How Ngak Min Health helped a Cairns teen find self-love and acceptance
A Cairns teenager's powerful poem advocating for radical self-acceptance and love towards oneself and other young women highlights the positive impact of Ngak Min Health's counselling services.
The poem, penned by 16-year-old Marianna, served not only as a personal coping mechanism for herself but as a message of hope for other young women facing self-love and acceptance challenges.
“I wrote what I always wanted to hear growing up,” she said.
The young poet regularly attended school-based counselling through the Indigenous Mental Health program delivered by Ngak Min Health and funded by the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN).
These sessions played a crucial role in helping her overcome social and wellbeing challenges and during her final counselling session, Marianna shared the poem she had written for a school project with her counsellor.
“I had been feeling really angry and guilty, and started writing about those feelings, which helped me understand them but didn’t make me feel good,” she said. “I thought, why write a story that brings me down, when I can create something that lifts people up? That’s when I started writing the poem – and I finished it in one English class. It just felt right.”
Marianna learned the technique of writing down her feelings while working with her Ngak Min counsellor.
There are so many girls like me who believe they are not capable of self-love. This poem expresses what I wish I’d believed when I truly thought I wasn’t capable of love.
Indigenous Mental Health program participant Marianna
She found that her sessions with Ngak Min provided a safe space where she could speak openly with someone who really listened.
“Over time, I found it easier to talk with my counsellor and loved our sessions because it was a time where I could speak openly with someone who really listened. It was a safe space and I still use some of the skills and advice I learned.”
Marianna now feels happier in her life, attributing much of her progress to the support she received from Ngak Min.
“Life hasn't got easier, but I've been keeping it steady and learning to love myself more every day, and I try to spread this love to as many people as I can,” she said. “It's still a work in progress, but I’m doing really well and instead of worrying about everyone else and what they think of me, I've been busy looking after myself.”
The self-love and empowerment that Marianna's poem promotes stem from the transformative experiences she had through her counselling.
“Writing the poem was really the start to having true self-love and is something I wish I’d had when I was younger,” she said. “That’s why I tried hard to write it to stick in the reader's head, so they can feel empowered.”
Ngak Min Health continues to play a vital role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young women, helping them navigate their challenges and fostering a sense of self-love and acceptance.
