March 07, 2016

Community ... we all need it.

March 07, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

Last night I had the privilege of connecting with a group of people whom I journeyed through university with. It had been a long time since we had all seen each other. Yet the conversation flowed and the peels of laughter echoed as we shared stories of our life together as students, as well as the life that has become for us each since those days of endless study and personal reflection.

A seemingly random group of people, all from such different worlds, yet all so touched by the humanness of experience…this was a gathering of therapists.

March 02, 2016

Embracing the fear of Menopause...

March 02, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

"It is 2:30am, yet again I have awoken bolt upright dreaming of the worst for my children. This cycle of interrupted sleep takes its toll. I go over it in my head, perhaps I am trying to fit too much in, or maybe it’s that accident I saw on the road last week…or maybe there really is something terribly wrong?? It’s quiet in the house, I don’t want to bother anyone, so I lie here thinking, thinking, thinking…until by early morning and having consulted Dr Google... I am convinced that my symptoms tell me there is something very wrong with me.

February 22, 2016

Memories ... the last dance...

February 22, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

I have a distinct memory from when I was quite little…dancing with my Dad after dinner. I was probably 3 or 4 years old, and after dinner each night, my father would put on the record player and teach me to dance. My Dad was an older father, so the music was not of the time, but of his youth and he taught me how to waltz, to foxtrot and later how to jive.

February 15, 2016

Learning how to 'ground' - a path to meet anxiety.

February 15, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

As the year starts to roll on and the pressures of life ramp up, many people can begin to feel anxious about their capacity to cope. Anxiety is often a response to a feeling out of control or overwhelmed. To help combat this feeling of anxiety, it can be helpful to develop skills around 'grounding'.

February 08, 2016

Success … facing up to life and developing resilience …

February 08, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

“Exam time”…. it may feel like a long way off, but how you think about it, may influence how you navigate the year…

At the end of last year, as I was driving the kids to school, the fluid happy banter and bickering, was not there. Instead of the usual silliness that made each other laugh, the air was pricked with anxiety.

February 01, 2016

The beginning of the school year…whose anxiety is it really?

February 01, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

It is the day before school starts and, I find myself up late sewing on the last of the name tags to the children’s school uniform. As I struggle to thread the needle once again, I wonder to myself “what am I really doing here?”… There is something about the quality of the sewing, the need to sew a tag on every item of clothing, with such care and urgency, that makes me wonder. As I tune into this wondering and sense into my body, I recall sitting alone on my bedroom floor as an adolescent, sewing name tags on to my own clothes before heading off to boarding school. The excitement quickly drowned out by a sense of overwhelming dread.

January 22, 2016

Reconnecting to the grid … what do I need to sustain me?

January 22, 2016/ The Grove Counselling & Therapy/ Sarah Sacks

Summer holidays are nearly over here in Australia. The summer is a time when the children are off school for up to 2 months and many businesses slow down or even close their doors - the nation takes a vacation.

At home, the TV stays on with that strange game called cricket playing in the background, puzzles and board games remain on the floor for days on end, fans whirring and midday naps common place, the days are long, slow and hot.