A Note from Sally...
Mindset, mental health and wellbeing are personal for me. As a young performer and athlete, my thoughts and the way I saw myself growing up were negatively influenced by perfectionism, comparison and negative body image... something which sadly isn't uncommon, particularly amongst performers and gymnasts. Over time, this led to significant social anxiety, depression and anorexia nervosa, which had a huge impact on not only my mental and physical health but also my ability to continue pursuing my goals and dreams across all aspects of my life.
Nothing could have prepared me for the immense emotional turmoil and impact that came with battling an eating disorder. For over half of my life, I found myself trapped in a vicious cycle that kept me so stuck... to the point where I didn't ever think I would be here after the age of 30. But through the biggest battle of my life came a very raw and real insight and appreciation for the significant impact that mental illness can have not only on individuals and families but also the courage and strength it takes to fight to get your life back.
Having access to the right support at the right time, and people who understood what I was going through was essential on my journey to recovery - but this wasn't always easy to find. Through my own lived experience, I gained a firsthand perspective of the many challenges that are often faced by individuals and families - which in turn fuelled my passion to not only improve understanding and insights amongst clinicians and families through sharing the lived experience but also improving access to greater individualised care and support with a focus on improving continuity and consistency of care from day one for individuals and families affected by eating disorders.
IMPACT
Sally Jacobs has been a proactive voice and advocate for individuals and families affected primarily by eating disorders for the past eight years. Strongly passionate and committed to improving recovery-orientated outcomes, her own story and journey to recovery became the catalyst for using her lived experience to help others. From simply surviving to thriving, Sally's insights and her ability to bring a shared level of understanding of the challenges faced have allowed her to be able to support individuals and families, as well as working alongside clinicians and other key stakeholders as an advocate for greater person-centred and recovery-orientated outcomes at an individual, organisational and systemic level.
Navigating the Journey to Recovery through Shared Hope, Understanding & Collaboration
Recovery Coaching, Crisis Support and Mental Health Advocacy
Over the past eight years, Sally has dedicated hundreds of hours of face-to-face and phone/video-based support to individuals and families affected by eating disorders and other mental health concerns. First sharing insights from the lived experience perspective in 2015 with the sole purpose of helping parents/carers have a better understanding of what their loved ones were going through. In 2016 through word of mouth, parents started reaching out to Sally to provide additional 1:1 phone-based support to their loved ones, gradually expanding to include the provision of service navigation, care coordination and support during meals, crisis support and community engagement.
Between 2017-2020, Sally was able to expand on her professional experience in the mental health space, working across three multi-disciplinary mental health teams under Queensland Health Metro South Mental Health and Addiction Service and Naemi International. In her roles, she gained additional experience and skills in mental health assessments, case management, multidisciplinary team reviews, the delivery of psychosocial education sessions and client documentation.
As a passionate advocate for recovery-orientated practice, Sally has also been approached on several occasions by individuals and parents to advocate for greater understanding of the eating disorder mindset and better person-centred care amongst clinicians within the inpatient setting. This has included liaising with clinicians, experts within the eating disorder space and key stakeholders around Australia, initiating case-based reviews and contributing to the development of supporting documentation to treating teams and mental health review boards.
Challenging Stereotypes & Promoting Recovery Orientated Practice through Lived Experience Insights
Speaking Engagements
Inspiring, raw and informative... these are words that clinicians, student clinicians & individuals and parents affected by mental illness have used to describe Sally as a speaker. Since 2017, Sally has been sharing her story of navigating mental illness and the process of recovery. Initially engaged by Eating Disorders Queensland and the Queensland Eating Disorders Service to deliver presentations as a recovery speaker, Sally has presented on multiple occasions across the inpatient, emergency, community and tertiary settings.
In 2017, Sally was also invited as a representative for the Brisbane South Primary Health Networks Community Advisory Board to attend the National Stepped Care Conference in Canberra over a two-day conference. Between 2019-2023, Sally continued her work as a speaker, facilitating and delivering presentations centred around lived experience insights, challenging sterotypical thinking and the promotion of person-centred care and recovery-orientated practice to student Paramedics at the University of Southern Queensland. Most recently, Sally had the opportunity to speak alongside international expert, Dr. Laura Hill (USA) at the TBT-S Course for parents and clinicians as a representative of the Eating Disorders Families Australia TBT-S Committee.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Building an Innovative Model of Care
From simply surviving for over half of her life, to finally refinding herself and breaking free from the grips of anorexia, anxiety and depression, Sally knows first-hand what it's like to lose yourself in the face of mental illness. Her understanding of the challenges faced by individuals and families in navigating the journey to recovery fuelled the vision of an innovative model of care to help address current gaps within the healthcare system.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Paramedicine in 2019, Sally began to pilot her model with individuals, parents and clinicians, drawing on over ten years of professional experience across coaching and leadership roles as well as her extensive experience working under QLD Health and Naemi International. In 2022, she also collected qualitative data from clients and families relating to services that were provided as part of the pilot between 2020 - 2021.
In 2021, Sally started building her clinical experience, working in collaborative partnerships with senior heads of school, classroom teachers, wellbeing staff and parents to provide healthcare (including mental health care) to children and adolescents at an independent K-12 school in Brisbane. In 2023, Sally completed her graduate program with Queensland Ambulance Service and today practices professionally as a qualified Advanced Care Paramedic (AHPRA). In 2024, Sally commenced her postgraduate studies in mental health to complement her clinical degree and was approached to teach as a sessional at a Brisbane university as part of the mental health unit for student Paramedics.
In 2025, Sally is planning to officially launch the first stage of her business model for individuals and families around Australia who are affected by eating disorders with the aim of launching stage two in late 2025-early 2026.
IN THE MEDIA: INTERVIEW WITH UNISQ
TESTIMONIALS
WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING
OVERALL RATING OF PARENTS/CARERS FROM SERVICES PROVIDED IN A SURVEY COMPLETED IN 2022
Extremely Helpful
Belinda Lipscombe, QLD Health Wellbeing Team Psychologist
Sally's work is at a high level and I can depend on her to ensure tasks are completed on time. She works well with clinicians, provides a high level of care to clients and proactively seeks ways to improve not only in herself but the greater team and service as a whole.
Erin Bell, QLD Health Wellbeing Team Leader
Sally is passionate about her professional work and always aims to provide the best possible service to clients and their families. She has demonstrated initiative where there have been areas for improvement and actively sought out feedback from others regarding input on decisions. If the opportunity presented itself, I would employ Sally in a similar role.
"Sometimes you have to think outside of the box and establish new initiatives that address current gaps within the system. "
- Sally Jacobs
Want to Create Something?
If you're interested in speaking about a project or chatting about an opportunity to collaborate, please reach out to start a conversation. I look forward to connecting with you.
