“But there’s absolutely a need for more psychologists in the area and Amy’s here to stay, so in terms of an investment of our time, energy and efforts to get her trained up – from a long term view of trying to fill that gap in Mudgee – it’s well worth it.”

Both Ms Penney and Ms Nipperess are continuing to seek additional funding for their reciprocal partnership, noting that any further support “would be really fantastic”.

In the meantime however, Ms Penney said she can’t wait to begin work.

“I’ve done four years of study, and it’s something that I’ve been interested in for a long time now so I’m very excited to put my learning into practice here,” she said.