Shivonne Cammell - Child & Family Counselling

17/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EWD1Bxj16/

What if grief doesn’t get smaller? What if, instead, life grows around it?

I have shared Tonkin’s Model of Grief before, and it is one of the models I use most often in my work with clients. This time, I wanted to create my own visual of what ‘growing around grief’ can look like.

When grief first enters our lives, it can feel as though it fills everything, seeping into all of the tiny cracks. Over time, the grief itself may not become smaller, but other parts of life can gradually begin to find their way in. Connection, rest, work, hope, new experiences, joy, meaning, and even the possibility of imagining a future.

This doesn’t mean that grief moves from one stage to the next. There may be times when it feels as though grief fills everything again, even many years later. Growing around grief doesn’t mean leaving it behind, forgetting, or reaching a point where it no longer hurts. It simply offers another way of understanding how grief and life can exist alongside each other.

I think this is why Lois Tonkin’s model resonates with so many people. It doesn’t ask us to ‘get over’ our grief or suggest that there is a point when we should be finished with it. The grief is still there, but, over time, there can be more life around it.

This graphic is my own visual interpretation of Lois Tonkin’s Growing Around Grief model. I hope it finds you when you need it most. 🙏🏻💛

Affirmation of the day:

“I can carry my grief while allowing life to grow around it.”

08/07/2026

11/06/2026

Happy International Day of Play!

Play isn't just something children do for fun, it's how they learn, connect, explore, express themselves, and make sense of the world around them.

Today is a lovely reminder to slow down, be present, and make space for a little more play. 💛

03/06/2026

Sitting on the couch in my therapy room completing paperwork, and looked up to see this playful moment - I wonder what is being shared? 🤣 ?

03/06/2026

03/06/2026

Consulting room available to sublease — Wheelers Hill, Melbourne's south-east

I'm a mental health social worker based in Wheelers Hill looking for another clinician to sublease my consulting room when I'm not using it. The space is already set up and ready to go - and I'd love to find someone I can connect and collaborate with.

The room is part of a collaborative allied health clinic co-located with busy local shops and a medical hub - there's natural foot traffic, a warm referral culture, and a genuinely supportive environment among practitioners on-site.

What's included:
- Beautifully furnished consulting room with natural light
- High-speed Wi-Fi
- Shared kitchen and staff facilities
- Reception waiting area for your clients (no admin support)
- Free client parking on-site
- No bond required
- Collaborative, collegial environment with other allied health clinicians

Availability & pricing: $90/day — Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday available. 6-month commitment preferred.

Happy to have a no-pressure chat first — [email protected]

22/05/2026

Connection is the heart of the work

One of the biggest pressures many parents and carers face is the feeling that they are expected to “fix” a child’s behaviour.

It’s not always said directly, but it can often be felt in meetings, school conversations, reports, and the way progress is measured.

“How quickly are things improving?”“Are the behaviours reducing?”“What strategies are working?”

Sometimes it can feel as though healing should follow a clear timeline — that with the right support, the right parenting, or the right intervention, everything should begin to settle quickly and neatly. But children who have experienced trauma don’t heal in straight lines.

When you’re caring for a child who has lived through loss, fear, instability, or difficult early experiences, it’s easy to start feeling under pressure yourself. You can find yourself focusing so much on behaviours and outcomes that you lose sight of what the child may actually be communicating underneath it all.

Children who have experienced trauma do not need “fixing.”

They need to feel safe.They need consistency.They need connection.They need adults who can stay alongside them, even when progress feels slow, messy, or uncertain.

In my experience, the real shift often happens when we stop asking, “How do we stop this behaviour?” and start asking, “What might this child be needing from us right now?”

That isn’t always easy, especially when families feel watched, judged, or under pressure to show visible progress. But meaningful, lasting change rarely comes through pressure or quick fixes.

It grows through safety, trust, patience, and relationships built over time.

19/05/2026

This one's for the helpers.

The ones working in systems that grind people down - still showing up, still trying to make a difference.

You're not failing. The system is hard. Your clients are carrying a lot. And so are you.

Your genuineness, your compassion, your capacity to connect - that's not nothing. That's the heart of the work.

Keep going. ❤️

08/05/2026

It's a tough time to be a practitioner working with children and families right now.

NDIS Funding changes and shifting eligibility criteria. Reduced Medicare support. Cost of living increases, and business expense increases. Waitlists. Families falling through gaps. The landscape feels uncertain, and I'm hearing that uncertainty reflected back by a lot of clinicians I speak with and supervise. I feel it myself as a clinician and supervisor.

It can create a kind of background anxiety that's hard to shake - am I doing enough? Is this sustainable? What happens to the families I work with if services keep contracting? Clients are feeling it too - families are stretched, parents are exhausted and worried. Children are absorbing the stress of households under financial pressure. And all of that impacts the therapy space and relationship.

But when I sit with a child in a session, I'm always reminded of the power of that moment. A child will pick up a toy, or share something, and things start to shift. They start to play out something they couldn't say in words. Or they start to name and reflect on their feelings and experiences. They do this because of the conditions offered in therapy - connection, attunement, unconditional positive regard. The safety and trust built up over time and consistently showing up, even when it's hard. The research keeps telling us these are the things that make the difference. That hasn't changed, even when everything around us feels like it has.

What helps me, and what I see helping the practitioners I supervise, is having somewhere to put it all down for a while. Good supervision - and good peer networks - aren't just about space for clinical reflection, though that's important. They also provide connection and collaboration, and a reminder that we are not alone in the work, and of the values that lead us to this profession.

If you're working with children and families and finding the current climate heavy, you're not imagining it, but also, you don't have to navigate it alone.

I have availability for individual and group supervision if you're looking for that space. Feel free to message me or drop a comment below.

07/05/2026

Anxiety and worries can change and develop over time as children grow and are impacted by different life experiences.

Worries can feel big… but here’s something reassuring:

Many worries are actually developmental.
They’re part of a growing brain learning what feels safe, what’s new, and what matters.

So if your child is anxious, this message can help them hear:
“I’m not broken. My brain is learning.”

This visual is a gentle way to normalise worry, reduce shame, and open up calm, curious conversations at home or in the classroom.

To save, click on the image, tap the three dots, and choose Save.