Embodied creativity: group supervision for education and health professionals
A monthly supervision group face-to face in Hobart:for teachers and healthcare workers wanting to feel clear, nourished, energised and connected in a safe and supportive community of peers.
Small Group Program
6.30 - 8pm
29 June 2022 - 30 Nov 2022
The Mountain Room, South Hobart Living Arts Centre
Keep doing the work that you love without burning out.
The pain for workers in education and healthcare at the moment is real and significant:
constant change and uncertainty
crazy workloads
lack of support
diminishing teams with a growing list of tasks
never getting through the to-do list
laying awake for hours despite feeling exhausted
feeling the struggle is so big that nothing will help
So many are unwell, lying-on-the-floor-exhausted and on the verge of quitting.
The last few years have been a hard slog.
I see you.
I hear you.
And there is an answer.
Inside this monthly closed group supervision program, you will find rest, clarity, nourishment, connection and support in a community of competent and respectful peers.
Create the space you need to develop your reflective capacity so that you can meet the needs of yourself and your clients, patients or students.
You will be guided through a clear and stepped process in how to make space and support yourself at home, at work and in between.
Minky brings a wealth of knowledge about creative processes, combined with long experience in supporting people during the most difficult moments of growth and change.
Professor Katrina McFerran, Student Wellbeing Expert & Creative Arts Therapist, University of Melbourne
Minky’s approach is creative, compassionate and insightful. Her work is informed by a deep and broad knowledge and many years of experience
Dr Sonja Vanderaa, Trauma & Behaviour Consultant
I get it.
I've been there too.
As a mental health clinician with 20+ years of experience in supporting families and workers in schools, hospitals, early childhood centres, child protection and other community services, I know all too well the impact of this work that can have on your confidence, wellbeing and hope for the world.
I'm Minky van der Walt (she/her), a trauma therapist and mental health clinician who was originally trained as a Registered Music Therapist at the University of Melbourne.
I am registered with the Australian Music Therapy Association and am a clinical member of, and have mental health accreditation with the Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).
I'm on a mission to support health and education professionals who shine in their work, that you don't have to drown in overwhelm because you're used to 'being strong', pushing through and putting yourself last.
You actually need to come first.
You need to find a safe way out of your head and into your body, so that you can find the clarity, nourishment and support that you need and deserve.
This is what I do best.
How this program helps you to keep doing the work that you love without burning out:
✔ Commit to making space for yourself and your needs each month (with your very own cheer squad!): connect with like-minded, capable peers who will “get you”, support you and remind you to connect with your own needs.
✔Create a regular practice of self supports, using a stepped approach that works for, and attends to, your unique needs.
✔ Learn how to go underneath thoughts and talking to get to the source of the issue and discover resources and tools to support you at home, at work and in between.
✔ Learn how to make space and create pockets of rest to bring you energy, calm and nourishment.
✔ Explore your unique, creative and embodied self and gain understanding through shared experience music, art, symbols, imagery, writing, talking, moving, and embodied resources.
✔ Understand the impacts of work on you and explore how aspects of the 'Joy-pain spectrum' framework can aggravate or mitigate your potential for burnout or vicarious trauma.
What's involved?
In-Depth Group Sessions:
Deep dive below the thoughts and words to connect with, express and understand what is below the surface, in our bodies and feelings.
Explore, understand, connect with, express and reflect the impact that your work is having on you - the joy and the pain.
Peer support and mutual learnings:
Find connection, support and mutual understanding with a like-minded and supportive community of peers.
Other potential supports such as a peer-led private Facebook group will be discussed by participants.
Practical PDF workbooks:
Step through a practical application of polyvagal theory and the 4 steps to know what you need, understand the Stress Response Cycle, and track where you are on the 'Joy-pain spectrum' framework.
These sessions will offer opportunities to sit with what is good and what is hard in the work, with equal consideration given to the vicarious impacts of both.
Using a framework that embraces the principles of trauma stewardship, trauma-informed practice and the understandings from the 'Joy - pain spectrum' (for more detail please see here, here and here) participants will be invited to connect with and reflect upon their experiences through processes that may include:
quiet reflection (journaling, drawing)
discussion
music listening
supportive music and imagery experiences
creative soundscapes
mandala drawing
psychoeducation about the impacts of trauma, interpersonal neurobiology, the stress response cycle
These are all processes that you will be invited to participate in as you feel comfortable.
**No writing, music listening, movement or drawing experience are required (whilst you are welcome to, there will be no making you sing or dance here!)**
A felt sense of safety
Your felt sense of safety and confidentiality is at the heart of this trauma-informed program.
This is a small group of other health professionals and educators who understand the vulnerability and courage required in this space.
There is deep respect for this.
You only share what YOU feel comfortable sharing.
We all negotiate the terms of confidentiality within the group.
Baseline essentials are 1) what's said in the group stays in the group and 2) respectful communication at all times.
The rest is determined by participants.
Your felt sense of safety is at the core of each session.
Past participants have enjoyed many of the experiences, but overwhelmingly it has been peer support - the connection with others in a safe space - that has been most appreciated.
I have witnessed the impact of Minky's deeply caring presence in her clinical work.
Minky helps those she works with to feel seen, to feel secure, and to feel safe enough to explore difficult and traumatic experiences.
Leah Crane, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Certified Consultant & Practitioner in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, The Family Collaborative, New York City
These group programs have been organised so that can have an individual check-in prior to commencing the program.
The initial session gives us the time we need to:
Understand where you’re coming from and where you want to be.
Give you ideas and resources that you can start working with right away.
Make sure that this is the right service for you right now.
If you have the relevant cover, you can claim private health insurance rebates with:
Police Health
Emergency Services Health
Bupa
St Lukes Health
Medibank Private
EAP support and NDIS funding may also be available.
Please contact me or your provider to see if you are eligible or of you have any questions.
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