MY H'ART SPACE

03/03/2026

Today's Postcard:

The Journey of Self-Discovery

Layers of knowing and discovering myself often emerges between
the stillness of the earth and the rhythmic crashing of waves around me.
The dance between the fixed and the fluid chisels my story
over time, as I stand feeling both vulnerable and empowered
in the act of self-discovery and surrender.

26/02/2026

In Art Therapy, feelings and emotions can be expressed without words and in fact, carry profound meaning that's deeply embodied within you.
I've been reflecting on interventions out there that require us to identify and name our feelings. Here's my take in it:
The ability to verbally label emotions is actually a "consciously learned skill" the human species has acquired over time. Let's take a step back and think about a moment when we were angry, sad or overjoyed...did we literally "announce" it to the people around you? Did we pause our brain to (consciously) work out which emotional label is at work in that moment?
I honestly don't recall these moments of articulating emotions verbally while experiencing it at the same time. Our brains don't automatically work like that. It hard to do when the parasympathetic system is turned on.
Instead, we simply respond according to how we feel, through action (and sometimes, inaction).
Here, our bodies, breath, eye contact etc visually display our emotions. Internal emotions are translated into external action and communicated by slamming the door (in anger), hiding in the toilet (with sadness) or jumping with a smile (overjoyed).
Our emotional experiencing makes us act first, and MAYBE later, we go into (unpacking) thinking about our feelings. That too, if someone else asks us to consciously identify emotions. By then, its likely that the moment has already passed.
So, this is why it becomes really hard in therapy for anyone to brainstorm their emotions and feelings down on paper, or written words...it's not in our "human nature" to do so.
Awareness of our emotional experiencing is important for our transformational journey, but, it does not need to be put into words. It is actually, dehumanising to expect words, when the world consists of various neurotypes and diverse communication styles, which we recognise as Art Therapists.
This video by neurodivergent_ally beatifully showcases the realities of trying to meet ableist-imposed expectations on adults and children. 🙂

21/02/2026

Supporting someone's nervous system means not putting pressure on them to express themselves using words, body language or facial expressions.
😶Some may not be able to show you how they feel.
😬Some may mask how they feel.
😴Others may just need a little rest and reset from the world.
✅️ It's vital to provide space and autonomy in how they do this, when THEY are ready.

17/02/2026

Wishing all my wonderful friends a very Happy Lunar New Year!
Gong Xi Fatt Chai!
❣️😍🥳❣️
And yes, go paint the town Red...😁

11/02/2026

Nailed it!
I have the same conversations with parents and teachers to ensure my school-going clients have their needs met. These conversations are vital to ensure both allied health and education are aligned in our ethos and pedagogy in developing a child's functional capacity. It's called goal congruence for wholistic child development.

04/02/2026

This is a time for many of us to grieve and process what has happened. We need better family systems, community systems, health systems and educational systems.
❣️Most of all right now, we need each other❣️

🫶🏽If you need to talk, please reach out. Else, here are some crisis helplines you can contact. We do not need to go through this alone.

🌹Specific Services for Western Australia (WA)

Mental Health Emergency Response Line (MHERL):
Metro: 1300 555 788
Peel: 1800 676 822
RuralLink (Regional): 1800 552 002
Crisis Care (Family/Mental Health Support): 08 9223 1111 or 1800 199 008

🌹 National - Immediate Crisis & Mental Health Support (Australia)

Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis counselling)

Su***de Call Back Service: 1300 659 467

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78

13YARN: 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (for young people 5–25)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling)

29/01/2026

And with this, we meet every child where they are at in every given moment. Practiscing mindfulness via art therapy is one way to rewire our brains to be always living in the moment, and therefore, investing in our ability to stay present at all times. 🫶🏽🙂🫶🏽

As a new school year begins in Australia....

23/01/2026

Someone who always stands beside you as a witness, and not a judge, is a true blessing 🫶🏽
Quote source unknown.

22/01/2026

We are shaped by many things; from our experiences with friends, family and community, to our neurotype, genetic make-up and intergenerational-somatic and spiritual inheritance.
In Art Therapy, we dive into all of the above through a flow of being present and consciously reflecting. We end up seeing patterns, of ourselves and others. We then identify our values and what drove those values to elicit how we respond(ed) to life. Eventually, the process produces our preferred ways of being. There is no right or wrong; only awareness of who we really are. And by this, we are not fixing ourselves because we are broken, but because we are ready to grow above and beyond our past.

There is a great article on linked-in:
✅️Credit to: Serena Abou-sleiman for her diagram and work in this area.
✅️Please see original linked-in post in comments.

05/01/2026

Something we all need to watch as parents. In one of the promo videos, Maggie Dent says what I've also been feeling intensely within: : "Our children have come to trigger us to heal". Unless we are ready to transform ourselves from within, we cannot experience the transformation that needs to take place as a collective (family, community, nation).
Please feel free to follow the page for more info about the series. 🙂

04/01/2026

Sometimes, to believe in ourselves, we need to completely unearth our souls from the chaos that holds us back, and overcome the fog that engulfs what is unseen within and around us: Our Potentials!

What are you unearthing from this year?
Are you staying with, or, clearing the fog?

26/11/2025

The AuDHD mind is a specialist mind. Immagine the possibilities if we understood our patterns of thinking, identified what we are good at and unappologetically invested in our strengths. It's never too late to start.