Karan Chitharanjan

• Engaging with residents onsite in an informal capacity, working from a trauma-informed, strengths-based, and client focused framework.
• Provide a comprehensive client-centred service to residents including referrals, safety planning, responsive support and advocacy in accordance with case plans.
• Monitor and manage the dynamics of the site with the aim of providing an environment which is safe, peaceful and enjoyable for all.
• Follow all handover procedures.
• Respond to critical incidents and breaches of site rules.
• Liaising with the St Vincent’s Hospital team to support resident's after-hours.

• Assessment: Conducting initial assessments to understand clients' needs, strengths, and challenges. This involves gathering information about clients' backgrounds, presenting issues, mental health symptoms, and relevant contextual factors.
• Counselling and Therapy: Providing individual, group, or family counselling sessions to help clients address their concerns, cope with challenges, and achieve their goals. This may involve using various therapeutic approaches and techniques tailored to clients' needs and preferences.
• Crisis Intervention: Offering immediate support and intervention for clients experiencing crises such as suicidal ideation, trauma, or acute mental health symptoms. This may involve assessing risk, providing safety planning, and connecting clients with appropriate resources.
• Supporting Independent Living Skills – Working in partnership with clients to develop and enhance their confidence and independent living skills. Can involve assisting with cooking, light cleaning, goal setting and budgeting.
• Community Access – Supporting and in some cases supervising clients in accessing community appointments and programs. Can involve taking clients to specified appointments, family contacts and to attend community events or spaces.
• Case Management: Coordinating and managing clients' care by connecting them with relevant services, resources, and support networks. This may involve collaborating with other professionals, agencies, or community organizations to ensure holistic support for clients.
• Managing Events or Crisis Situations – Ability to maintain a calm approach to any crisis situations that may arise, following client specific escalation procedures.
• Education and Prevention: Providing psychoeducation to clients and communities about mental health, coping strategies, and available resources. This may include conducting workshops, trainings, or outreach activities to raise awareness and promote well-being.
• Documentation and Record-Keeping: Maintaining accurate and confidential records of client interactions, assessments, treatment plans, and progress notes. This ensures continuity of care, accountability, and compliance with ethical and legal standards.
• Self-Care and Professional Development: Engaging in ongoing self-care practices to maintain personal well-being and prevent burnout. This may involve supervision, consultation, peer support, and participation in professional development activities to enhance counseling skills and knowledge.
• Cultural Competence: Recognizing and respecting the diversity of clients' backgrounds, identities, and experiences. This involves adapting counseling approaches to be culturally sensitive and responsive, and continuously reflecting on one's own biases and assumptions.
• Ethical Practice: Adhering to ethical guidelines and professional standards in all aspects of counseling work. This includes maintaining boundaries, confidentiality, informed consent, and a commitment to social justice and client empowerment.

As a Peer Worker for international students, I was required to draw on my experiences as a former international student and provide mental health support in fast paced, higher education setting. Drawing on my skills as a qualified counsellor, I was successful in reaching out to many international students and providing support, and if required, linking them with the broader support services and systems available at the university. Some of my responsibilities included -

• Providing 1:1 support for international students in a peer work setting, using peer work relational skills.
• Actively reaching out to referrals from the student wellbeing team and scheduling appointments with them and conducting sessions in person or online.
• Being a new role, I was actively involved in creating awareness about the service. I did this by attending various events to speak about the role and utilising marketing tools such as posters and brochures.
• Using designated systems to enter session notes and refer students to other appropriate services with student consent.
• Attending regular supervision sessions with a Peer Work supervisor from Orygen, who identified the key responsibilities of the role.

• On professional placement capacity from Monash University, I worked with young people to help understand and overcome personal, social or behavioral problems affecting educational or vocational situations.
• Delivered supportive and knowledgeable counselling to students with academic or personal concerns.
• Used a flexible approach with my clients to help facilitate progress
• Applied CBT, play and strengths based approach while working with clients.
• Empowered students through counselling and skill-building exercises.
• Collaborated with parents and school faculty to address problems and grow student success.

• Upheld high standards of customer service and worked on other retail responsibilities such as stock, cashiering etc
• Shift supervisor on certain days to ensure high level of customer service and overall store management
• Inspected floor displays, noted missing items and immediately replenished merchandise.
• Handled customer queries and concerns and resolved any issues
• Monitored refrigeration, freezer and cooling areas for proper functioning and reported issues to supervisor.

• Coordinated between various departments to help achieve the foundation's aims (fundraising, campaigns, school education programs to raise mental health awareness) - Wrote mental health related articles for the foundations website
• Was in charge of putting together the annual report for the foundation by gathering and compiling all relevant data and coordinating with external agencies
• Responsible for arranging various meetings at the foundations offices with program partners
• Assisted the office management team in procuring IT related infrastructure.
• Completed research, compiled data and assisted in timely reporting.
• Assisted with projects by applying strong analytical skills and studies.

• Incharge of handling employeee engagement responsibilities across three Indian cities
• Liased with operations and management team to create and execute employee engagement initiatives
• Conducted meetings, workshops and activities specifically catering to different operational units and hierarchies within the organisation.
• Maintained energy and enthusiasm in fast-paced environment.
• Participated in continuous improvement by generating suggestions, engaging in problem-solving activities to support teamwork.

• End to end recruitment (sourcing, scheduling, coordination, offer negotiations, onboarding of candidates) -
• Stakeholder management – Compiled and produced qualified candidates' information for hiring manager review and liaised between parties to coordinate formal, management interviews.
• Responsible for Mid-level management hiring for Categories (FMCG, Lifestyle, Home, furniture, electronics etc), Business Operations (Seller experience, Seller Acquisition, Seller Onboarding), Customer Experience (Service Delivery)
• Tracked candidates and pushed for feedback on disqualifications, time-to-fill statistics and other variables.
• Partnered with departmental managers to ascertain hiring needs and subsequently provide candidate recommendations.
• Training Design, Process Excellence), apart from working on new positions that have been created to build new capabilities
• Operated and maintained applicant tracking and candidate management systems.