Newsletter No.43 - NDIS

Hello, everyone. I hope you all have been well. I have not written a newsletter for a while again as I have been busy with my professional and personal life. It is December now. I have been counting down how many weeks and days are left until the break. I feel it is time for the break now.

NDIS Changes

For those in creative arts therapies industries, we face immense stress. Join me in signing a petition to urge the NDIS to reverse their decision to exclude creative arts therapies. This decision was made without consultation with relevant professionals and undervalues our work. Creative arts therapies are as effective and evidence-based as traditional therapies. If NDIS values participant’s choice and control, why restrict their choices of processing their life challenges through art, dance, music, drama, and play?

To process this experience, I offer a space called Move & Connect at 7pm on December 5th, 2024, at Hawthorn Community Centre, Hall A (South Australia). While moving and talking may not remove our grief and anger, it allows us to share creatively.

PACFA Event – Introducing embodiment to talking therapists

One of the reasons I was so busy was that I facilitated a 3-hour CPD “Becoming Present Bodily” organised by the PACFA SA branch on the 26th of October 2024. This workshop had the highest attendance among PACFA in-person events, indicating the importance of incorporating the body in practice. The CPD was divided into two parts: 1) beginning to be with the body and 2) becoming more present bodily. In the first part, participants focused on their 'sit bones', breaths, spines, and inner senses through gentle movements and breathing exercises, which fostered a relational group dynamic. In the second part, practitioners embodied their clients' presentation and explored their internal senses, leading to profound emotional responses. The workshop highlighted the value of dance movement psychotherapy in providing a safe space for creative bodily expression. Read more.

Somatic Body Mapping – PACFA Endorsed CPD (14 hours)

The 2025 Somatic Body Mapping Intensives will be taken to another professional level with a post-SMBI reflective practice facilitated by me. The SBMI process provides a safe, nonjudgmental, and slow-paced environment for somatic explorations, artmaking, deep listening, and witnessing. Participants explore bodily sensations through colours, shapes, objects, and movements on a body-size map. No prior experience in artmaking or movement is required. I use psychodynamic psychotherapy, Authentic Movement, dance movement psychotherapy, and theories of attachment and infant development. Post-SBMI practice helps incorporate somatic awareness into clinical work and understanding, though it does not train participants to become SBM practitioners. You will receive readings and guidance on SBMI processes and theories. 

What’s New in SBMI?

I will offer three intensive weekend workshops; two for women (cis, trans and nonbinary) and one for men (cis, trans and nonbinary). This is a PACFA endorsed CPD. Please find the details.

Embodied Group Supervision 2025

I will continue to offer embodied group supervision in 2025. As I witnessed this year in the work with the creative arts therapists, the body clarified their clinical questions and navigated the practitioners into a deep understanding of the clients and themselves. Please contact me if you’re interested.

Thank you for reading my newsletter.