Vicki Lunt Profile

 

She joined us in Novermber 2007.

  

 

A.   I applied to an advertisement I saw in the Sunday paper in South Africia. 

      The very next day I had a call from an Agency and within weeks had an interview with Western Care.

      This was the easy bit !. After I was offered the job at Western Care it took about 5 months for

      my qualification to be validated by the Irish Psychological Association, they only sit once every six weeks

      and my case took a while to be heard.

 

 

A.   I work mostly with adults, but am lucky enough to see some adolescents and children too. I am a Clinical

      Psychologist and therefore work with people with a dual diagnosis of a learning disability and

      mental health difficulties. I have the chance to offer psychotherapy and play therapy to some individuals

      as well as completing psychometric assessments. I particularly enjoy working as part of a

      multi disciplinary team and gain a lot of valuable input from my colleagues.

 

Q.    What is it like to work for Western Care ?

 

A.   It is very different from the environments I was used to in South Africia. In Western Care I get the

      chance to work with a variety of individuals with a variety of challenges. No two days are ever the

      same and I enjoy jumping in the car to visit people in their homes, places of work and so on -

      as I was office bound in my previous places of employment.

 

 

A.   South Africia has a long way to go in the area of learning disability and I have gained invaluable

      experience in this area by coming over to Ireland, I have also had the opportunity to learn from

      colleagues from all over the world as we are a multi cultural place of employment.

 

Q. In your own words, describe Western Care and the Services provided ? 

 

A.   Western Care provide support to individuals with a learning disablity in order for them to reach their

      full potential in the areas of family, home, social, work, and the community.

 

 

 

A.  I must say it was a pretty scary experience. Castlebar is not even on Google earth, so I had no

      chance to see what the town looked like before I arrived. I didn't know if I was moving to a thriving

      metropolis or a one pub town !!. After a 30 hour journey I was plesantly surprised and have now had the

      opportunity to explore Mayo. Ireland is a beautiful place and the people are the best of all. I find the

      Irish very similar to South Africians (minus the accent of course).

 

 

Q. Is there anything you would do differently, based on your experience so far ?

 

A.   If I had to begin the process again I would ensure that my qualifications were validated before applying

      for a job. I am very lucky that Western Care waited for me and hope to prove it was worth the wait.

      Otherwise anyone applying from overseas or locally would gain wonderful experience in a unique

      Organisation.

 

 

 

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