How does your anxiety define what you experience?

It is Wednesday.  Again it is Group.  

There has been a fortnight break since the last.  

I notice the dread arising in me as I drive towards the city.  

I would happily not attend. 

In the dark of the winter’s night, I am propelled forward.  

I step inside the room, I notice my heart racing.  

Small talk and niceties past, group begins.  

As others speak, the limelight is not on me, yet my heart continues to pound.  

Someone notices my discomfort.  I am asked if I would like to contribute.  

Wondering inside if I sound like an idiot, I share a little piece of my life.  

Others respond.  

I feel judged and fearful of their sharing.  

A silent rupture in relationship occurs.  I feel lost and isolated in my experience.  

Anxiety reigns. 

Others re-clarify their response and I realize that my own anxiety, defined what I had heard.

Their anger was not my father’s, projected at a small child.

It was their own experience.

That is theirs, and this is mine.

That was then, this is now.

I am safe.

The anxiety lessens.  

My body softens.  

The Group ends.  

Once more, I am meeting my anxiety.

Reflection: “How does your anxiety define what you experience?”  “How do you understand that pattern has come to be in your life?”

(Sarah Sacks is a trained group psychotherapist and avid believer in the potency of Group Therapy)

If this content interests you, please subscribe to our newsletter or make comment in the comment box below.

Who will hold me as I die?

Last week I drove 400klms to sit with a very dear friend’s father.   I sensed the end of his life was possibly close and I wanted to be with him, one last time. 

I entered the room and there he lay, propped up on the bed amongst lovingly knitted bed covers and carefully placed pillows.  His breath rattling, his eyes drooping, he was a shadow of the wiry farmer I had known.  Despite having not seen him for over a year, there was no hesitation in me, as I made myself comfortable sitting on his bed and reaching for his hand.

As we held hands I felt the power of life in his faltering yet strong grip.  Words could not be formed, nor did it feel they would find meaning.  Instead skin-to-skin contact offered all we needed…an affirmation of our existence.

A week later, the community gathers, the sun shines, the birds sing, as he is buried in a country cemetery. 

Men shake hands, women hug and children clasp to their parent’s legs. 

Many cups of tea and stories told the wake comes to an end. 

I hold his daughter, my dear friend tight, our cheeks pressed firmly up against one another, as we say goodbye.  We live far apart.  We may not see each other for another 6 months, but hold each other as if our bodies will remember one another, long beyond this moment of embrace.

As I drive home along a country road in the golden glow of the late afternoon light, I ponder the role my body plays in making sense of my own and other’s existence.   

Like a watermark, the imprint of the other stays in us long after they are gone.

I walk into the kitchen, and hug my husband and my children deeply. 

Reflection - I invite you to consider the power of presence in physical touch...how it moulds us, how it enriches us, and without it, how it depletes us.  Ponder what imprint you are leaving on the world, and how others have left an imprint on you?

(Trained as a whole-body focussing oriented therapist, Sarah is an experienced counsellor, who invites her clients to find healing and transformation, through the wisdom of the body.)

If this content interests you, please subscribe to our newsletter or make comment by clicking on the comment icon below.

Do you allow yourself to be witnessed?

This morning was a significant day for our youngest.  Her fish had died, and she wanted to ceremonially bury it.  A small box was found, a hole dug, flowers picked and a cross made.  As she went to lay her fish’s coffin in the dirt, she looked around, and noticed that her siblings, caught up in the preparations for the day, had not made it out to the garden.  “I want them here with me” were her words.

Letting go of the rush of the morning, we gathered around in the garden … her two older siblings, the family dog, my husband and I, as she placed her beloved fish in the ground. 

It is these moments that bind us and these moments that build us - seeing others and allowing ourselves to be seen.

Reflection - In your life, who do you witness?   And do you open yourself up to the vulnerability and the love that can come, in allowing others to witness you?  

(Sarah is an experienced counsellor, who enjoys working with children and their families around issues of grief and loss)

If this content interests you, please subscribe to our newsletter or make comment by clicking on the comment icon below.

The Grove has opened!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

After much planning, dreaming and hard work, we are excited to announce that our new practice The Grove Counselling & Therapy, has opened.  Our first clients were welcomed into The Grove on April 22nd.  

The Grove is a collaborative counselling & therapy practice that offers an holistic approach to mental and emotional wellbeing.  We work to support individuals, couples and families through difficult times. Our practitioners include Sarah Sacks, Megan Rees and Cheryl Taylor.  

Sarah is a generalist counsellor, passionate about enabling individuals to find ease and vitality in life beyond anxiety and depression.  Inspired by the therapeutic potential of the expressive arts and play, Megan adores working with children and adolescents.  Believing in the transformative power of relationship, Cheryl is a couples counsellor and professional supervisor.  As a team we work together, supporting both our clients and each other, to be the most effective we can be.

Thank you very much to our families', our clients, and our colleagues for all of your encouragement and support.  It has been an incredible journey and we are looking forward to sharing our dream with you.

To mark this moment, keep your eyes peeled for details of our opening celebration coming later in May.