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Slow Psychology Health & clinical psychology practice integrating therapeutic knitting & crochet. A somatic, creative path to wellbeing that honours the body–mind connection.

Supporting you to slow down, reconnect, and heal through purposeful, hands-on practice.

05/11/2026

After losing Jymbi, I wasn’t considering bringing another dog into my home, but a conversation with my sister made me rethink that decision.

She reminded me that I’ll always miss Jymbi, and that I can miss him and still have room in my heart to love another dog.

So, after a chat with my friend Lynda from Calm Paws, I went for a visit and came home with Hamish! 🧡🐾

We’ve just begun our therapy dog training journey with Therapy Dogs Australia and will be working towards certification over the next 12 months.

I’ll be popping up some puppy photos along the way for you to enjoy. ☺️

Knitting? Crochet? 🧶If you’ve ever looked at someone working with yarn and thought, “I have absolutely no idea what they...
27/10/2026

Knitting? Crochet? 🧶

If you’ve ever looked at someone working with yarn and thought, “I have absolutely no idea what they’re doing,” this one is for you.

At the simplest level, the difference is pretty easy:

🧶 Knitting uses two needles.

🧶 Crochet uses one hook.

Both use yarn to create fabric, but the tools, techniques and finished results are a little different.

And no, you don’t need to know what a WIP is, understand patterns or have grown up crafting to get started.

You can simply be curious.

For many people, knitting and crochet become much more than making something. The repetitive movements, focus, creativity and sense of accomplishment are some of the reasons people find yarn crafts so enjoyable and supportive of their wellbeing.

Are you a knitter, a crocheter, both... or completely new to it all?

I recently had the pleasure of travelling to Brisbane as a guest speaker for the Queensland Spinners, Weavers and Fibre ...
21/10/2026

I recently had the pleasure of travelling to Brisbane as a guest speaker for the Queensland Spinners, Weavers and Fibre Artists, sharing my work as a psychologist and my interest in the relationship between fibre crafts and psychological wellbeing.

We explored how knitting, crochet and other forms of making can contribute to our wellbeing, from managing stress and finding enjoyment in the process, to developing skills, confidence and a sense of achievement.

We also talked about something I think is particularly important – the sense of community that develops around these crafts. The friendships, conversations, shared knowledge and encouragement can be just as meaningful as the things we make.

A special thank you to Ruth, Kym and Jane for organising the event and making me feel so welcome. It was wonderful to spend time with people who share such a genuine enthusiasm for fibre arts, and to hear their experiences of what crafting brings to their lives.

And what an impressive collection of spinning wheels, books and handmade creations!

Thank you to everyone who came along, asked questions and contributed to such an enjoyable conversation. 💚



🧶 I'm returning to the Australian Yarn Show in Canberra in March 2027, this time to present a workshop!I attended the ve...
20/10/2026

🧶 I'm returning to the Australian Yarn Show in Canberra in March 2027, this time to present a workshop!

I attended the very first Australian Yarn Show and returned again this year, having missed last year's event thanks to Cyclone Alfred!

Having experienced the warmth, creativity and connection of this wonderful fibre community before, I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to return and share something I'm deeply passionate about.

Craft Psychology for Everyday Well-Being

The workshop draws on psychological research and my clinical experience to explore how making things by hand can contribute to our psychological wellbeing.

We'll look at the relationship between craft, attention, mood, stress and our sense of competence and meaning.

A particular focus will be on using craft intentionally. Rather than assuming that knitting or crochet is always relaxing, we'll explore how different activities can meet different psychological needs, and how to make thoughtful choices about what we do and when.

There will be opportunities for discussion and reflection, and you'll leave with a personal plan for incorporating craft psychology into everyday life.

Workshop details:

📅 Sunday 7 March 2027
⏰ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
📍 QT Canberra
🧶 No prerequisite skills required. You're welcome to bring a current knitting or crochet project.

Your workshop ticket also includes morning tea and a VIP two-day pass to the Australian Yarn Show.

I'm looking forward to sharing this work, catching up with familiar faces and meeting others interested in the relationship between craft and psychological wellbeing.

There are now only a couple of places remaining, so if you've been thinking about attending, I'd love you to join me.

Workshop information and bookings:

https://www.yarnshow.com.au/event-details/craft-psychology-for-everyday-well-being-2027

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.In my work as a clinical and health psychologist, I'm particularly aware of how...
15/10/2026

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In my work as a clinical and health psychologist, I'm particularly aware of how much a breast cancer diagnosis can affect a person's life, well beyond the physical experience of illness and treatment.

There can be uncertainty about the future, changes in relationships, identity, body image and confidence. For some women, there is also a sense of losing touch with aspects of themselves that were important before their diagnosis.

An important part of my work is supporting people as they adjust to these changes, including exploring the role that meaningful activities, relationships and everyday experiences can play in psychological wellbeing.

This is one of the reasons I've become interested in incorporating knitting and crochet into psychological care.

During times of illness and uncertainty, familiar and meaningful activities can provide enjoyment, a sense of achievement and opportunities to connect with others. For people who enjoy knitting and crochet, these activities may also offer a way to maintain familiar interests, develop new skills and experience a sense of purpose.

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'd particularly like to acknowledge the many different experiences of breast cancer – those undergoing treatment, those living with ongoing or advanced disease, those adjusting to life after treatment, and the families and friends who have lost someone they love. 🩷

This is where yarn begins. Jim shearing one of Bellevue Park’s spotted coloured sheep. Yes, I’m smitten.I travelled down...
15/10/2026

This is where yarn begins. Jim shearing one of Bellevue Park’s spotted coloured sheep. Yes, I’m smitten.

I travelled down (a couple of hours past Canberra, and worth every kilometre) to celebrate the official opening of their Farm Shop. Home-cooked morning tea and lunch, a genuinely welcoming community, and time up close with the flock.

Congratulations Bellevue Park Wool on a huge milestone. If you’re as taken with these sheep as I am, their natural coloured yarn is aptly named the ‘Odd One Out’ range. Check it out!!

One of the best parts of travelling to yarn shows and events has been the people I’ve met along the way.The people who h...
06/10/2026

One of the best parts of travelling to yarn shows and events has been the people I’ve met along the way.

The people who have stopped for a chat, shared their stories and told me about the role knitting and crochet have played in their own lives.

It was especially lovely to see someone share that one of their highlights from was simply stopping to talk with “the psychologist”. That made me smile.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped, chatted, asked questions or trusted me with a little piece of your story. I'm looking forward to more of those conversations.

We live with a lot of noise, novelty and interruption. More than most of us realise.Repetitive activities give us someth...
29/09/2026

We live with a lot of noise, novelty and interruption. More than most of us realise.

Repetitive activities give us something different. Folding the laundry. Walking at a steady pace. Sweeping the floor. Humming the same tune. Waking and sleeping at roughly the same time each day.

Very ordinary things. But that doesn't mean they aren't useful.

When we do something familiar and repetitive, we know what comes next. We aren't having to constantly respond to something new or shift our attention.

I think this is part of why knitting and crochet can feel so settling for many people. You make the same stitch and repeat the same movements over and over. Your hands get into a rhythm and your attention is occupied by something familiar.

Sometimes you might notice that your breathing has slowed down as well, without deliberately trying to make that happen.

In a culture that keeps encouraging us to do more and pay attention to the next thing, there can be real value in doing something ordinary and repetitive instead.

I went to the dentist recently and was crocheting while waiting in the waiting room. My dentist spotted my crochet and a...
24/09/2026

I went to the dentist recently and was crocheting while waiting in the waiting room. My dentist spotted my crochet and asked me what I was making.

We started talking about making things with our hands and she told me she had started pottery classes. We talked about all things hand made.

By my next appointment, she had made me two beautiful yarn bowls!

I love this about craft. It's a conversation starter. Someone notices what you’re making. They ask a question. They tell you about something they make, or something their mum or grandmother used to make, or something they’ve always wanted to learn.

And suddenly, two people who might otherwise have exchanged a few polite words have found something to connect over.

Sometimes craft creates more than the thing you're making.

And sometimes, apparently, it creates perfect little yarn bowls too. 🧶

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the "analogue revolution".People are buying record players. Reading paper ...
22/09/2026

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the "analogue revolution".

People are buying record players. Reading paper books. Taking up gardening, sewing, baking, knitting and crochet. Some are even swapping smartphones for simpler devices.

It's easy to dismiss this as nostalgia, but I don't think that's what's happening.

I think many of us are responding to a genuine psychological need.

Modern life asks a lot of our attention. We move rapidly between emails, messages, news updates, social media feeds and an endless stream of information. Our brains are constantly processing, filtering and responding.

What many analogue activities offer is something quite different.

They create opportunities for sustained attention.

They give our hands something meaningful to do.

They allow us to engage with the physical world rather than a digital one.

They provide a tangible sense of progress that can be difficult to find elsewhere.

One of the things I find interesting is that many analogue activities are naturally incremental. You don't finish a knitted garment in an afternoon. A garden doesn't appear overnight. A loaf of sourdough can't be rushed.

The process unfolds at a human pace.

From a psychological perspective, that matters.

Research around crafting suggests that repetitive hand movements, focused attention, creativity, accomplishment and social connection can all contribute positively to wellbeing.

Perhaps the growing interest in analogue hobbies isn't really about looking backwards.

Perhaps it's about creating balance - finding spaces to slow down, use our hands and reconnect with something at a human pace.

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