Barbara Churcher Psychotherapy | Mental health service

Barbara Churcher Psychotherapy

Phone: +61 423 256 373

Address: 12 Wellington Parade 3002

Website: http://www.barbarachurcher.com.au

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25.01.2022 There is so much more to each of us than we can ever know. As I think & write about attachment, I thought I would add in a few more of the many, many ingredients that contribute to who we come to be. https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au//53-but-wait-there-s-mo

24.01.2022 Writing for Wellbeing - Flyer for this group posted below or contact me: [email protected] for details. There is a special kind of alchemy when people write together in groups, especially if competition is removed from the session. (Victoria Field, Poetry Therapist) Why not join me in group & extend your writing skills, meet others, learn more about yourself & have a bit of an adventure.

23.01.2022 Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. (Thomas Edison) Another way to think about this is if you're waiting for change, find somewhere comfy to sit. You're gonna be there a while, my friend.

22.01.2022 There are many transitions in life. One of the most important is that we face as we grow older. https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au//58-enriching-the-last-

22.01.2022 Writing for Wellbeing With Barbara Churcher, psychotherapist. Lets take a little literary risk & weave a wordy path together (ability to spell not required). Sharing stories through creative writing & journaling to open up & discover more about who we are.... Some places still available. Eight weekly sessions beginning Wednesday 11 March 2020, East Melbourne. 6 8pm (with a cuppa & a bikkie in the middle) $45 a session To request a more detailed description email: [email protected] See more

22.01.2022 Details for Writing for Wellbeing: This is a therapy group with a difference. Its purpose is to help you express your emotions, build your communication skills, and find ways to solve problems that you can go on using yourself after this brief time in group has ended. The sessions are quite structured but flexible with plenty of room for sharing, supporting and learning from each other. The group moves from reflection and creative work to discussion, response and feedback. Th...is will help make more meaningful links to your own knowledge and experience, as well as more creative, innovative ways of thinking and problem-solving. We will use a wide range of prompts and exercises to loosen up and play together, and to enable us to deepen our experience of others in the group as well as of ourselves. In this way we can find the means to explore some of the more difficult stories we carry. As always in a therapy group, there is no requirement to share your work or to accept feedback unless you choose to and think it will be helpful for you. And in this group the aim is to dig deep and work from the whole self, so its not all about sitting earnestly writing. I am a psychotherapist who enjoys words and writing. I have training in facilitating therapeutic writing workshops. I hope you will join me on this adventure. Our aims are these: *Become comfortable with & able to value your own style of writing *Become comfortable with sharing stories & feelings with others *Become able to give & receive positive & supportive feedback *As well as creative writing, to develop a regular journaling practice *Learn more about yourself $45 a session (payable in advance - $360) www.barbarachurcher.com.au [email protected] mobile: 0423 256 373

21.01.2022 This is a great article. I just need to add that there are other things going on in this picture & in the activity described. The child is held close, connected with & taken pleasure in. If you're like me, one of the joys of reading to a little one is watching & enjoying their reactions. And later, their questions. The cuddling is just a joy.

21.01.2022 Loneliness is travelling hand in hand with fear. But I see many people stepping up with arms held wide, with love in their hearts and on their dear faces. Sorrow completes the trio - that was never more evident than now. I hold out my hands to you who know this, and send love. For those who are lonely or just needing something to do, I will offer journalling prompts through this page for you to work with. Let me know if you are interested in this means of self reflection, pe...rsonal growth and a little daily task. If enough are interested I will learn how to form an online group so we can share. Surely I can learn this! Thinking of you. X Barbara

21.01.2022 These are hard times. Maybe there are small ways we can find to support ourselves as we navigate whatever lies ahead. https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog/60-coming-home

21.01.2022 'Things hidden come rapping at the door" Ukrainian proverb This proverb speaks of the unconscious. You will hear the knock in various ways. Sometimes it is woven through your life. You, however, hold the key.

16.01.2022 Lovely Mary Oliver: The Summer Day Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear?... Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I dont know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesnt everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? See more

14.01.2022 Great article for long-term relationship survival

14.01.2022 Ambivalent attachment - very common. You may struggle with this or know someone who does. https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au//56-hanging-on-for-dear

13.01.2022 More about attachment today - a difficult blog to read and to write. https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/b/54-to-love-and-to-fear

13.01.2022 On ageism, from Christopher Tovey: I have found that a sensitive facilitation process through which people can tell their personal stories and find meaning in past, present and future existence, seemed to alleviate their distress and enable my older clients to maintain, or regain, their resilience and adapt pro-actively to ongoing change and transition in their lives. I am interested in the idea that people in later life continue to have the learning and self-development pote...ntial to enjoy unique and varied forms of, what Lars Tornstam calls, gero-transcendence'. I contend that meaning flows from our connectivity. It stems from the way in which we are connected and engaged with the fundamental aspects of who we are. It brings our values and beliefs together with our emotional response to the world. All these elements are needed to make sense of our present experiences as well as giving us a sense of direction in life. I share Ken Gergen's valuable 'relational recovery' perspective of counseling, viewing therapist and client as "engaged in a subtle and complex dance of co-action, a dance in which meaning is continuously in motion, and the outcomes of which may transform the relational life of the client". Excerpted from: Existential Therapy and Lifelong Learning by Christopher Tovey kenilworthcounselling.co.uk See more

13.01.2022 There are serious implications for children who do not have the opportunity to develop all their senses. Consider how the lack of these little known three may impact lives. For example, proprioception is very important to the brain as it plays a big role in self-regulation, coordination, posture, body awareness, the ability to attend and focus, and speech. Wow! Bring on the rain!

12.01.2022 "Who am I? Am I like Hitler or Mother Teresa? Am I perhaps the worst outcome of all, ordinary, destined to make no mark on the world? I think it is the fear of being ordinary, the fear that the great destiny promised to us by our parents may have been just an ordinary promise - just so much air - that causes teens to take such extreme risks with behaviour and emotions. They want to prove that they are not ordinary, and that their lives will somehow matter. It is at this juncture that we need the most care from parents and guardians." From 'Lost Fathers: how women can heal from adolescent father loss', by Laraine Herring. This is a book with so much more to offer than the title suggests. It might help you make sense of your life.

12.01.2022 A wonderful talk about surviving the challenges we encounter as part of our lives.

11.01.2022 Writing for Wellbeing!!! With Barbara Churcher, Psychotherapist. Lets take a little literary risk & weave a wordy path together (ability to spell not required).... Sharing stories through creative writing & journaling to open up & discover more about who we are. At least 6 participants needed for the group to begin. Eight weekly sessions beginning Wednesday 11 March 2020, East Melbourne. 6 8pm (with a cuppa & a bikkie in the middle) To request a more detailed description, including cost, email: [email protected]

11.01.2022 For the women who suffer after birth: https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog/57-birth-trauma

10.01.2022 Those who avoid relationships sometimes do so because feeling is too painful. They may have an avoidant attachment style. Here's a little more about that: https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog/55-turning-away

09.01.2022 A little bit more about attachment when it didn't go so well. https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog/52-always-a-way

09.01.2022 I've had one of those life changes happen (phew!) and this is a big one for me. I can now focus full time on my psychotherapy practice and am available from Tuesday to Saturday. There are spaces on most days at the moment, and some evening appointments available on Thursday and Friday. If you don't know my work and would like to know more, you can go here to find out more: https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au Just email me on [email protected] or call or text me on... 0423 256 373 to make an appointment. I may not be able to answer straightaway so just leave me a message and I'll call you back. Be sure to include your number and a good time to call. My practice is located in East Melbourne. I am an experienced psychotherapist and interested in talking to you about your concerns, whatever they may be. I do couples work too. Looking forward to hearing from you! See more

08.01.2022 A loss of connection is so terrifying for a child. Please stay connected and find other benign ways to express displeasure that do not involve withdrawal or ignoring.

08.01.2022 Just letting you know that I am seeing clients online while we are all shut-ins. You can call or text 0423 256 373 or email [email protected] for an appointment. Take care of yourselves, stay home & practice careful distancing if you have to go out. Let's get through this safely.

07.01.2022 Writing for Wellbeing Writing can help both mental and physical wellbeing. It can clarify thoughts and feelings, improve mood and positivity, bring more focus to the mind, change your perspective on things, and through all these help you manage stress. Carol Ross, Therapeutic Writing Practitioner

05.01.2022 Sometimes (Sheenagh Pugh) Sometimes things dont go, after all, from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel faces down frost; green thrives; the crops dont fail;... sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well. A people sometimes will step back from war; elect an honest man, decide they care enough, that they cant leave some stranger poor. Some men become what they were born for. Sometimes our best efforts do not go amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to. The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.

05.01.2022 Cast off what doesn't serve you before it robs you of your life. (from Bone Dance, Laraine Herring)

04.01.2022 What happens when you decide to come to psychotherapy? https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog/50-no-stone-unturned

04.01.2022 And the day came when the risk it took to remain tightly closed in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom (Anais Nin)

04.01.2022 Writing for Wellbeing. The idea of a Writing for Wellbeing group is probably a new one for many of you. Its a great way to get some gentle therapy and develop other skills at the same time. Working in groups is a highly effective form of psychotherapy and can certainly work as well as individual therapy ((Yalom & Leszcz). If youre interested in learning more about this you can check out my blog The Benefits of Group Therapy here: https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog.../44-group-therapy Of course when we consider such a course of action we may run into a bit of anxiety, sometimes a lot. We are caught between wanting both adventure and security and wanting to be challenged to change and wanting to stay where we are. Why not have a go just quietly in your own time? In the group we will be doing a wide range of exercises but heres a little taster designed by Gillie Bolton, an international authority on writing as a reflective practice. Its called Food for thought: Spend five or ten minutes on the following exercise but first, take a little time to relax. Make sure youre comfortable and relaxed by attending to your body, looking for some spots of anxiety and giving them some kindness and taking some deep breaths. Now quickly write down the first thoughts that come up for you as you consider the questions. Dont spend any time judging these thoughts just get them down on paper or keyboard. Imagine some aspect of your life to be a plate of food: What kind of plate of food would it be? What else can you say about the plate of food? What would make your plate of food more appetising? So, what did you find out? Any surprises? Here are the details of the course: Writing for Wellbeing With Barbara Churcher, psychotherapist. Lets take a little literary risk & weave a wordy path together (ability to spell not required). Sharing stories through creative writing & journaling to open up & discover more about who we are. At least 6 participants needed for the group to begin. Eight weekly sessions beginning Wednesday 11 March 2020, East Melbourne. 6 8pm (with a cuppa & a bikkie in the middle) To request a more detailed description, including cost, email: [email protected]

04.01.2022 At the start of life, how did you become you? https://www.barbarachurcher.com.au/blog/51-in-the-beginning

04.01.2022 It's a hard job with enormous rewards. Get some good support & do it!