Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

Madison Toft

Auckland,Grey Lynn

Summary

I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology and Sociology in 2022. My passion for learning about and supporting people led me to volunteer at Lifeline in my third year of study.


My experience at Lifeline has enabled me to work with people with incredibly diverse needs and presentations, and it is because of this that I am set up to work in situations that require quick decisions but ones that put the client first. I aim to always create a non-judgemental and unbiased space that anyone from any background feels comfortable being within. Everyone needs someone to talk to, and I hope to be that person for as many people as possible.

Overview

9
9
years of professional experience

Work History

Step-Up Supervisor

Lifeline
02.2024 - Current
  • I have experience working as a Step-Up supervisor which entails monitoring the entire counselling room and having to make decisions to intervene when necessary.
  • This role includes supporting counsellors on calls, debriefing with them after difficult conversations, multitasking, and ultimately deciding when risk needs to be escalated.
  • This is a very high stakes role; all important decisions surrounding a service users safety on shift will be made by myself.

SMS Supervisor

Lifeline
03.2023 - Current
  • Recognising that I had a special talent of working with people across a texting medium, alongside noticing that I was quick to gain the trust of employees, I applied for the SMS supervisor role. This was quite a step-up from working on helplines, as I had to quickly acquire management experience and learn to support not just servicer users but also counsellors.
  • This role entails managing staff and learning their baselines, providing constructive criticism, debriefing with counsellors after difficult conversations, training new staff to work on the SMS service, training staff who are moving from helplines into management positions, triaging incoming texters, making quick decisions on how to handle risk, escalating conversations to police callouts and working alongside the national supervisor.
  • Throughout this role I have learned to manage several different tasks at once while still maintaining a high quality of work.

SMS (text-based) Service

Lifeline
04.2022 - Current
  • I started working within the text service (SMS) in November. This diversified my ability to communicate with service users through a different medium and adjust my counselling skills to suit a different audience.
  • The text service is most commonly utilised by young people, so adjusting my skills to support youth was crucial in this role.
  • Communication over texts is much more limited than on calls, which means I am able to concisely support service users in a meaningful way.

Answering the phonelines

Lifeline
02.2022 - Current
  • I have been trained on the Tautoko (suicide) Line, the Lifeline 24/7 line, the Frequent Callers line, the Debrief Line and the Referrals Line.
  • Working at Lifeline means you are essentially the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, speaking with individuals who have no where else to turn. Very often you are working with vulnerable individuals who have significantly diverse needs, and so as a counsellor you have to be prepared to take a number of different approaches. I have worked with people with crippling loneliness, those struggling in their relationships, those with PTSD and trauma, depression, anxiety, strong suicidal intent, schizophrenia, BPD, DID, neurodivergent individuals, those struggling with LGBTQIA+ issues and other marginalised individuals.
  • The nature of this job meant that I had to become comfortable with the uncomfortable – you never know who you are going to pick up the phone to and what counselling skills will be needed.

Lifeline Volunteering

Lifeline
02.2022 - 11.2022
  • A series of personal experiences with friends struggling with their mental health, alongside my passion for Psychology and helpline people led me to volunteer at Lifeline.
  • This involved 7 weeks of online training alongside colleagues, and then a few weeks of taking calls alongside a mentor.
  • I volunteered once a week until November where I was swiftly offered a job in a paid helplines counsellor role.

Retail Sales Worker

Vixen Vintage
02.2021 - 08.2022
  • I worked at Vixen Vintage (a quirky vintage clothing store on Karangahape Road) every Saturday alongside studying as a retail worker. This was a very sociable role which I really enjoyed as I was able to meet a wide variety of people.
  • The role included developing rapport with customers, opening and closing the store, steaming clothes, tidying the store and helping customers find specific items.

Checkout Operator

New World
01.2015 - 01.2021
  • I initially started at New World during highschool, and continued work during University semester breaks. I worked as a checkout operator, which entailed scanning and packing groceries, working the till and customer service
  • Working here significantly improved my social skills and my confidence in initiating conversations. It was from this job that I realised I have a strong ability to develop rapport with customers - even if this was while bagging groceries.
  • Being employed at New World across six years shows that I commit to the jobs I start, and develop strong relationships with co-workers.

Waitress

Sidetrack Café
01.2019 - 07.2019
  • I worked at Sidetrack Café as a waitress. This entailed interacting with customers, working the till, clearing tables, making drinks and plating food.
  • As this Café was in one of Mount Maunganui’s busiest hotspots, I quickly adjusted to working under pressure while maintaining a friendly attitude towards customers.

Nannying

Side Track
01.2019 - 07.2019
  • While I worked at Sidetrack Café, I was also nannying every Friday. I cared for two young children, aged 6 and 4 years of age.
  • I got the children out of bed in the morning, made them breakfast, packed their lunches, dropped them to kindy and school, and picked them up. While they were at kindy and school, I would clean the house and make sure thay everything was in order for when their parents returned home.
  • Working with children requires great patience and an eye for creativity, both of which I found came naturally to me.

Education

Bachelor of Arts - PsychologySociology

Auckland University
Auckland
11.2022

Bethlehem College
Tauranga
12.2018

Skills

  • Ability to develop a strong therapeutic relationship and rapport with clients & staff alike
  • Ability to think on my feet Making quick decisions while remaining calm under pressure
  • Complex problem-solving with a diverse range of callers and staff
  • Managing; leadership; planning; organising
  • Training and mentoring staff
  • Anticipating needs and keeping the individual at the heart of each solution
  • Patience and unconditional positive regard when working with challenging individuals
  • Empathy, active listening, making individuals feel heard & valued
  • Strong work ethic and diligent attitude
  • LGBTQI friendly

Timeline

Step-Up Supervisor

Lifeline
02.2024 - Current

SMS Supervisor

Lifeline
03.2023 - Current

SMS (text-based) Service

Lifeline
04.2022 - Current

Answering the phonelines

Lifeline
02.2022 - Current

Lifeline Volunteering

Lifeline
02.2022 - 11.2022

Retail Sales Worker

Vixen Vintage
02.2021 - 08.2022

Waitress

Sidetrack Café
01.2019 - 07.2019

Nannying

Side Track
01.2019 - 07.2019

Checkout Operator

New World
01.2015 - 01.2021

Bachelor of Arts - PsychologySociology

Auckland University

Bethlehem College

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Madison Toft