Hunter Valley Walk and Talk Therapy

05/11/2025

The calendar for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence events happening across the Hunter region is coming together. All details and links to each event are in the pinned post on the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence in The Hunter page.

03/11/2025

Over the weekend, my partner and I attended a powerful women's event called Voices of the Wild, organised by Fiona Sing High Sing Low

One of the activities we were guided in, involved partnering up with another woman, and taking turns being blindfolded, while the other chose from a magical box of nature things, and handed them to you, one at time, so that you could experience, feel, get curious and notice whatever else came up for you as you held each mystical item.

At the end, we are invited to reflect on what the experience was like for us, and this is what my activity-partner came up with, because she recognised the inherent vulnerability involved in my trusting that she was caring for me, while I was in a situation where I couldn't do so for myself . This woman knew nothing about me at all, past my name, so that made it all the more powerful when I read these words.

Many of us carry very deep and painful wounding, that still lingers from childhood, because the adults around us exploited and manipulated us or didn't care to think much about our innocence - they didn't see our soft skin, curious minds, fiery natures as something to protect and cherish - and we carry the aftermath of that neglect... the scars and the 'squandering' ... to this day.

It shows up in the partners we choose, the way we parent/ed our own children, the friends we keep, the habits we develop, the way we take care of ourselves, how well we are able to speak up for ourselves, our people pleasing ways and how we view ourselves.... and many other ways besides.

If you experienced a childhood full of abuse and trauma, you did not get the childhood you deserved. And while we are all, of course, responsible for our actions and behaviours as adults, the struggles you wrestle with most likely did not start with you, and are NOT your fault.

The problem is many women demonise and judge themselves for their perceived 'failings'. The messaging and treatment they received as children, can often continue to be perpetuated against them, by themselves, as they try to navigate the world without the resources that people who didn't have to struggle so hard, were able to develop or tap into.

I get it can feel like there is no way through. That it's hopeless. That you are destined to just keep repeating the same patterns. That it's too late....

But I have seen women who felt and thought this way go on to make huge strides in their own growth, and to make inter-generational impacts in the lives of not only their children, but their grandchildren as well. What a legacy!

Is it quick and easy? Hell no. It's long and bloody painful. Decades of pain and trauma are going to take more than a minute to even begin to resolve, and the truth is you may never attain a 'fully healed' status - but what you will develop is greater self-compassion, deeper self-love and more meaningful connections that will improve the over all quality of your life, open up new opportunities and help you discover moments of joy that linger for longer an second.

The only reason I do this work, is because I've seen with my own eyes what is possible for women who are ready and willing to walk this path. If things couldn't get better - I'd just go join a monastery or take care of elephants somewhere ethical.

Things can get better. And if you want to get started on a new way forward, I'm here, ready to walk beside you.

02/11/2025

Back in 2017, I came up with this 'genius' idea to offer therapy while walking, instead of in a traditional setting.

I was pretty chuffed with myself for coming up with such a novel concept... until I looked into it and realised there was nothing 'novel' about it... Lots of therapists across the world were already doing this.

I've learned a lot since then. I discovered Deep Ecology, completed an eco therapy certificate, fell in love with the principles behind shinrin-yoku (Japanese forest bathing) and my own relationship with nature has transformed.

I firmly believe that nature can meet us where we need to be met, if we're willing to lean more into our senses, and rely a little less on our minds.

Walking and talking has immense benefits. I am always fascinated to notice how some women are more able to express their thoughts and feelings in-motion. My own experiences of walking with friends while talking through my troubles is what inspired me to think this whole concept was a great idea.

And for the first 2 and a bit years of HVWTT that's what I did... I walked and I talked with many amazing women and I loved it.

Then covid hit. I had to move online for a while. And I noticed something... With all the walking, I wasn't looking *at* the women so much, and during online sessions, I realised I'd been missing all those micro facial expressions that helped with additional context and told me so much more than voice and tone alone could convey.

So now I offer a more hybrid way of working together. We are still outdoors, but I prefer to do the first few sessions seated so that I can get to know you better, before we head off walking.

Some women prefer to stay seated for all of our sessions, which is completely fine, but for those who want to move, that offer is still there.

Either way, the benefits of being out in nature are well-backed by science. It's not only good for your emotional health, but your physical health as well.

Nature loves to witness our stories, loves our respectful presence and shows up as a beautiful companion to lead us in deepening our understanding and awareness of ourselves.

I'm not a polished or clinical therapist. I'm in the throes of peri-menopause, so I forget my words sometimes 😳, my life is far from 'all together'... What you do get with me is someone who understands that any kind of movement towards growth and change has to happen in 'relationship'. Relationship with the therapist, yourself, and nature.

My work is to guide and support women into a more whole-hearted relationship with themselves... And yes, that involves talking about difficult things, facing uncomfortable truths, and revisiting painful feelings... But it's worth it, because only through weaving the cocoon and dissolving into something unrecognisable, can we find ourselves emerging into the beautiful butterfly each one of us is called to be.

You can learn more, and book here
https://huntervalleywalkandtalktherapy.com.au/

I'd love to join you on your journey.

28/10/2025

27/10/2025

💜 16 Days of Activism Against Domestic and Family Violence 💜

25 November – 10 December 2025

Rotary is proud to stand with NSW Police during the internationally recognised 16 Days of Activism — a time to unite, raise awareness, and take action against domestic and family violence.

Our campaign focuses on three key areas:

1️⃣ Raise Awareness and Advocate
We aim to build a safer, more respectful society by increasing public understanding of domestic and family violence and advocating for change through community engagement and leadership.

2️⃣ Educate Young People
By promoting respectful relationships, we help shape attitudes early — preventing violence before it begins.

3️⃣ Encourage Reporting
Through trust and community support, we encourage victims to speak out and seek help.
In 2024, Ballina saw a 47% increase in victims re-reporting domestic and family violence — a sign that confidence in support systems is growing.

💬 2025 Theme:

“Young People – The Innocent Bystanders of Domestic and Family Violence”
This year’s theme invites us all to consider how domestic violence affects young people — their wellbeing, schooling, and future — and how we can better support them through awareness and prevention.

🚶‍♀️ Join Us in Maitland!

📍 Meeting Point: Maitland Library
🕛 Time: Assemble 11:45am for a 12:00pm start
📅 Date: Friday, 28 November 2025
We’ll walk together through the Mall to show our community’s shared commitment to respect, safety, and change.

💜 Together, we can make a difference.

27/10/2025

Deep thinking... Or perhaps more accurately, a willingness to move from unconscious awareness and existence into a more conscious experience has been hovering around my being since forever in some way.

I'm not great at it, and sometimes avoid it, because reality is not always something we can dance comfortably with... But I'm aware there's always been a yearning within my soul or psyche for something 'more'. Deeper. Meaning-full (more than meaningful).

This desire is rarely met from the limited confines of my own mind. Poetry, music and the works and writing of others all create scaffolding that I can climb on to help me to catch glimmers of enlightenment and perspectives that nudge me deep in the reflective places as something true and familiar, but were without form until that moment.

I'd never heard of Marion Woodman until today. But after listening to just one talk she gave (from 1984), I have had another of the levers of potential for growth and change (that we all possess, just not always activated) pressed to 'on'.

She speaks to the importance of ritual, the over reliance on archetypes to the point we've lost connection with our true selves, the need for sturdy containers to hold us on our healing journeys, the way we've become so confused by the sacred and profane that we recognise neither and the development of the ego.

So many of her words landed powerfully, and if you too are someone who craves the profound, the real and runs from all things performative and inauthentic, I think you'd really love this talk, as much as I did.

Subscribe to the Jungianthology Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or listen to more on our website: https://jungchicago.org/blog/category/podcast/Jungi...

25/10/2025

This is a great way to describe how anxiety can feel for some people.

A sense of urgency and foreboding when, on the surface, everything is kinda OK...

But often, if we dig a little, we discover some forgotten pain, trauma or unhelpful belief system that's been hibernating inside us, often for decades, and we haven't always been able to make the connection.

Anxiety doesn't mean there's something wrong with *you*. But it does (usually) mean there's a part of you that needs some attention, to be witnessed, to be heard.

And that's what my work offers you. A space to explore, to be seen and to be truly heard...

22/10/2025

Feeling feelings is a healthy and normal part of being human.

We don't need to chase them away.
We don't need to chase other people's feelings away.
We don't need to fear them or wrestle with them.

We just need to allow them to be there, sit with them a while and pay attention to what they want us to know.... Once we do that, often, the intensity and overwhelm soften. We understand ourselves (and others) a little better. And we come out the other side feeling surprisingly lighter for a while.

Feelings are not the enemy. They might be uncomfortable, they might expand before they contract, and you might need help making sense of them, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with you.

Feeling the sharp edges of a world that does not always hold us gently does, in fact, mean that there is something very, very right with you.

❤️

13/10/2025

I was just pulling my work gear out of the boot, when I heard the very distinct sound of a tawny frogmouth. So I looked around and was delighted to discover this adorable bub, chilling with parent.

28/09/2025

'Keeping the peace', especially in a family system, very rarely keeps the peace of the person staying silent so as not to disrupt the illusion of harmony that others cling tightly to.

Something that has always bothered me about this expectation, is that effectively what people who are supposed to love you are saying is: 'We don't care how you feel inside, please just stay silent so we feel ok inside'. And you have to ask, is that what people who love us are supposed to want for us?

None of us like feeling uncomfortable. Few of us enjoy confrontation or hard discussions. But that doesn't mean we should avoid either if there is an opportunity to deepen connection and understanding in family, and other, relationships.

Only you can know whether or not the 'peace' is worth disrupting in your life. Sometimes the consequences might not be worth it... I understand that.

But when the price of peace involves silencing your own pain, my hope is that you also choose to branch outward. Lean into spaces where your full self is wanted: your voice, your vulnerability, your truth.

Maybe you'll be able to loosen your ties to those who mistake your silence as being in agreement that their comfort is the more important consideration.

Because everyone in a family system matters - not just the people who create the discomfort in the first place.