George Skoufis

About me

This supervisor has been approved to provide supervision under the ACCESS TO SUPERVISION PROJECT.

My name is George and I have been in the mental health industry for 12 years. I got into the industry after I wanted to use my story to help provide some hope and inspiration to those still struggling. I was once told by a service, when I offered to volunteer to help in any way I could, that I had nothing to offer. That didn't stop me! It was the beginning of my journey into the sector, where I am now as passionate about helping people with Lived Experience get into the industry, as I am with helping my clients.

This supervisor has been approved to provide supervision under the ACCESS TO SUPERVISION PROJECT. If you are a supervisee who has received an approval email/letter from the CMHL you may contact this supervisor for supervision for this project, then follow the stated processes for supervision payment.

My experience

My journey as a Lived Experience Worker began as a recovered speaker and consumer consultant to The Butterfly Foundation. Following on from The Butterfly Foundation, I moved into a peer support worker role on the inpatient unit at The Alfred, where I provided one-on-one peer support, along with the co-facilitation of groups on the ward.
After I moved on from The Alfred, I spent some time working up in Canberra and regional NSW, for an NDIS provider. As part of that role, I facilitated groups, provided one-on-one support to consumers in the community and assisted my consumers in their psychosocial recovery needs.
After returning to Melbourne early last year, I found two roles at St Vincent's Community Mental Health, which I go into more detail below.

My current role/work

I currently work as a Senior Lived Experience Worker at both of St Vincent's Community Mental Health Clinics, in two different programs; Project Lead: Leadership Pathways, and Intensive Community Packages Program (ICP).
The ICP program requires me to work with the most high risk clients of self harm and aggression, who are usually the most difficult engage. This is largely an outreach role, conducted over a six month period.
Project Lead - Leadership Pathways: To oversee a funding package that was designed to provide opportunities for Lived Experience Workers to step up in senior roles and provide supervision to the wider carer and consumer workforce. Using co-design principles, I am engaging the Lived Experience Workforce (LEW) to identify barriers to those who aren’t able to partake in regular discipline specific supervision, and to work towards solutions to overcome them. In addition, I will also be providing supervision to the wider LEW, along with co-flection space to those who step up as seniors.
In addition to my regular work at St Vincent's, I am also sitting on a number of committees:
I am currently sitting on a model of care committee, where we are evaluating and re-designing the model of care, which will dictate how the service will work in the future, at the community level.
In addition, I also sit on another committee (LEWAG - Lived Experience Worker Advisory Group), which is made up of Lived Experience staff from around the state, which is working with DHHS to help map out what the Lived Experience Workforce will look like moving forward.

My training

Intentional Peer Support: IPS Core Training
Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC): Consumer Perspective Supervision Training
St Vincent's Mental Health Services: The Strengths model: A Recovery Orientated Approach to Mental Health Services
CMHL: Learn 4 Results: Project Management Workshop
Spectrum: Working with Complexity Associated Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
NEXUS: Dual Diagnosis Training
ANZ Money Minded: Certified Money Minded Facilitator
Voices Vic: Group Facilitator Course

My approach to supervision

For me, supervision needs to be a safe, open space, where people can talk about anything important to them. I don't tend to go in to a session with a set plan. I like to let the supervisee tell me what they would like from the session and what works best for them.
We are all different and because of that, there can't be a one size fits all approach to supervision.