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
For the past eight years I have developed and facilitated a ‘Recovery from Trauma ‘program for survivors of trauma. It is a psycho-educational program as well as being an interpersonal group process which is dynamic in its flavour. I am trained as a psychodynamic psychotherapist who values and makes space for the subjective interpersonal processes
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
A friend sent me an article the other day which impacted me very much. It was one of those restorative moments when the perfect thing comes your way. The author of the article is Kelly Brogan, a psychiatrist who specialises in women’s health. She speaks of how difficult it is to sit with emotional pain,
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.