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 have managed my diabetes with an insulin pump since 2001. I live in Adelaide in South Australia. I am married and have 3 children born in 1993, 1999 and 2008 (which, thanks to the pump, was the best pregnancy and birth yet, although the now toddler is still not sleeping well!).

I am the founder of Diabetes Counselling Online, which I started in 2001 after seeking support for myself with my diabetes and finding very little out there.

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 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 regularly attend and present at national and international diabetes forums and conferences and am usually involved in one project or another with a range of other diabetes services! You may see some of our articles in the "Diabetic Living" magazine in a regular basis. I also work closely with Diabetes South Australia, delivering a range of group sessions for people with diabetes in Adelaide.

I am able to offer my personal understanding and experiences of living with diabetes over a very long period of time, including going through 3 pregnancies and bringing up 3 beautiful children, as well as my extensive professional skills and expertise working in diabetes since 2002. All requests for personal counselling will come via me and I will pass these on to our wonderful part time counsellors below, as appropriate.

Part time Counsellors

Kay Philp
Kay is a registered Psychologist and has extensive skills and experience in counselling, teaching and supervision. She has been working with us for a number of years and has lots of experience and skills in online diabetes counselling. Kay 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 type 1 diabetes and all the ups and downs it brings. 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. Helen has lots of personal experience in the challenges diabetes can bring to families. Her teaching experience and training includes drama, with strong elements of narrative and psychology. Helen has been working with us for a number of years and is a very experienced educator and online diabetes counsellor who 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.

Rebecca Infanti

Rebecca is the latest person to join our counselling team in March 2010 and we are very pleased to have her on board! Rebecca is a Psychologist with 10 years clinical experience working with children, adolescents and families in the public health sector. She has a Master of Psychology (counselling), Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology). She has a Working with Children Check and is a Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS). Rebecca was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 6 and has managed its presence in her life for over 30 years. Rebecca also has a wealth of experience as a carer of two immediate family members and four second degree relatives with Type 1 Diabetes. Rebecca will be slowly starting to work with us from early March and will provide up to 3 hours counselling per week. If you are to work with Rebecca, we will provide you with her email address. To start with we may ask your permission to copy Rebecca into one of your counselling sessions with one of the other counsellors while she settles in with us. We appreciate your support in this process.

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 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

We welcome V8 Supercar driver Jack Perkins as an Ambassador and supporter of Diabetes Counselling Online Inc. Jack has recently come on board to support us in our work and share our message about the importance of counselling and support in dealing with and managing diabetes.

Jack is the son of Bathurst legend Larry Perkins and was making his own name for himself by speeding through the various levels of his sport, before reaching the premier category in 2007, the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was at this point that he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes late in the season and his racing career was threatened.

He was forced out of the series when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and the then 21-year-old stood down from the championship in his rookie year to take time to learn about and manage his diabetes.

Determined to continue his dream, he was able to do this and prove his fitness to race and has now been given a medical clearance to race in this year's endurance races at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

Jack says he was always confident that this day would come, and is pleased that it's happened this quickly. He believes that diabetes is something that you can manage and live with, and carry on a pretty normal life and that includes driving. This is an important message for many young people diagnosed with diabetes and again shows that you can take the time you need to learn about your diabetes and get on with your life, whether that be racing V8 supercars, or anything else you want to do!

Like Nathan, Jack is dedicating whatever spare time he has to supporting a range of diabetes organisations such as Diabetes Counselling Online and the Australian diabetes community and we are very grateful for this support.

Jack says that when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes he had to face his greatest fear – that he would never be able to race professionally again. Many people diagnosed with diabetes face similar fears - that they will lose many of their goals and dreams - and often it can be experienced like a grieving time. Once people can learn about their condition and get a sense of control back, they usually get back on track.

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