Summary
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

Valarie Derwent

Townsville,Qld

Summary

Accredited Social Worker with over 25 years experience, across diverse frontline and managerial roles predominantly focused on mental health, wellbeing and safety service delivery.

Self-motivated professional, highly respected for integrity, ethics and values.

Work History

College Counsellor

Ignatius Park College
Townsville, QLD
2020 - Current
  • Promote and prioritize trauma-informed, mental health, and wellbeing frameworks and practice to align with duty of care and governance responsibilities.
  • Conduct assessments, safety plans, and support plans in collaboration with multidisciplinary stakeholders.
  • Provide crisis support and interventions, critical incident debriefing, and peer supervision.
  • Enhance safety measures for students and staff by implementing risk management strategies.
  • Develop and coach peer-led mental health and wellbeing groups to foster a safe and inclusive environment for all year levels.

Sole Trader

Innovative Training & Development
Townsville, QLD
2008 - 2023
  • Developed and delivered personalized workshops, training, and presentations addressing subjects like mental health, suicide prevention, and intervention.
  • Delivered accredited training in ASIST, SafeTalk, Psychological First Aid, Accidental Counsellor, Cert IV Crisis Support, Workplace Counselling, Community Recovery and Crisis Support Officer training.
  • Co-lectured Bachelor of Social Work tutorials, field placement, and supervision subjects, and academic marking duties for James Cook University.
  • Provided clinical supervision, coaching, and critical incident debriefing.

Critical Incident Response

James Cook University - Student Counselling & Wellbeing Service
Townsville, Qld
2017 - 2018
  • Secondment to JCU's mental health support and services team following a fatal critical incident on campus.
  • Managed and conducted Critical Incident Counseling, including Crisis, Biopsychosocial, and Cultural Assessments, interventions, individual/group counseling, and referrals as required.
  • Collected, analyzed, and reported on data, interventions, forecasted well-being needs, and recommendations for use in operational planning.

Student Advocate

James Cook University - Advocacy & Well-Being
Townsville, Qld
2016 - 2018
  • Developed and implemented initiatives to enhance staff and student safety and well-being through promoting mental health, suicide prevention, and sexual assault awareness.
  • Enhanced programs and policies in response to the Broderick Review Report (2017) recommendations.
  • Offered comprehensive mental health counseling and crisis intervention support to a wide range of students, catering to their individual needs.
  • Represented clients in negotiations and mediations, securing favorable outcomes in numerous cases.

Trainer & Assessor - Diploma of Counselling

Smart City College
Townsville, Qld
2014 - 2016
  • Delivered, assessed, and evaluated the 17-unit Diploma of Counselling to both on-campus and distance learners in Queensland and Tasmania.
  • Achieved high levels of student engagement, retention, and competency by actively utilizing targeted activities, continuous feedback, and positive reinforcement methods.
  • Monitored and evaluated training competency, progression, and effectiveness; presented actionable suggestions for enhancements.
  • Continuously acquired knowledge of current industry trends and best practices for maintaining compliance with organizational and legislated governance.

Operation Life

Veterans & Veterans Families Counselling Services (VVCS)
Townsville, QLD
2015 - 2017
  • Delivered ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) to veterans, serving members, spouses, friends and families under 'Operation Life' and 'Overwatch'.
  • Committee member - Operation COMPASS, a national suicide prevention trial.
  • Committee member - Community Action Plan, Townsville Suicide Prevention Network.

Various Leadership Roles

Uniting Care Queensland
Townsville, QLD
2008 - 2013
  • Trainer - Trained Cert IV in Telephone Counselling, Cert IV Crisis Supporter Workplace Training
  • Team Leader - Youth Services: Project management, including service delivery, community engagement strategies, policy revision and implementation, budget allocation, grant writing, and staff development.
  • Area Manager (acting) - Mackay: Seconded to support and manage a negative and potentially harmful workplace culture due to systemic issues, while maintaining operational responsibilities by ensuring service delivery and contractual funding obligations were met.

Policy Advisor

Uniting Care Queensland
Townsville, Qld
2012 - 2012
  • Led the implementation of corrective action in response to Coronial Inquest findings regarding a youth suicide within out-of-home care.
  • Conducted comprehensive assessment of procedures to align with organizational governance policies and coronial inquest recommendations.
  • Reported evaluation findings to senior executives, identifying weaknesses and offering recommended actions for improvement in each respective domain.
  • Efficiently managed multifunctional teams to drive the implementation of strategic changes.

Community Recovery Program Leader-Northern Region

Lifeline Queensland
Townsville, Qld
2008 - 2011
  • Managed MOU functions of the Townsville Community Recovery Team.
  • Ensured an active and committed volunteer pool by effectively recruiting, training, and preparing them for deployment.
  • Provided informative updates on strategic and operational responsibilities to Local and District Disaster Management Groups.
  • Managed multiple projects simultaneously while adhering to tight deadlines.
  • Established and monitored KPIs to evaluate performance and identify areas for improvement.

Education

Graduate Certificate in Education (Trauma-Aware Education) - Trauma Informed Practice

Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
03-2025

Master of Social Work -

James Cook University
Townsville, Qld
12-2019

Master Trainer- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) - Suicide Prevention

LivingWorks Australia
Australia
12.2014

Cert IV Training & Assessment -

North Qld. Executive Training
Townsville, Qld
12.2010

Bachelor of Social Work -

Grant MacEwan University
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
12.2000

Skills

  • Strategically minded, progressive thinking
  • Visionary leadership style
  • Fosters responsibility, accountability and inclusion
  • Guided by governance and best practice frameworks

Timeline

College Counsellor

Ignatius Park College
2020 - Current

Sole Trader

Innovative Training & Development
2008 - 2023

Critical Incident Response

James Cook University - Student Counselling & Wellbeing Service
2017 - 2018

Student Advocate

James Cook University - Advocacy & Well-Being
2016 - 2018

Trainer & Assessor - Diploma of Counselling

Smart City College
2014 - 2016

Operation Life

Veterans & Veterans Families Counselling Services (VVCS)
2015 - 2017

Various Leadership Roles

Uniting Care Queensland
2008 - 2013

Policy Advisor

Uniting Care Queensland
2012 - 2012

Community Recovery Program Leader-Northern Region

Lifeline Queensland
2008 - 2011

Graduate Certificate in Education (Trauma-Aware Education) - Trauma Informed Practice

Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Master of Social Work -

James Cook University

Master Trainer- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) - Suicide Prevention

LivingWorks Australia

Cert IV Training & Assessment -

North Qld. Executive Training

Bachelor of Social Work -

Grant MacEwan University

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Valarie Derwent