Inclusive Counselling Collective

14/11/2025

Happy Trans Awareness Week 🏳️‍⚧️✨

Trans and gender diverse folks have always existed. Across all cultures and throughout all of history.

Trans Awareness Week is a time to celebrate our trans and gender diverse communities. Our history. Our stories. Our experiences.

This year we have continued to see trans and gender diverse people - our lives, rights, and access to healthcare - undermined and attacked by anti-trans hate, division, and disinformation.

Our community deserves freedom, safety, access to services and resources, and support be our most authentic selves.

This week I am leaning into joy as an act of resistance. I am leaning into the beauty, strength, and solidarity of our community. And I am leaning into the glimmers of hope and euphoria that nourish, sustain and heal.

04/09/2025

💜 Join us for Toowoomba's Wear It Purple celebration at the Empire Theatre Lawn from 4-6pm.

Swing by our stall to say hi, make a zine, get creative, and scoop up all the little treasures (yes, free stickers!! ✨) that spark joy 🌈

04/09/2025

So excited for tomorrow! The crew at Youth Connect have done an incredible job organising so many different stalls and activities. We’ll be hosting zine-making so be sure to drop by! ✨💜

💜🌈 WEAR IT PURPLE is TOMORROW! 🌈💜

Join us from 4pm - 6pm on the Empire Theatre lawn as we celebrate with stalls, performances, food, and plenty of fun! 🎉

✨ Stall holders & activities include ✨
📚 Toowoomba Region Libraries
💜 Anglicare
💪 PCYC
🌈 PFLAG
🌱 New Leaf
🤝 Mission Australia
🧩 Inclusive Counselling Collective
💡 Momentum Mental Health
🏳️‍🌈 Queensland Council for LGBTI Health (Gayawur Rainbow)
🎲 Toowoomba Dungeons & Dragons Club / Cosplay Group
📞 Lifeline Darling Downs
💚 Headspace

🎶 PLUS:
⭐ Performances by Kiyua Performing Arts
🎨 Face painting with Smiles and Rainbows
✍️ Scribble Sesh Life Drawing
🔥 BBQ with TOMNET
🎵 Music, vibes & good times!

Wear your purple, bring your friends, and let’s celebrate together 💜🌈

29/08/2025

Today is Wear It Purple Day💜

And my heart is so full.
At , I watched young people wear their flags like capes.
They covered themselves in pride stickers.
They laughed.
They celebrated who they are.

This is what Wear It Purple is about.
It’s about telling our LGBTQIA+ young people:
✨ You belong.
✨ You deserve to thrive.
✨ You deserve to grow up.

And right now, that message has never been more important.
Back in January, the QLD government banned life-saving gender affirming care for trans youth in the public system.
Our kids feel that.
They know when their rights are being stripped away.
That’s why we have to keep showing up.
To say again and again: you are loved, you are not alone, we will fight for you.

This year’s Wear It Purple theme is Bold Voices, Bright Futures.
Bold voices are what our kids need to hear.
Voices that say: you are safe, you are worthy.
And together, we can build those bright futures.

As a trans non-binary person, this day means so much to me.
Wear It Purple was never celebrated at my school when I was growing up.
We never had q***r services visit.
I never saw a trans or non-binary adult standing proud.

Now, I get to be that adult.
Standing proud and telling young people: you are not alone.
That means more than I have words for.

A teacher thanked me today for giving up my time.
But the truth is, I don’t give anything up.
This kind of work is what gives me hope.
It's why I moved into running my own practice.
It's what keeps me going.

And at the heart of it, this day is about joy.
The joy of being exactly who you are.
The joy of being seen and celebrated.
And of knowing there is a future for you.

And next Friday, Youth Connect TRC is hosting the Toowoomba Wear It Purple from 4–6pm at the Empire Theatre Lawn.
I’ll be there with a stall (goodies restocked), ready to celebrate loud and proud 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Hope to see you there too💜

14/07/2025

Gender is far more expansive than the boxes we’re taught to tick.

I’ve felt this truth deep in my bones for as long as I can remember.

But, like so many non-binary and gender diverse folks, I didn’t have the words for it back then.

Two years ago, I came out as non-binary.

It wasn’t a radical shift — more like a coming home.

The beginning of my journey in making space for my authentic self.

Being non-binary has meant letting go of expectations that never fit.

It’s meant learning to hold complexity with care, in myself and others.

And it’s meant finding deep joy and freedom in showing up as I am.

As a social worker, I see how powerful it is when people are seen.

When their names are spoken with respect.
When their pronouns are used.

When systems don’t require them to choose between false options.

When spaces are inclusive, accessible and safe.

So today is a celebration.

Of our community, our histories, and our voices.

And it’s also an invitation to our allies:

💛 If you want to support us, start by listening. You don’t need to understand everything to show up with compassion and respect.

🤍 Use the pronouns someone asks for and don’t make assumptions. Normalise asking and sharing pronouns in your spaces.

💜 Help build systems that don’t assume binary gender.

🖤 Make space for what doesn’t fit neatly within norms — that’s where so many of us thrive.

To my fellow enbies:

I see you.

I honour your journey.

I’m proud to be on mine, too 💫

12/07/2025

Can’t wait for this exhibition!

One of our favourite annual exhibitions!! This Wednesday at The Lighthouse Toowoomba