Leah Bradley Counselling

17/08/2021

For the Psychotherapists among us.. this weeks Non-Alcoholic tipple of choice - Carl Jung Shiraz

08/08/2021

08/08/2021

I first shared this way back in 2017. But now 20 months on through our journeys through the Pandemic that is Covid19, particularly at this present moment as we traverse WFH during this current lockdown on the East Coast of Australia, self-care is even more important than ever. Compassion fatigue, burnout or vicarious trauma, thrown in with the isolation of working from home - where boundaries are sometimes blurred more than ever before, the need to implement self-care into every day or even putting a defined time aside each week, is something as mental health practitioners we all need to not only be cognisant of, but to make sure we work on as we do other aspects of our work. This is something that not only mental health practitioners can work on, but all of us no matter our professions, benefit from time spent caring for ourselves, ensuring that burnout is not something we ever experience. Unfortunately, I have experienced the trauma of burnout, left hollowed out to the point of not being able to look after myself let alone my clients. It not only taught me the importance of self-care, but it's something I work on to ensure it's something I don't experience again. Unfortunately at that time, I was not properly supported through my workplace, which also exacerbated the problem at the time. Now, thankfully, I work for an employer and manager who not only support, but encourage work balance and self-care.. Please be kind to yourselves, and stay safe.

I talked to 95 Social Workers about the impacts of regularly working with people who are in pain and suffering.

I taught them how to recognize Compassion Fatigue and Burnout and then how to prevent it.

People shared their experiences about
hoping for "no shows", slowly dropping lunch/walking breaks and even hiding from clients when seeing them at the grocery store.

Anyone who has been in a helping profession, not just social workers, but nurses, OTs, PTs, massage therapists, psychologists, addiction counsellors, child protection and so on, can totally relate!

Want to know if you have compassion fatigue or burnout?

Click the link below to sign up for a free live online class on compassion fatigue and get instant access to a free compassion fatigue assessment.

https://caringsafely.org/freecompassionfatiguewebinar/

Then I saw my new book in the bookstore - it was so fun that I asked a stranger to take my pic:)

Share this post with your colleagues so we can help as many people as possible avoid burnout - let's get the conversation going!

Does your organization talk about compassion fatigue and burnout? Let me know in the comments.

https://caringsafely.org/freecompassionfatiguewebinar/

Char

31/05/2021

Grief... touches all parts of our lives. This ball of grief shows just how entwined all the many emotions surrounding grief interweave with each other. This ball over time expands and shrinks according to what's happening in our lives - new grief and the ball is large and all encompassing, as we live with the grief more and as we return to our everyday lives the ball shrinks as other things take up space in our emotional lives, but as anniversaries or holidays approach the ball can expand again only to shrink days or weeks later. The ball is always there, shrinking and expanding as each new grief event happens and wanes. The trick is to ensure you maintain good self-care practices so that when the ball enlarges or expands you can cope with it and live with it, without the ball and the encapsulated emotions inhibiting your ability to maintain day to day living requirements. If you find this happening over a prolonged period, it may be worth exploring counselling.

29/04/2021

See What You Made Me Do, a must watch 3 part documentary commencing in May 5 based on the book by Jess Hill looks at the scourge that is domestic and family violence in Australia. According to statistics, police attend a domestic and family violence incident every 2 minutes, yes you read that right every 2 minutes, with deaths attributed to domestic and family violence occurring at least once a week. 3 million Australian women and children are living with family and domestic violence every day, ripple that out to their extended families and friends, their ability to function at work, the cost of doctors and hospital visits/stays and so much more, the total cost to the wider Australian community is immense. Under reporting of domestic and family violence is rife in the general Australian community, but especially so in Indigenous and CALD communities where support is patchy due to language and cultural barriers. We have awareness campaigns, support services and hotlines, but these are often overworked with nowhere near the funding available to meet the overwhelming needs. We need to make violence against an intimate partner and family a criminal act, yes I know there are many gray areas to domestic and family violence which make this difficult, but until it is a crime to be violent towards your intimate partner or family, with real consequences for these violent acts, those who engage in such violence know they are untouchable. It is currently in NSW only a crime to break an ADVO, not to initiate the violence that led to the ADVO being implemented, we have things backwards. Let’s begin by making coercive control and physical violence against intimate partners and family a crime in the first act.

A 3-part documentary series that explores one of the most complex and urgent issues of our time - domestic abuse. Presented by investigative journalist Jess Hill, this series examines the fine lines between love, abuse and power. Available from Wednesday 5 May.

17/03/2021

I had an “ah-ha” moment yesterday.. I was searching the job ads as I do everyday and I came across this..

‘Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, for as long as ever you can’ Wesley Mission Australia mission statement...

Without ever consciously knowing this mission statement, this has been the approach I’ve taken to life, right throughout my life, and plan to continue doing so for as long as I can. It’s nice to see it put so succinctly and eloquently. It’s something my Nana lived for all of her life too. It was nice to see it and to think, this is what I try to do each and every day. There are some days I’m sure I’m not as good at is as others, but I strive, while ever my butt is pointing downwards, to live by these ideals each and every day.