Murray Sibbison, Pastor Robert Wiltshire and Elisha Sibbison are behind the new counselling program.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Epicentre Church Echuca has launched a new low-cost counselling program aimed at improving the local community’s access to professional mental health support.
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The initiative comes as many regional residents face long wait times and rising costs for mental health care.
In the Echuca area, the average cost of seeing a mental health professional is about $175 per session.
To address this barrier, Epicentre Church is offering subsidised counselling sessions, reducing the cost to $80 for a 50-minute appointment.
Epicentre pastor Robert Wiltshire said the program was open to everyone, regardless of whether they were church members or not.
“Our opinion is that church isn’t here just to get people to turn up on a Sunday. It’s here to help people, serve people and connect with people,” he said.
“This is not about getting people to church. This is solely to serve our community.
“They can have no faith, no belief, no desire, they can be anti-church and still access this service.”
Local counsellor Murray Sibbison is collaborating with the Epicentre Church to offer affordable mental health support.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
The program will be delivered in collaboration with qualified local counsellor Murray Sibbison and his wife, Alicia.
Mr Sibbison brings more than a decade of mental health experience, having worked across mental health, addiction services, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and frontline COVID-19 response roles.
He said the opportunity aligned closely with their passion for making support more accessible.
“Our heart was always to reach people that couldn’t afford it,” he said.
“Often people come in with something on their heart, and it’s my job to help draw that out so they can see things more clearly and perhaps leave with a different perspective.”
Depending on the program’s success, Epicentre Church hope to reduce the fee further.
The counselling sessions are currently available weekly from 11am to 6pm.
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