From surviving to thriving

It feels rather fitting that Jason Gowlett should find his calling within an organisation that prides itself on constantly travelling to the farthest reaches of Australia.

“I think I may have been born into a gypsy family,” Jason jokes. “We always had a caravan and went away frequently. This has played a part in my wanderlust, and my desire to constantly explore new places. I have lived in many places in Australia, usually in the countryside as I love the beauty, space, peace and communities.”

These days, Jason lives and runs a cropping and agroforestry farm in Queensland, near Bundaberg, but works remotely as a Mental Health Clinician with RFDS Victoria.

“Technology means that distance is becoming less of an issue for providing help to rural and remote regions, which is great for all those people who live in small towns or in the country,” says Jason. “They do not miss out and can have a ‘home delivery’ service!”

Jason’s passion for mental health was in many ways born out of the 1990s recession.

“It left me unemployed, and so I did volunteer work for a phone counselling service, which led to going to university and becoming a psychologist.”

From this most unlikely of launching pads, Jason has gone on to carve out a career for himself that spans a variety of fields and locations.

“My career began with alcohol and drug counselling, then working in prison programmes, then general counselling – such as for anxiety and depression – and then within remote Indigenous communities.”

Interestingly – but perhaps not surprisingly, when you understand his connection to, and passion for, rural communities – this is not the first time Jason has worked for RFDS.

“One day I saw a job advertisement (for the Flying Doctors) that seemed exactly where I was up to in my skills and training. Friends encouraged me to take it as a ‘once in a lifetime experience’, and told me they would manage the farm in my stead. I applied, and next thing I knew, I was having the most amazing experiences in rural and remote Queensland, going out to places with no local services and support.

“Out there, I discovered a deeper human-to-human connection than in large population centres, where the experience may be more impersonal. Years later, when I was asked by RFDS to help out in Victoria with Telehealth, it was a very simple and fast ‘yes’ from me!”

Today, Jason is a trusted member of Flying Doctor Wellbeing – RFDS Victoria’s free mental health service that is accessible to 15 rural and remote communities throughout the state.

“The Wellbeing team are a great group of compassionate and skilled people all dedicated to helping others. They’re easy to talk to, friendly and offer lots of genuine smiles.”

However, while Jason is a source of strength and stability for his clients, his early years were marked with personal trauma.

“My life has been shaped by adversity,” Jason reveals. “Not being what others imagined I would be or wanted me to be in order to fit in with their worldview. For me, not fitting in was confusing and isolating. It nearly ended me. But – and a huge ‘but’ here – I survived, and over time, learnt to do more than just survive; I learnt how to thrive.

“It’s not easy and it’s not quick, but there is this concept called ‘post traumatic growth’. (The concept refers to) a way to live a life that isn’t characterised by trauma. Growth comes from taking the hurt and learning from it in a way that makes you stronger. My life is now vastly different from my early years.”

It is these experiences that have contributed to Jason’s ability to connect to his clients, particularly those within the many farming communities scattered across the state of Victoria.

“One of my favourite thriving things is that I also combine my life experiences with my formal training in psychology and my background in farming. They actually all go together very well. Much of what is required to take land from surviving to thriving also applies to ourselves.

“Core to farming is an ‘ideal’ that is along the lines of ‘creating and maintaining healthy life’. Whether it be crops or animals, the idea is to have these succeed. There are a whole heap of things needed to create this ‘ideal’. Water, good nutrition, shelter, not too much ongoing stress from the elements and so on. Some of these things can be controlled and some cannot.

“There is a connection between what makes crops and livestock healthy and what is needed for people to be healthy. Yet struggles on farms can mean neglecting some of the things that are needed to keep farmers and their families strong and healthy. Especially when things are not ‘ideal’, there is a risk that increased efforts go into trying to make the crops and livestock survive, which can mean that some of what is needed to keep the farmer and family strong is sacrificed.

“It is essential that the people on the farm invest in their health and wellbeing in order to increase the likelihood that the farm will succeed. This is especially true when less than ‘ideal’ farming conditions occur.

“I like to assist people to be clear on what they can and cannot control, so that their ‘ideals’ also stay ‘real’. If the gap between what is ‘ideal’ and what is ‘really happening’ is too big, that’s when mental health suffers. I encourage my clients to invest in their mental health and develop an understanding that good health and wellbeing need to be the foundations from which a farm operates.”

It is through primary health services like Flying Health Wellbeing that RFDS Victoria has been able to evolve and keep meeting the needs of rural and remote Victorians. Yes, we still have planes. Yes, we still travel to the farthest reaches of Australia. But what sets our teams apart is the work they do when they’re not flying. Even when they’re based in another state, like Jason is, our crew ensures every Victorian in rural and remote communities receives the finest health care, no matter where they call home.

“Even in the face of adversity, I like to assist people to remain clear that there are still things within their control that are needed to keep them and their families strong,” says Jason. “With Telehealth, there is not even a need to leave the farm to get the support they need.”

To learn more about Flying Doctor Wellbeing, please visit https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/vic/what-we-do/wellbeing/