A counselling program to assist those still enduring psychological trauma following the 2009 Victorian Bushfires has been extended by the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund (VBAF).

The voucher program, which entitles people to up to 12 counselling sessions, was to have ceased next month, but VBAF’s independent Advisory Panel agreed at a recent meeting that the program would be extended for another 12 months.

The Panel's chair, Pat McNamara, said there were still some survivors of the 2009 bushfires struggling to cope with the devastating tragedy.

"We know that there are people out there two years on who are still battling the emotional trauma of what happened," Mr McNamara said.

"For whatever reason, these people haven’t accessed counselling support and we want them to know it’s out there and available."

A similar wellness voucher program which enables people to access complementary therapies and treatments has also been extended until next year, Mr McNamara said.

"Under the new arrangements, residents of bushfire-affected communities will have until 1 June, 2012, to apply for the counselling and wellness vouchers, and they will be redeemable until 31 August, 2012," he said.

"People need to know that help and support is still available for those who need it.

"We know that there are some people for whom the psychological trauma is just beginning to take its toll now, and we would be appealing for those people to come forward and access the available support."

Mr McNamara also said the value of the psychological counselling vouchers had been increased from $100 to up to $150 to reflect the increased cost of counselling sessions.

"We’ve increased the value of the psychological counselling voucher to $150 to ensure that people who access the program are not left out-of-pocket," he said.

"Records show that both the psychological counselling and the wellness vouchers program are popular with residents of bushfire-affected communities, and are therefore still in demand.

"There are about 20 new requests each week for the counselling vouchers and up to 90 applications each week for the wellness vouchers, so there is certainly demand for them in the community."

Mr McNamara said people who still wanted to apply for either of the vouchers should call the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund on 1800 180 213 before 1 June, 2012, to apply.

Contact: Jason Frenkel

Phone: 0402 282 251