Hope Blooms Psychotherapy

10/19/2026

Believe victims.

Sweethearts – Sculpture by the Sea

Congratulations to artists, Omi McCurdie and Pip Lysaght for conceptualising and creating this powerful and important work. 💗

They have taken the candy hearts we give to the people we love and turned them into something impossible to walk past. Each heart remembers a woman killed by a partner or former partner in Australia this year.

Each one carries words we’ve all heard:

“He was drunk.”
“She coulda left.”
“Not my business.”

They sound harmless. They’re not. These are the words that excuse violence, silence women and stop people stepping in.

We were proud to work with the artists on the phrases, with staff from across our shelter network sharing what women tell them every day.

Right now, 56 women have been killed this year. The artists made 60 hearts, knowing that number is likely to rise before the exhibition closes.

Visit Sweethearts at Marks Park, on the Bondi to Tamarama walk, until 2 November.

Stop, read every heart, and if you hear these words, call them out.

If you need support: 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 · In an emergency call: 000

Sweethearts is a Flim Flam Studios production.

Sculpture by the Sea

09/25/2026

08/23/2026

07/10/2026

It is imperative that people realise the gameplay.

If suffering, trauma, oppression and abuse is all in our minds - no one has to address or apprehend perpetrators or toxic social systems or cultures.

If everyone is suffering from an incurable ‘mental disorder’ that can only be ‘managed’ with medications - there is immense profit to be made each year (hundreds of billions of dollars).

If everyone is suffering from ‘mental health issues’ but no one ever develops blood tests, brain scans, genetic tests or any other form of biomarker-based objective tests - all diagnosis can remain completely subjective and based on the opinion of just one person. You therefore cannot prove or disprove that you are ‘sane’ - and the system can use a diagnosis against you without any way to prove it is wrong.

If victims of all forms of trauma and violence can be convinced that their problems are inside their minds, they don’t rise up or demand any justice.

Psychiatry is not a helping profession, it’s a very old form of oppression that began by targeting, torturing, abusing and imprisoning marginalised groups of people. Psychiatry at its core is inherently racist, homophobic and misogynistic - hence why being Black/Indigenous was a mental disorder, being gay was a mental disorder and being a woman was a mental disorder. Learning the history of psychology and psychiatry is absolutely vital to understand why now, 100 years later, we slap labels on everyone and hand them a box of pills - but never address or validate the trauma and stress they are going through.

You are NOT going crazy. Your responses and coping mechanisms are there for a reason - no matter how much they do your head in. Humans do not develop behavioural or emotional responses for no reason. They always have a root somewhere.

This is why I am an anti-pathology psychologist, and this is why I work, teach, lecture, and write in the way I do. Telling people who are suffering that they are ‘mentally ill’ is peak gaslighting and our entire approach to mental health is wrong.

07/10/2026

07/06/2026

I hate how much personal, individual responsibility is put on humans— when it is the “systems” we are forced to live within that are sick. If a flower won’t bloom, you don’t blame the flower— you identify the conditions responsible for it failing to thrive, and improve the circumstances and environment. 🌻☀️

06/18/2026

The Nomination Period Ends July 12th 💚

https://simcoecounty.communityvotes.com/2026/03/healthcare/therapy-and-counselling

06/18/2026

💚

Spotted on a wall and it stopped us in our tracks. Literally everyone. A little street wisdom and a kind reminder that life has a way of putting exactly the right words in front of us at exactly the right time. We needed this, in this time, maybe you do too?

💛

06/07/2026

Control often masquerades as love because it borrows love’s language:

“I just want what’s best for you.”
“That’s only going to hurt you in the end.”
“This is what family does.”
“You’re going to be alone if you don’t…”

What these messages often mean is:

“I need you to keep doing what makes me comfortable.”
“Don’t outgrow me.”
“Don’t think for yourself.”
“Keep abandoning yourself so I don’t have to deal with my discomfort.”

So when a child starts becoming their own person—setting boundaries, forming their own opinions, making their own choices—it disrupts the entire arrangement.

And some parents will do everything they can to preserve that original hierarchy, even at the expense of the relationship itself.

But you’re not doing anything wrong by healing. And if you still feel guilty for healing, then you need to join my free email series. 👇🏽

We untangle the guilt that comes up when you stop organizing your life around your parent’s comfort and help you become your own person without feeling like you’re betraying anyone.

Comment SERIES below to be sent the free sign up. 💛

05/28/2026