I was having a conversation with my therapist the other day. He was telling me about a book he had read about the legacy of war trauma. He commented on ‘the long tail of trauma’. That language really resonated with me, both personally and professionally. Although I feel more empowered and fulfilled than ever before
It’s been an especially tough six weeks ! Apart from the eternally long lockdown situation here in Melbourne exhausting us all, plus a demanding job in mental health in essential services, my normally peaceful home environment has now been disturbed into nightmarish proportions. Not only is noisy construction work going on right outside my bedroom
Here we are in our sixth lockdown in Melbourne, since early 2020. Sydney is in crisis, with the whole state now in lockdown. A friend in Melbourne described to me yesterday …. “I have no words any more to say how I feel.” So I thought I would try to find some for me, in
Some weeks ago, walking home after an excellent massage with my Myotherapist, a persistent thought rose up within me .. “I value myself now”. I kept repeating this phrase to myself as I walked. It has taken me all this time to truly, really value my self. I turned sixty-nine years old the other day
Lately, I have felt overwhelmed by all these allegations of rape swirling around the bastions of power in Australia. As someone who has suffered rape myself, twice outside of marriage and many times within the so called ‘sanctity’ of marriage, I feel well-qualified to say something of substance on these matters. Sexual assault is epidemic
A common theme in my clinical work as a psychotherapist over 33 years, is how people struggle with managing difficult emotions. We are rarely taught how to be with our emotional pain and suffering. Given that Life tends to serve up its fair share of disappointments, tragedies and plain old ‘unfairness’, it is helpful to
I wrote a piece on Face book recently, in response to the terrible murder of 23 year old Celeste Manno, killed in her family home in Melbourne by a man who had been stalking her for months. I expressed that it was high time many more men shouted out loud their protest at male violence
I realised the other day that it has been five years since I separated from a significant intimate relationship and that I have been ‘single’ for that length of time. It also dawned upon me that this was the longest period in my adult life that I had not had a boyfriend of one kind
I am reading a book currently, called ‘ Fight like a Girl ‘ a memoir by Clementine Ford. She quotes a woman called Caitlin Moran who suggests the following exercise ….. Put your hand in your pants. Do you have a vagina ? and Do you want to be in charge of it? If you
Growing older is difficult. At least that was the message communicated to me by my mother. She had a miserable time of it and that memory still remains within me. I am trying not to resist the ageing process and to honour the wise, spirited and attractive woman that I know I am. A little
Professionally I have 33 years experience as a Clinician, Lecturer, Group Facilitator, Educator and Supervisor in Education, Social Services and Mental Health. I currently live in Melbourne, Australia and work in Mental Health. I have a particular interest in supporting and empowering women and men to be all they can be, by assisting the discovery of tools that help them find strength to transform difficulties into opportunities, enriching their lives both personally and professionally. I am a New Zealand Registered Psychotherapist with PBANZ, member of the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists and have a Masters of Health Science (Psychotherapy) First Class Honours. My research thesis was about the long term consequences of intimate partner violence for women. I am influenced and informed by both my professional experiences and my own personal journey, which has involved many challenges and celebrations along the way.