Hello, my name is Helen Edwards. I was born in 1967 and have had type-1 diabetes since 1979, when I was 12 years old. I manage my diabetes with an insulin pump. I live in Adelaide in South Australia. I am married and have 3 children born in 1993, 1999 and 2008 (which was the best pregnancy and birth yet, although the baby is still not sleeping well!)
I qualified with a four-year degree with Honours in Social Work at the University of South Australia in 1988 and am an Accredited Social Worker. I am also a registered Mental Health Worker under the Medicare Allied Health Initiative. I have worked as a Social Worker in the areas of health and welfare since 1989. This has included individual and family counselling, project work, community development and training and education.
You can check my credentials by contacting the Australian Association of Social Workers on: FREECALL: 1800 630 124. They can verify that I am a registered and Accredited member of the Australian Social Work Association and a registered Mental Health Worker with a provider number under the Medicare Allied Health Initiative.
I studied Diabetes Education and Management at Flinders University in South Australia in 2004 and am a qualified Diabetes Educator and a member of the Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA), Australian Diabetes Society (ADS), Australasian Society for Pyschological Research in Diabetes (ASPRID) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
I am able to offer my personal understanding and experiences of living with diabetes over a long period of time, as well as my professional skills and expertise.
Part time Counsellors
Kay Philp
Kay is a registered Psychologist and has extensive experience in counselling, teaching and supervision. She lives in Qld and is fully registered with the Qld Psychologists Board. Kay has also had type 1 diabetes for over 35 years so has personal experience of living with it.
Kay provides part time personal counselling up to a day a week. All personal counselling requests will come via Helen Edwards who refers them on to Kay as appropriate. We will let you know Kay's email address if you are to work with her.
Helen Wilde
Helen has a
Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Education, Dip T (sec) and has 10 years counselling experience in secondary schools. She also has Type 2 diabetes and is the parent of a child (now adult) with type 1 diabetes. Her teaching experience and training
includes drama, with strong elements of narrative and psychology. She is an experienced educator and counsellor and provides personal counselling of up to two days week. If you are to work with Helen, we will send you her email address so you can have conversations with her.
Our Ambassadors
As a way of getting our message out there in regards to the importance of support in diabetes, a number of people have begun to support us, in their role as Ambassadors for our services. Stay tuned as more people join us in our work! The following people are inspirations to many and provide us all with "food for thought" in regards to the ways we can manage diabetes and stay on the road with what we want to do in life.
Nathan Bassett - Former Adelaide Crows Player, SANFL coach, dad, person with type 1 diabetes and strong advocate for diabetes
Nathan Bassett has been supporting Diabetes Counselling Online for a number of years and is central to many of our events and fundraising drives.. Playing for the Adelaide Crows as a key defender for many years, Nathan has has his share of serious injury or illness more than a dozen times throughout his football career. Despite this he has always gone ahead and forged on to achieve his dreams. In the 2008 AFL season he was rewarded when he became just the eighth Crow to reach his 200th game. He has now retired from playing AFL, taking on a coaching role at Norwood football club in South Australia, along with a range of fundraising and other advocacy roles for a number of diabetes organisations. In addition he is dad to a busy toddler!
Nathan has suffered two broken legs, two fractured shoulder blades, a cracked sternum, dislocated elbow, shoulder reconstruction, fractured foot, broken ankle, broken finger, knee and groin surgeries, neck injuries and three concussions over his football career!
Then there was the biggest hit of all - being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. As is often the case when diagnosed with diabetes, mentally, being diagnosed with diabetes was the biggest hit. Several weeks after breaking his sternum in the reserves for Melbourne in 1997, Nathan began to feel ill, he was thirsty and started to lose a lot of weight. Thinking the weight loss - 12kg in two weeks - had something to do with his sternum, he visited his doctor. Soon after he was diagnosed with diabetes.
"It was a huge shock," Nathan recalls and this is usually the case for anyone diagnosed with diabetes. To be told you are going to need up to four injections a day for the rest of your life and test your blood glucose levels regularly, as well as watch what you eat and drink - not to mention the longer term complications - is a lot to take in at any age, let alone 20."
Nathan did not consider giving up football at this point, but, after going through the honeymoon period (in type 1 diabetes some insulin production can remain for a period of time and in adults, this can be a year or more) for three years - from 2000 to 2003 - Nathan began to find his diabetes more challenging.
Initially he was taking just two insulin injections a day for six years, but found he was struggling to get through games. He reached out for help and with support of an Endocrinologist ( diabetes specialist), he increased his insulin dosage from two to four injections a day. He hasn't looked back since. Nathan now has his type 1 diabetes under good control and had his best season in 2006 when he was named an All-Australian.
Nathan is involved in many diabetes events and organisations and supports people living with the disease. He is happy for our members to contact him in regards to questions about managing type 1 diabetes and professional sport and how he has been able to play at the elite level. You can email us on support@diabetescounselling.com.au and we will pass your query on to Nathan.
It is important for all of us to know that this has not been an easy ride and that no matter who you are, this is the case. Nathan says that it has been tough and difficult to deal with. It took him a few years to come to terms with being a diabetic and it took another good couple of years before he knew what to do to manage his diabetes during a game. This is normal and support is critical during this time, no matter who you are.
Family support is also very important for all of us diagnosed with diabetes and Nathan is no exception. He become a first time Dad to Charlotte in 2008 ( pictured in Ireland on a family holiday to Europe and the UK!), with his wife Nicole and is loving the role.
Nathan recently (July 2009) walked the Kakoda Track to raise funds for another of his charities and conquered this daunting task with his usual energy and positive approach.
Jack Perkins - V8 Supercars young gun
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Peter Howard - celebrity chef, author, speaker and person with type 2 diabetes
Peter Howard is one of Australia's most recognised and passionate food and wine commentators with a growing international reputation as both a presenter and consultant on food, wine and tourism.
For 15 years his national television segments, regular radio interviews and articles in magazines and newspapers have kept Australian audiences informed of the latest trends in food and wine. His knowledge, combined with his friendly and animated approach, have made him one of Australia's most sought after culinary presenters and media skills trainers.
Living with type 2 diabetes, Peter is also a strong supporter of Diabetes Counselling Online working with us on our Online Cooking School and now coming on board as an Ambassador.
He has written some wonderful diabetes cookbooks "Delicious Living" and "Delicious Entertaining" - a celebration of life and the pleasure of sharing good food, even for those who have type 2 diabetes. It includes inspiring recipes for all occasions - breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts, morning and afternoon teas and snacks, as well as fresh and healthy entertaining tips.
You can see Peter cooking some of the recipes at our Online Cooking School here Diabetes Counselling Online Cooking School
