding new ways to experience joy despite physical limitations. For others, it’s the relief of having someone who truly listens without judgment.
The outcomes may be quiet but profound: a resident who begins sleeping better, someone who feels less anxious about the future, or a person who starts engaging more in group activities because they feel emotionally supported.
Each of these changes contributes not just to the individual’s wellbeing but to the overall atmosphere of the care home. When residents feel emotionally secure, the entire community benefits.
Why This Matters for Canberra
As Canberra’s population ages, the need for high-quality aged care will only grow. With more families facing the decision to place loved ones in residential care, services like Think WISE become vital in ensuring that emotional wellbeing is not left behind.
Mental health support is not a luxury. It is a necessity, as fundamental as good nutrition, medication management, or mobility assistance. For older people, it can be the difference between simply existing and truly living.
Think WISE represents a commitment to treating aged care residents not just as patients but as whole people, with histories, identities, emotions, and wisdom to share.
Every stage of life deserves dignity, respect, and care. For residents in aged care homes, mental health support can make the difference between feeling forgotten and feeling valued.
Think WISE is not just about addressing mental illness, it’s about promoting wellbeing, restoring autonomy, and recognising the wisdom and humanity of older people.
As Jeanette puts it:
“Never underestimate the impact you can have on somebody.”
For Canberra families and aged care communities, that message has never been more important.
How to Access the Service
If you have a loved one in residential aged care in the ACT, or if you work in a facility and want to support your residents’ wellbeing, accessing Think WISE is simple.
- Visit: Think WISE online
- Email: wise@thinkmh.com.au
- Ask: Speak to the care team at your residential aged care home about referral options.
The service is free, confidential, and designed to fit around the daily routines of residents.
