1 Jan 2020 DRAFT

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Ninna Marni
We would like to acknowledge that the land we met on, the land that birthed this
book and the land that bore witness to ReAwaken are the traditional lands of the
Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country.
We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region
and respect the Kaurna people’s continuing cultural, spiritual, physical and
emotional connection with their land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to the elders of the past, the present and to those that are to
come.
ReAwaken Australia
Published by HUMANE Clinic.
Adelaide, South Australia
www.reawakenaustralia.com.au
www.humaneclinic.com.au
First published 2020.
Cover images by Adam Gower @goweradam
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Founded in 2016 The HUMANE clinic is a space that values the autonomy and empowerment
of individuals and provides an alternative to diagnosis led approaches
that medicalise human distress. HUMANE clinic approach seeks to understand and
accept a person as responding in an understandable way in response their unique
experience of being.
Understanding a human being as a unique, autonomous soul, acknowledgement is
made of the many ways an individual might perceive and experience mental distress
or other meaningful reality.
HUMANE clinic values the human to human relationship as an opportunity for an individual
to develop meaning in their life, valuing the process of working through the
story of a person's experience.
Acknowledging that we cannot cure another person, or presume to know what is
wrong with another person, The HUMANE clinic takes the view that the individual
should be the arbiter of their own experiences, the author and teller of their own
story and be in control of their own life journey.
The HUMANE clinic therapeutic approach supports individuals and their networks
who are seeking to make sense of and work through difficulties and challenges.
Counselling and Psychotherapy can be useful to develop deeper understanding of
the origins of our distress and work towards personal meaning and empowerment.
ReAwaken Australia is a natural step on the path of HUMANE clinic seeking to provide
as many different opportunities for people to connect and develop a compassionate
understanding of legitimate human experience.
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Partnering with our friends and collaborators Oryx Cohen (National Empowerment
Centre) and PJ Moynihan (Digital Eyes Film) ReAwaken Australia was born and has
provided a platform to continue our approach of connection, compassion and meaningful
action to change in our communities.
The latest project from HUMANE clinic, inspired by ReAwaken is the Centre for Human
Relations (www.humanrelations.com.au). 2020 will see the Centre for Human Relations
deliver a Certificate in Psychotherapy Skills and Theory based in nonpathologizing
HUMANE approaches to understanding humane distress and meaning
alongside the development of a national register of people working with people in
HUMANE approaches.
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These contributors have
brought the ReAwaken eBook
to life in the spirit of mutual
connection.
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ReAwaken Australia was made possible thanks to the generous support of our
Sponsors:
Organizing partners:
HUMANE CLINIC
National Empowerment Centre
Digital Eyes Film
Principal sponsors:
HUMANE CLINIC
Uniting Communities
Gold level sponsors:
Uniting SA
Silver level sponsors:
Life without Barriers
SA mental Health commission
VMIAC
National Empowerment Centre (US)
Skylight
Other sponsors:
ISPS
LELAN
Community Health Onkaparinga
Sunshine Coast Mind & Neuroscience Thompson Institute
Digital Eyes Film
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Contents
Introduction
Where it all began
How Reawaken came to be
Keynote speakers
Meaning manual
Turning point
Workshops and impromptu workshops
Reawaken and Digital Eyes
Just Listening and Sidewalk Talk
The Manifesto concept and final document
The rally at Parliament House
Reflections and ripples
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Foreword
Now five months post our first ReAwaken gathering in Adelaide, Australia, it still
feels quite present and even a part of me. But before I get in to ReAwaken, I’d like
to take a step back and reflect on how a few of us ended up on the other side of
the world reawakening our connection and compassion for each other, and leading
to so many meaningful actions.
For me it began 20 years ago, when I experienced my first altered state that some
term “psychosis.” Looking for alternatives to a western medical view that views
these experiences as meaningless and pathological, I found a vibrant mental health
consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement, what I like to call the Mad Pride Movement
here in the United States. It has been a privilege to work in this movement
for over two decades now, and during that time I have seen thousands of people,
including myself, make amazing transformations in their lives. People who have
been written off by the rest of society as “severely and chronically mentally ill,” who
have reclaimed their lives and identities, and are now activists, employees, healers,
community leaders, home owners, spouses, and loving parents. Witnessing and living
this untold story of hope and healing, and seeing how this flies in the face of
the popular belief of chronic disease, deterioration, and early death, I began to get
interested in film, particularly documentaries, as a medium that can convey such alternative
narratives to a wide audience. So when I met, PJ Moynihan, a professional
filmmaker who had similar values, but at the time was unfamiliar with our movement,
it was like it was meant to be. Over the course of about six years we produced
a film called Healing Voices, which has been opening up new, more hopeful
ways of looking at mental health for tens of thousands of people across the globe
in a few short years since it was released.
In one small corner of the world in South Australia, Healing Voices has had perhaps
its largest impact with several screenings and inspiring the development of local initiatives,
including an alternative to emergency rooms, which is now becoming a reality.
PJ and I have been blessed to be able to befriend two of the principal leaders
of these initiatives, Matt Ball and Stephanie Mitchell of the Humane Clinic. And it is
through this connection that the meaningful action of the ReAwaken Conference
was born.
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I think a big part of what makes ReAwaken special is rooted first in the depth of
connection between the organizers. Through regular video chats, the four of us
have taken the time to really connect on a soul level. We have gotten to know each
other’s families and now we are family. Yes, we all share similar visions and values,
but without the truly amazing connection we have, ReAwaken could have been just
another conference.
Now to the conference itself. It was important to the organizers that ReAwaken
was inspired by the film Healing Voices, but not about the film. We all felt ReAwaken
needed to be its own thing. The basis of the ReAwaken concept is that our society
is asleep in many ways. We have been growing more and more disconnected
from each other and the environment and are now in some sort of collective psychosis.
ReAwaken Australia was to bring leaders from the mental health, trauma,
and addiction fields to have an open and honest dialogue about where we are at
and where we should be going.
I’m happy to say we accomplished the goal of bringing these leaders together, but
we wanted to accomplish something more. We wanted to live this reawakening in
real time. This is why we chose a beautiful retreat center in the countryside rather
then a hotel in the city. This is why we chose to meet for a full week and discourage
attending for just one day. This is why we chose to limit the number of participants.
This is why we limited the number of presentations and encouraged every
presenter to include an interactive component. This is why we included film
presentations followed by dialogues each evening. This is why we had so many creative
outlets, free time, and opportunities to connect. This is why we had the home
groups for people to connect with throughout the conference. This is why the organizers
decided to live communally in “The Den” right on the conference site,
which was such a beautiful, connected, and fun experience. This is why we chose
the themes of connection, compassion, and meaningful action. And I think this is
why ReAwaken still lives and breathes in my veins and I am brought to tears just
writing this. Because ReAwaken went beyond my hopes and dreams and my soul
connection went beyond our core group of organizers to literally all 110 people who
attended. I have never experienced anything like it. Yet I think what I experienced
there is what all humans crave and what we have lost as we have moved from living
tribally and communally to industrialized and profoundly disconnected.
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I hope as you read this book that you too are inspired by it, our Manifesto, and other
meaningful actions, and it leads you to create your own ReAwaken events that
will lead to more amazing connections and meaningful actions. To me ReAwaken
goes way beyond just mental health, trauma, and addiction. To me the future of
humanity depends on this reawakening.
Oryx Cohen
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The story of ReAwaken Australia
The story of ReAwaken really begins with the film ‘Healing Voices’, produced by Digital
Eyes Film. HUMANE Clinic Co-Directors Matt and Stephanie watched the film and
subsequently ran a successful film screening of ‘Healing Voices’. From there, skype
conversations with PJ (Digital Eyes Film), Oryx (Chief Operating Officer, National Empowerment
Center), Matt and Stephanie gave birth to the idea of creating a mental
health conference. HUMANE Clinic is committed to changing the conversation and
REAWAKEN could demonstrate the power of connection, compassion and meaningful
action to this change
With Matt, Stephanie, PJ and Oryx, the organising leaders began. Many plans evolved
and PJ, along with his colleague (and cousin) Ben Caron, filmed daily at ReAwaken,
as well as conducting interviews with attendees and speakers in preparation for a
documentary about the event.
The vision of ReAwaken is that mental health, trauma and addiction experiences do
not occur in isolation. ReAwaken as a movement explores the knowledge base and
experiential journey of social connection, compassion and meaningful action. These
three themes underpin the spirit and value of the workshops and all other aspects
of Reawaken Australia.
ReAwaken Australia was the first event in a series of international events around
these themes. The event was hosted by HUMANE Clinic in collaboration with the
National Empowerment Centre (USA) and Digital Eyes Film. ReAwaken Australia offered
spaces for learning and hearing from presenters, as well as a collective space
for hearing from each other as a community. All presentations offered a reflective
space within their workshops and twice daily community forums were held to bring
together ideas from the conference community. ReAwaken is founded on the belief
that change occurs within communities of support and mutual influence. A central
aim of ReAwaken Australia was for the conference community to move together towards
meaningful and tangible outcomes that each of us could take home to our
own communities. This is reflected in the ReAwaken Manifesto. The conference also
aimed to empower people to stay connected within the communities they created
at the conference, to continue to build momentum for change and social support.
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ReAwaken – The Heart of the Matter by Stephanie Mitchell
For me ReAwaken is not a once off event. It is part of a larger movement and momentum
that is interested in healing what has gone so terribly wrong in our mental
health and addictions spaces and in our society more broadly. Human healing and
societal healing and even environmental healing only occurs in connection.
Our world is caught in a destructive vortex of disconnection. We are disconnected
from ourselves and our hearts and our spirits. We are disconnected from our neighbours.
We are disconnected from the land we live on. We are separated by labels of
sick and well and like me and not like me and the haves and have nots.
Many people attempt to reform and bring change from the top. Attempting to influence
government and policy. Many thousands of hours and many millions of dollars
are spent on this each year. It is my belief that change comes from the ground up.
We change through community. A ground swell of connection that sends a ripple of
influence to those around us.
Social change happens when those who were formerly oppressed are empowered,
where new narratives begin to emerge in our social spaces and only through community.
My motivation in bringing 110 people together for 4.5 days to find spaces of connection
and compassion was not to simply have a love-fest, it was that as we spent
time together things were stirred up in each of us that have allowed us to go back
into our communities and continue the focus on connection. Small and large projects
have sprung up.
We have heard stories of transformation as people experienced themselves and
others differently during 4.5 days of not differentiating between 'sick and well',
'service users or professionals'.... we were all simply humans sharing a space together
thinking about what it might be like to find our way more easily through this
journey of life, if we could really hear ourselves and each other more deeply.
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There were tears and laughter and listening and challenge and talk about all manner
of things that are often taboo. What emerged was a deep space of acceptance that
allowed people to consider what might be possible in their own towns or cities, if
we sat in spaces of being together in mutuality.
At the heart of it all was the knowing that healing is a normal part of life when we
come together on the journey.
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The ReAwaken Manifesto for Compassionate Change
As part of the meaningful action aspect of ReAwaken, the need to carry forward the
messages and meaning found in the ReAwaken community were important. The
concept of the Manifesto was inspired by the work of Mary O’Hagan and the Manifesto
she produced in New Zealand. However, this document was intended to capture
the experience of the attendees each day as they were invited to reflect on the
keynote and other workshops for the day to provide input into the document that
evolved during the ReAwaken week.
The intention was to ensure that input into the document was available to all and
everyone who attended and heard a narrative at the event. The themes of connection
and compassion were central and the Manifesto was a positive way of ensuring
meaningful action that could be freely available to wider communities seeking more
humane , non pathologising ways to find connection and compassion in supporting
one another on mutual journey of mental health , trauma and addiction.
The ReAwaken Manifesto was born out of a week-long gathering of international
leaders in mental health, addiction, and trauma at the inaugural ReAwaken conference,
ReAwaken Australia, which took place 8-12 April, 2019 in Adelaide, South Australia.
The manifesto reflects the collective work and vision of these leaders. ReAwaken
recognizes that our society is asleep in many ways, more isolated than ever
from each other and the environment, which has led to ineffective and often harmful
polices and practices in the fields of mental health, trauma and addiction. We call
for a great reawakening of the human spirit, a reclaiming of our narratives, and a
reconnection with our fellow travellers and the earth. We know this is possible because
we have achieved this in one short week, having created a beautiful, safe, inclusive,
and loving community in one small corner of the world.
As a call to action, we express a critical need for connection, compassion, and meaningful
response to these issues, which affect our lives, our families, and our communities.
We call on political leaders and citizens to hear our collective voice, and to
take action in a manner consistent with our shared desire to promote the health
and welfare of the populace.
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Manifesto for compassionate change
The ReAwaken community acknowledges that this document was developed on the lands of the Kaurna people and we respect the
spiritual relationship with their country. We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region and
pay respect to elders past and present.
We are guided by a set of core beliefs and values that include:
1) The current medical model is not working, in fact data suggests that since the
introduction of the biomedical approach to mental health and addiction, these very
conditions have skyrocketed;
2) Healing happens through connected relationships and in community;
3) The importance of all aspects of intersectionality, including that mental health, trauma,
and addiction are universal and interconnected;
4) There is no sick and no well, only a continuum of human experience;
5) People’s pain does not occur in a vacuum, instead it is often caused by greater societal
problems such as poverty, violence, environmental destruction, broken institutions, etc.
6) People who have been labeled with mental health conditions, addiction problems,
and/or trauma survivors have wisdom in their experience and need to be deeply
listened to;
7) Experiences labeled as “psychotic” or “pathological” actually have meaning and have the
potential to be explored and integrated into people’s lives as a part of the healing
process;
8) Policies should be guided by people with lived experience (Nothing about us without
us);
9) Every human is a whole person with the potential to heal and contribute to their
communities in meaningful ways;
10) We value self-determination or our right to choose what is best for us, including taking
or not taking drugs/medications;
11) Our communities are safer, more sustainable, and more enjoyable places to live when
every person is valued, supported, and listened to.
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Rooted in these beliefs and values, ReAwaken has the following aims:
1) A great shift from a medical focus on “fixing” individuals to transforming oppressive
social structures in to healing communities where all people are valued;
2) In shifting to a social perspective, we recognize true causes of emotional distress and
addiction include intergenerational trauma, child abuse, sexual violence, bullying,
family violence, poverty, racism, and environmental destruction;
3) The creation of a vast array of programs, services, and communities where we stop
putting people in to silos, but instead where authentic connection and compassion
for others and the environment is central;
4) Shifting our culture to honor and learn from diverse people and perspectives,
including indigenous peoples, rather than a one size fits all colonial approach;
5) The creation of polices that allow people to discover what works for them in the
context of healing communities rather than having treatments imposed upon them.
The ReAwaken Manifesto was born out of a week-long gathering of international
leaders in mental health, addiction, and trauma at the inaugural ReAwaken conference,
ReAwaken Australia, which took place 8-12 April, 2019 in Adelaide, South Australia. The
manifesto reflects the collective work and vision of these leaders. ReAwaken recognizes that
our society is asleep in many ways, more isolated than ever from each other and the
environment, which has led to ineffective and often harmful polices and practices in the fields
of mental health, trauma and addiction. We call for a great reawakening of the human spirit, a
reclaiming of our narratives, and a reconnection with our fellow travelers and the earth. We
know this is possible because we have achieved this in one short week, having created a
beautiful, safe, inclusive, and loving community in one small corner of the world.
As a call to action, we express a critical need for connection, compassion, and
meaningful response to these issues, which affect our lives, our families, and our communities.
We call on political leaders and citizens to hear our collective voice, and to take action in a
manner consistent with our shared desire to promote the health and welfare of the populace.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this Manifesto may not be endorsed or shared by everyone who has attended Reawaken events.
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Keynote Presentations
Matt Ball - Dissociachotic: Seeing the non-psychosis
that we share
Dissociachotic is about coming to understand the dissociative
nature of what is usually called psychosis and seeing how psychosis
evaporates within the context of safe relational spaces.
Matt Ball is a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, psychotherapist,
trainer and Co-Director at the HUMANE Clinic. He is interested
in 'psychosis', trauma and human to human responses
to personal distress and meaning. Matt was awarded the 2017 Australian Mental
Health Nurse of the Year for his work in this area.
To watch this keynote address click here
Stephanie Mitchell - Compassion for “Borderline"
Coming from a place of compassion when working with people
often labelled with “Borderline Personality Disorder”
should be the basis of all clinical and non-clinical practice. Unfortunately
individuals with diagnosises of BPD are often
some of the most maligned in our health services. In this
workshop we consider the attachment needs and legitimately
adaptive behaviour of individuals who have often experienced
complex trauma and significant attachment disruption in early life. Participate in
conversations around responsive and compassionate approaches to understanding
and being alongside individuals experiencing deep distress.
Stephanie Mitchell is a Co-Director of the HUMANE Clinic and a psychotherapist who
specializes in working with people who have experienced complex trauma and labels
of 'borderline personality disorder' and 'psychosis'. Stephanie has extensive experience
facilitating therapeutic groups and is interested in how healing occurs in the
human to human relationship.
To watch this keynote address click here
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Oryx Cohen - The wisdom of wounded healers
As a human species, we are currently experiencing a global crisis:
we are destroying our planet, we are killing each other,
physical and sexual abuse are pandemic, and suicide rates are
at an all time high. In this interactive keynote workshop we
will explore how profound disconnection may be at the root of
this crisis and how healing can come from an unexpected
source: The Wounded Healer.
Oryx Cohen, is a leader in the international mental health consumer/survivor/expatient
(c/s/x) and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the National Empowerment
Center (NEC). Oryx is both the co-producer, and subject in, the award winning
documentary HEALING VOICES. Oryx speaks and conducts trainings nationally and internationally
on such topics as Hearing Voices, Trauma, and Recovery and is a lead
trainer for Emotional CPR.
To watch this keynote click here
PJ Moynihan - Constructing (and de-constructing)
social mythology through media
Media is powerful, and shapes our relationship to everything
from the products we consume, to social issues, to our sense
of self worth, and even how we relate to one another. Media
builds temples. It also destroys them. In the information age,
our ability to consciously dissect and consume media-driven
information is a crucial, refined skill. This original interactive workshop/
presentation from Digital Eyes Film explores the origins of our contemporary mental
health, addiction, and trauma narratives in western culture, including the ways and
means by which embedded ideologies can be deconstructed through media and social
action, in order to improve public health conditions in our communities and society-at-large.
PJ Moynihan is founder and CEO of Digital Eyes Film, a full services media company
specializing in social impact documentary, feature films, and independent distribution.
He is the award winning writer, director and producer of HEALING VOICES and
RECOVERING ADDICTION.
To watch this keynote click here
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Prof. Bernard Guerin - Contextualizing ‘mental health’
behaviours, talking and thinking: Turning mental health
inside-out
Psychology and psychiatry have always explained human behaviour
as arising from within a person, and this is implicit in
current models of mental health and interventions. When we
expand our ideas and observations of people’s external worlds
to include the social, economic, patriarchal, cultural, and opportunity
contexts in which they are embedded, we can view
mental health issues as arising from painful or stressful situations in which a person
has become trapped. To intervene, we must change the person’s contexts (where
we can) rather than superficially treat them as internal problems or brain diseases.
Bernard Guerin is Professor of Psychology at the University of South Australia,
where he teaches social and community behaviour, language and discourse, and social
science interventions. He has published eight books and his research has focused
on working alongside communities, in partnership with Indigenous Australian,
Māori, Somali refugee, and migrate communities.
Indigo Daya - A Clarion Call: Stop Hurting, Start Helping!
The time is NOW. After decades of activism, the consumer/
survivor movement is in a period of bright and creative growth.
We will no longer accept being passive recipients. We will call
out systemic abuses. We have unparalleled expertise and drive.
In this passionate talk, Indigo will reflect on the themes of Reawaken
Australia, and her experience from 14 years of consumer/survivor activism.
What CAN we do? What MUST we do?
Indigo Daya is Human Rights advisor at Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council
(VMIAC) and a Research Fellow at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute. She has
lived experience of trauma, madness and coercive mental health services, and has
used her experiences in leadership roles across the mental health sector, academia
and government for over fourteen years.
To watch this keynote click here
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Monya Murch - Reconnect and rehumanise, a response
to the impact of trauma and addiction
Any addiction is a secondary issue that comes out of a primary
problem. Addiction does not happen in a vacuum. Our
mainstream approaches to addiction are often limiting and
can be unhelpful in the long-term when their primary focus is on addiction and users
being ‘the problem’, rather than understanding the behaviours as adaptations
to, or symptoms of, (deep) discomfort or a hostile environment. The talk will aim to
allow space for conversations around the impact of trauma, the possibility of reconnection,
and the importance to re-claim one’s humanity.
Monya Murch has a background in social sciences, later specialising in addiction,
trauma-informed practice and perinatal mental health. Monya is currently working
with individuals and families experiencing gambling-related harm and severe mental
distress. She also facilitates weekly therapeutic groups.
Jo Watson - A call to action
Challenging the illness myth promoted by western psychiatry
that uses invalid constructs to pathologise people’s pain and
survival strategies, Jo will share how she has personally experienced
moving from isolation and hopelessness to feeling part
of a massive movement for change. She will tell her story about
how joining with allies in activism was the only congruent way forward for her personally,
politically and professionally and will encourage others to consider whether
the same could apply to them.
Jo Watson is a psychotherapist and activist with a history in the U.K. Rape Crisis
movement of the 1990s. She has worked therapeutically for the last 24 years with
those who have been victims of sexual abuse/violence and has campaigned on
women’s survivor issues for the past 3 decades. Jo actively challenges the biomedical
model of ‘mental health’, arguing that emotional distress and suffering is primarily
a result of what people have experienced, which all too often arises within
social injustices that need to be named. Jo is the organizer of the one day event A
Disorder For Everyone! with Dr Lucy Johnstone and is part of the Mad in the U.K.
team. Jo is also a founding member of ‘United for Integrity in Mental Health’ (UIMH)
(due to be launched in 2019) and creator of the Drop the Disorder! Facebook group.
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Arrivals from America — Reawaken partners Oryx Cohen and PJ Moynihan
(above) and last minute checklists with Matt Ball and Stephanie Mitchell (below).
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Pre-conference preparations at the HUMANE Clinic.
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YELLAKA — Old Wisdom New Ways. Welcome to Country and opening
ReAwaken with knowledge for all those gathered..
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Oryx Cohen delivering his keynote presentation (above) and South Australian
Mental Health Commissioner, Chris Burns, offering his support and
encouragement for the ReAwaken alternative in mental health, addiction and
trauma (below).
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Home groups: building community and connection through reflection on keynotes
and workshops. An alternative to relentless presentations and the conference
treadmill. Making sense of new learnings and new connection towards meaningful
action.
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MC David Mitchell (above). Daily panels bringing together all the workshops and
speakers to reconnect the community at the end of each day (below).
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Professor Bernard Guerin—exploring environment internal and external. Bernard is a
local South Australian Professor who is moving the conversation towards meaning
making and away from the diagnostic narrative (above). NEED CAPTION BELOW
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INSERT CAPTION HERE
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Spaces and environment creating community connection– Learnings for the mental
health system?
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Spaces and environment creating community connection– Learnings for the mental
health system?
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CAPTION FOR ABOVE Producer, Director and wonderful human—PJ Moynihan delivers a
key note on
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Monya Murch—reconnecting and rehumanising in the addiction space—understanding
with compassion and connection (above). Filming for the ReAwaken documentary (below)
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International friends developed through coming together to talk about our lives, the
lives of our communities and the spirit of new connections.
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Impromptu ReAwaken awards — Celebrating awesome people for being awesome.
Presentation to community member Tracey Booth (above).
HUMANE Clinic Co-Directors Matt Ball and Stephanie Mitchell (below).
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Hanging in connection. Making friends, sharing stories and being in community.
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Preparations to expose the evidence. Getting ready for Indigo Daya to share her
wisdom and knowledge (above).
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The Great Debate
hosted by
Amanda Waegili
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Coming together to close the circle of connection, compassion and our meaningful
actions in mental health addiction and trauma
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The Meaning Manual: re-writing the DSM - an interactive
art project
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, more commonly known
as the DSM, is written by Psychiatrists and medical professionals to label and diagnose
people. This Art project aims to transform an old DSM to capture the narratives
and meaning behind human distress. The Meaning Manual will be created by the
community for the community to capture alternate explanations of distress including
the complexity, meaning and hope of the human experience.
We invite all community members to choose a page from the DSM to transform by
using altered art journaling techniques. Local artists will be available to assist you to
paint, draw, stick, write, stamp, collage and create your way through this transformational
process. All levels of creativity are welcome. The Meaning Manual will be
placed on display at the Reawaken festival and at other events in the future to facilitate
conversations around this new narrative crafted by our community.
The Meaning Manual is facilitated by Jane Ellis. Jane is first and
foremost a human being. Jane is a passionate Acro Yogi and an
active community member who enjoys fancy tea and cheese.
Through her personal experiences and life journey including
trauma and childhood trauma she has developed a strong passion
for advocacy, human rights, creative community engagement
and trauma. Jane has a background in crisis support work,
peer work and systemic advocacy at a local level and in mental
Health Policy within the consumer and carer spaces. Jane has recently won the role
of Consumer Consultant for Uniting SA in an advocacy, community engagement and
lived experience workforce development role.
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The Meaning Manual at
Re-Awaken
The Meaning Manual (TMM) is a collection of explanations, stories and narratives behind Mental
Illness human distress.
You’re invited to transform a page from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Illness
with your own narrative, explanation or story.
Some guiding questions to help create your new narrative:
• Think about a disorder/ label of Mental Illness you would like to transform and why.
• This may be from your personal story or more broadly.
• Consider an alternate story, narrative or message you would like to express in place of the
label from the label you have chosen.
• Explore words, sentences or images that may help express the meaning, story, narrative or
message.
You are welcome to express your new narrative/explanation/story on top of the DSM page in any
way you like, it may be a:
• Word
• Image
• Colour
• Collages
• Written poem
• Story
• Comic strip
Let your imagination go wild….
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The Turning Point Project
The inspiration for the Turning Point Project came to Ross from reading other people’s
stories and an acknowledgement of how powerful and transformative that was
for his own recovery. This project is an opportunity for participants of Reawaken to
come together and share personal experiences in community. While it will
acknowledge the darkness in people lives and the world, ultimately, it will be a compilation
of gems, reflecting the many facets of recovery.
This collaboratively produced document seeks to connect us with ourselves and each
other, and in this process help create healing and positive change.
Ross Marshall is a Peer Support Worker for Uniting SA. He
has a passion for working with people, and does this in his
current role by walking alongside individuals who are engaged
with the South Australian, public mental health system.
Being in relationship with others and the mutual learning
that takes place - using our Lived Experience - is what
keeps Ross motivated. Being part of Reawaken is consistent
with his commitment to building community; A community
where vulnerability is viewed as a strength and power imbalances
are acknowledged and used for good, encouraging people to realise their
abilities and giving them the freedom to make choices.
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Just listening is simple – two people sitting or standing together, a listener and a
person with a story to share. This approach can be facilitated anywhere, any time
and in any community. Just Listening aims to demonstrate the value of connection
through listening and being heard.
Listening can offer justice to both the person narrating their personal reality and to
the person listening. In the process of deep listening we hear both ourselves and
the other person and can honour the truth of each person.
Just Listening is a free community listening project that seeks to offer justice in listening
and connection through this meaningful action.
At ReAwaken a Just Listening station was established, consisting of two chairs and a
Just Listening banner. Participants were encouraged to take up one of these chairs
at any stage during the week if they felt like being a listener, thereby inviting anyone
that had something to share to sit down and tell their story. While Just Listening
can take place in any setting, the themes covered during the week long conference
meant that this opportunity to share, be heard, listen and connect were particularly
valuable for people.
Along with just listening, we also had the lovely listeners from Sidewalk Talk lending
some ears. Jeff Simmons, Paul Shultz, Sharon McGann and Debbie Dunn. The Sidewalk
Talk sign and chairs were set up on the lawns in front of the Monastery. With
the same invitation from the organisers to go and talk with Jeff, Debbie, Paul or
Sharon whenever they felt inclined.
Sidewalk Talk is not in anyway associated with Just Listening, but is under the same
concept. “Two San Francisco therapists shared a vision: to help heal that
which divides us through the fine art of skilled listening.” Extract from
https://www.sidewalk-talk.org/about.html
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Side Walk Talk to Just Listening. Doing it anyway as
South Australia offers its own version of the US
approach to hearing with justice and intention
www.justlistening.com.au
www.sidewalk-talk.org
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Workshops and Impromptu Workshops
While ReAwaken hosted speakers from around Australia and the world, there was
also the opportunity for anyone attending ReAwaken to run their own ’impromptu
workshop’ alongside those offered by the pre-planned speakers. Spaces and time
were allocated to be flexible for anyone that had an idea to put their hand up.
In keeping with the theme of ReAwaken, creating connection through meaningful
action, the impromptu workshop concept invited people to facilitate a workshop
that they had not applied to host before the event. The idea, taken from the Working
to Recovery camp in 2015, intentionally supported people who might have been
inspired or evoked by another workshop at ReAwaken to host a workshop of their
own.
As such, time was made available in the program and a proforma document was developed
to support first time presenters or anyone who wanted a framework to
support their impromptu workshop.
The spirit of reawaken meant that embracing whatever arose for people was the
most important experience we could share. For this reason impromptu workshops
had both symbolic and practical value. One might also consider that the impromptu
narratives that emerged between attendees formed something of a community
workshop for the 5 days—learnings shared and carried onwards.
The pre-planned workshops that were offered during ReAwaken Australia are detailed
in the following pages.
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Cherie McGregor - Academia is a vital tool for Lived
Experience systems-change activism
The mental health system is driven by a commitment to evidence-based
practice which prioritises knowledge produced
through academic research and published in peer reviewed
journals. Academia is also responsible for the education and
qualification of the health professionals, researchers and policy
makers that guide decision-making and service delivery in
the mental health system. For these reasons it is essential that Lived Experience
systems change activists have a recognizable voice in the research and education.
This interactive workshop will explore the role that activism in the academic space
can play in further driving Lived Experience systems change agendas.
Chérie McGregor is currently the Consumer Services Coordinator for the Sunshine
Coast Mind and Neuroscience Thompson Institute. Chérie is also a Lived Experience
systems change advocate in the public mental health system, a Lived Experience academic
and works in commissioning mental health services for a regional PHN.
Andrew Fort – Psychiatric dug withdrawal, listening to
the voices of (Lived) Experience
Psychiatric drugs can be helpful in many people’s experience,
whilst others have found them either ineffective, or quite
harmful. Many people are looking for support to reduce or
come off their psychiatric drugs, or to help them deal with existing
withdrawal effects from these drugs. Finding this support
can be really challenging. Many prescribers don’t understand
the potential intensity of these experiences; misunderstanding them as signs
of relapse, or symptoms of another ‘illness’, or labelling people seeking this support
as ‘non-compliant’ or lacking insight.
Andrew works in private practice to support people seeking to negotiate these challenging
experiences. While the ‘evidence’ presents narratives of mild, short-term
‘discontinuation syndrome', Andrew sees and hears the diversity of people's experience.
Andrew is a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and therapist, committed to
finding gentler ways to help people in distress. He has a particular interest in experiences
commonly called ‘psychosis’, and in the healing power of human connection
and relationship.
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Liz Asser - Self directed recovery: User’s manual
Often when we find ourselves overcome by life and its circumstances
we can experience a disconnection from self
which manifests in periods of emotional distress, substance
abuse and destruction of relationships with others and ourselves.
This is often why we seek help from family, friends,
counsellors or other professionals. Realising this about ourselves can be powerful in
transforming how we self direct our recovery process. This session will explore developing
your own Wellness and Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to determine your
goals and values and give thought to how these might be realized using what you
know has worked for you and discovering new ways of being your authentic self.
Liz Asser has been a teacher for over 25 years and currently teaches Mental Health
at TAFE in Queensland. Liz is passionate about advocacy for person centred support
services and the employment of peer support workers. Liz’s practice as a trainer,
counsellor and champion of self determination is informed by her own lived experience
and diagnosis.
Joanne Newman - Trauma, hearing voices & becoming a
compassionate agent of change
In this workshop, Joanne will explore her journey of becoming
an agent of change, sharing what she found helpful and what
has helped others in their journey towards healing. This included
the important role of self-compassion and compassionate
responses to the experience of human distress. Joanne is a
lived experience educator, activist and advocate. She has experience of trauma,
emotional distress and hearing voices and received the burden of a psychiatric diagnosis
at age 19. Healing for her is a personal, ongoing journey, of which hearing
voices is an integral part. Discovering the Hearing Voices Movement and being a
moderator with “Drop the Disorder!” have been influential in this journey.
Joanne Newman works part-time at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in the Bunbury
Mental Health Unit as a Lived Experience Educator for Social Work. Joanne has also
been a consultant at ECU - Joondalup within Occupational Therapy and was a prime
developer of an ECU film project. She has contributed to academic research & presented
at several conferences.
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Ellie Hodges - Lived Experience: what does it even mean?
So often the path to liberation is divided as different needs
take priority. This talk will explore what is meant by “lived experience”,
peer work and the plethora of clinical and professional
labels that lead to the division of people in the mental
health, trauma and addiction environments. Participants will
be encouraged to think about how we can work towards a
shared goal of compassion and connection while rejecting
deficit based approaches. The workshop will focus on our
common values and shared beliefs, and how we can all be heard in journeys of recovery
and hope.
Ellie has worked for twenty years in the community and mental health sectors as a
community development lead, therapeutic practitioner, manager, educator, advisor,
strategy/policy worker and consultant. For the past three years she has been an active
lived experience representative, leader and speaker at state and national level.
Ellie founded the Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network (LELAN).
Matt Ball and Stephanie Mitchell - Do it anyway
The discussion since the beginning of the consumer
movement has been about how we shift systems
and institutions towards personal recovery. But has
the time come to ask – should we still invite the institutions
of psychiatry and politics to be part of the
conversation of human distress, mental health,
trauma and addiction?
Taking action is the process by which we can feel
and experience the spirit of Cesar Chevez when he stated: “Once social change begins
it cannot be reversed, you cannot uneducate the person who has learned to
read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people
who are not afraid any more. We have seen the future and the future is ours.”
Do It Anyway will explore having an idea and enacting it towards social change.
From Healing Voices to Re-Awaken Australia – making change happen is a priority.
Matt Ball and Stephanie Mitchell are Co-Directors of HUMANE Clinic. There is more
information about Matt and Stephanie in the Keynote Presentation section.
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Suicide – Do we even know what we are doing about it?
As the world embraces the public health crisis of suicide, many of the same models
of crisis intervention are being shaped towards a narrative of zero suicide. This work
shop will invite discussion and collaboration on some of the following questions:
• Why do we always forget the human suffering of the suicidal experience?
• Should the focus shift from crisis management to formulating understanding of
the origins of suicide as well as crisis support?
• How do we talk more openly about suicide in relation to trauma and addiction
without applying restrictive mental health approaches?
• How do we keep connection and compassion as the central themes while being
with a person in distress around ending their life?
Amber Rules - The importance of Supporting the Whole Family When Addiction
is Present
Historically, support and treatment for people who use substances
or experience process/behavioural addictions (such as
gambling) has frequently been provided solely to the usingperson.
Research indicates that treatment outcomes for the using-person
improve when family members also receive psychoeducation
and counselling. Through the lens of the Re-Awaken
themes, this workshop will look at the following: The importance
of connection between self, the family system, “professional”
supports and community as vital components of change; the role of compassion toward
self, others and toward the phenomenon of addiction in the healing journey;
the path toward safe, thoughtful and meaningful action for individuals, families,
community members and clinicians who are impacted by addiction; Practical, applicable
strategies to support change and healing, whether you are an individual, family
member or clinician (or all three).
Amber Rules is a Sydney-based psychotherapist and counsellor who works with individuals
and families impacted by substance use and potentially addictive behaviours
(such as gambling). Amber specialises in support and education for family
members. She has lived experience of family addiction and intergenerational trauma,
and draws on this in her clinical practice.
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Judith de Lang - Revisiting the forgotten ACE Outcomes
Is it possible to achieve meaningful progress for a client with a
history of childhood trauma in three workplace-mandated sessions?
This workshop uses a case study to demonstrate the
impact of The Bower Place Model genogram and explores the
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire . During the
workshop, participants will be able to discover their own ACE
score as well as a powerful way of connecting with a client
while composing a unique style of genogram.
Judith de Lang has a Doctorate in Counselling and is particularly excited by emerging
research in the area of neuro-plasticity. The evidence from this field highlights
the urgent need for trauma-informed practice across all human service agencies. Judith
is currently employed in a government regional health service where she undertakes
various roles as clinician, educator, consultant and supervisor.
Amanda Waegeli and Chérie McGregor - The PEER in Peer Supported Open
Dialogue
In the mid-1980s, Open Dialogue was developed as an alternative to treatment-asusual
for psychosis in Western Lapland, Finland. The model has been so successful it
has become the standard mental health treatment in the region and is gaining momentum
internationally. Intentional Peer Support has emerged internationally as a
powerful peer support framework since it was founded in the USA in the 1990s.
These two approaches are combined in facilitating Peer Supported Open Dialogue to
offer a powerful combination of tools and philosophies to rethink how we connect
and include family and friends in supporting people experiencing extreme distress
and unshared realities. There is a strong alignment between the values that are
commonly recognised as 'peer ethos' and Open Dialogue. This interactive workshop
will explore the underpinning values and identify the vital role that peer support
plays in facilitating an open dialogue process when supporting people who experience
the effects of trauma addiction and mental distress. In this workshop participants
will have the opportunity to learn some of the skills of Peer Supported Open
Dialogue. The call to meaningful action will be an invitation to workshop participants
to take these skills and use them in their everyday interactions with family,
friends and the people they work with.
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Maggie Toko & Becky Myers - 2 Nations Yarning and Korero about indigenous
women's mental health
Maggie Toko is a Maori woman from Aotearoa. She is the CEO
of the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and has a
lived experience of mental health. Maggie is passionate about
human rights and has made a life time commitment to fight
injustice whenever she can.
Becky Myers is an aboriginal Arrernte
women from Alice Springs living in Adelaide,
currently working as Case Worker in Mental Health &
Disability and Drug and Alcohol misuses. Becky is very passionate
about the rights of all people, loves the work she dose
for aboriginal women dealing with Mental Health and is very
committed to support those in need.
Michael Sheehan - Whatever happened to hope-inspiring environments?
The compassion deficit in mental health care.
Current mental health policy and practice does not appear to
prioritise the development of compassionate contexts, as evidenced
by a wide imbalance of power in mental health services,
a lack of tolerance for ‘difference’ and an imperative to
deal decisively with ‘problematic’ clients. Additionally political
and societal concerns prioritise the need to control risk and
uncertainty, resulting in an inherently coercive mental health framework. The alternative
is to create compassionate and hope-inspiring environments in which people
experiencing mental distress can develop their own unique ways of accepting and
living with (or recovering from) their mental health difficulties.
Michael Sheehan is currently Executive Director at Relationships Australia Western
Australia and oversees its Family Mental Health, Domestic Violence and Child Contact
Services. For over 25 years, he has held senior management positions within the
community services sector. His skills and experience include policy development and
review, clinical supervision, university lecturing and liaising with government and
non–government agencies and various key reference groups.
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Amanda Waegeli - The Great Debate: To Re Awaken or Stay Asleep
To reawaken is the act of awaking from sleep. A revival of interest
or attention. A recognition, realization, or coming into
awareness of something, either personal or as a community. And
yet, with this revival and opportunity for growth comes discomfort;
the painful awareness of how messed up the world is and
that some relationships can not be sustained. So why rock the
boat? Perhaps we’re better off not making a fuss about reawakening. Perhaps it’s
better to accept things as they are and to try and find some peace in our slumber.
Haven’t we suffered enough? Facilitated by Amanda, two debating teams will explore
these issues and present their arguments to either reawaken or to stay asleep.
Amanda is a lived experience practioner, who has worked in the Mental Health sector
in various roles for over ten years. She uses her own lived experiences of mental
distress and personal recovery to influence change and improvement in mental
health practice. She has her own successful private business; Mental Health Recovery
Training and Consultancy.
Klaire McClorey and Kane Spooner - Power Threat Meaning Framework
Over a five-year period, a group of senior psychologists
from the UK, in collaboration with service
users and campaigners, have developed the
Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) as an
alternative model to traditional psychiatric diagnosis
for making sense of people's life challenges.
The Framework doesn't just apply to people who
have been engaged with mental health services - it applies to all of us! PTMF summarises
and integrates a great deal of evidence about the role of various kinds of
power in people’s lives, the kinds of threats that misuse of power pose to us and
the ways we have learnt to respond to those threats. This workshop will provide a
brief overview of the model and an exercise to help you get a taste for how it might
be applied in practice.
Klaire McClorey and Kane Spooner were Social Work students completing their final
placement with the HUMANE Clinic at the time of ReAwaken. During their placement
they attended a two-day PTMF workshop with co-authors of the model, Lucy Johnstone
and John Cromby.
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Community Connectors and Creatives
Yellaka - Cultural ceremony
Formed in 2015 by Karl Winda Telfer and Sonia Waters, Yellaka -
'Old Wisdom New Ways' was created to transfer ancient Aboriginal
cultural knowledge to our young people. Yellaka provides opportunities
for young people to engage in cultural practice including
story, dance, language, song, cultural camps and walking
country. Yellaka's 16 dancers perform regularly at cultural, community, and major
corporate events and have collaborated widely across Adelaide including the Adelaide
Festival, Adelaide Fringe, AFL Indigenous Round, Tour Down Under, Adelaide
Symphony Orchestra, Ed Sheeran, RCC & the 68th International Astronautical Conference.
Kairos
A contemporary acoustic covers duo comprised of Elyse on
vocals and Luke on the guitar.
Rob de Kok - A poetry reading of original works
Rob is a poet, writer, performer, documentary film maker and
stage director. His works have been published by SAWC,
Heinemann Books, Oxford University Press, Friendly Street
Poets, Wakefield Press, The Weekend Australian Magazine, The
Broadkill Review, eMags in Australia and overseas and on travel blogs. Rob has
taught Professional Writing, Poetry, Short Story, Creative Non-fiction, Film, Stage
and Memoir writing at various South Australian tertiary institutions, in workshops
for the Australian Writers' Guild and the South Australian Writers' Centre and for
community groups. With his partner Sue, Rob runs Rosebud Writing Workshops in
the Adelaide Hills. He continues to write and assists other to self-publish.
Salt & Earth
A genre-bending duet with a passion for social change. Sandy
and Marduk play original tunes inspired by folk, jazz, soul and
flamenco music and covers with a message.
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Digital Eyes Film
Digital Eyes Film was founded in 2003, less than
one year after I graduated from Columbia University.
I did not study film and had no intention
to produce media as a career path. I was a writer
goddammit. But life had other plans. And
through a series of misadventures, I discovered
a joy for shooting and editing and began to
cobble together short films. I had been telling
stories in one form or another my entire life, so
in ways it was a natural progression. Concurrently, documentary film was busting
into the mainstream as a medium to be reckoned with. And so a combination of
personal and external forces collided to set me on the potholed path of life as an
independent producer.
Nearly 15 years on, with countless lessons along the way, our lean and talented
team continues to take great pride in the work we do. Our goal is to entertain.
To educate. To enlighten. Maybe to sneak in a good laugh or two. At Digital Eyes
Film, we produce media with heart. We discover and tell the untold stories. And we
provide audiences, our partners, colleagues, and clients with the personal touch and
breadth of experience that we bring to the table each day. We’re going to continue
to push the boundaries of independent storytelling and distribution, and make
manifest the change that media can create in people’s lives, our communities, and
society. Because goddammit, it’s what we do.”
- PJ Moynihan
www.digitaleyesfilm.com
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Meaningful Action: The Rally by Matt Ball
As we dreamed up what meaningful action might actually look like, we continually
sought to avoid limiting our ideas and choices. Stephanie and I discussed how we
could bring the richness, knowledge and learning of ReAwaken to an ongoing conversation
and statement. How we could connect with people who may not have attended
the 5 days of ReAwaken was a focus Quickly we realized that we had many
brothers and sisters in marginalised communities. And there it was…. a rally.
The next time we spoke to PJ and Oryx for our weekly/fortnightly organising catch
up we shared the idea of a public rally, and inviting community groups to joins us.
The excitement of the idea was vibrant. As the Healing Voices movie says we could
‘bring mental health out of the shadows’, and we had come up with a very visible
and powerful way to do so to end the event. Better still it gave us the opportunity
to make a connection on a wider scale with other groups.
Although the initial idea was a march from Victoria square to parliament, we instead
met on the steps of Parliament and handed over the ReAwaken Manifesto to Katrine
Hildyard, Member for Reynell, SA. Katrine has been a supporter of the community
screenings of Healing Voices, speaking at events and more broadly supporting the
community conversation for change. She agreed to meet us on the Parliament steps
without hesitation and we duly arranged for buses to take willing attendees to the
parliament for the rally.
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During the week the invitation to create placards was supported. Many wore the Re-
Awaken shirts and carried placards, while others handed out copies of the ReAwaken
Manifesto to members of the public in the spirit of new conversations and connection.
The stark reality that emerged during the week was that as the list of those
attending the rally developed, so too did the list of conference participants who felt
it was unsafe to attend – some of whom had even been instructed by employers
that they were not to attend. This group was predominantly people employed by SA
HEALTH who felt their jobs would be at risk had the attended. There is no greater
example of the need to change the conversation from oppression and fear to empowerment
and liberation. Those of us who could attend carried in our hearts the
spirit of those who felt the weight of oppression not to attend.
As we stood to sing Imagine by John Lennon the mix of ardent activism and peaceful
connection worked together to give a voice to our creation from the week. We
had intentionally invited many other groups to join us and witness a small fire on
the steps to pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which the whole
event had been conjured up, delivered, and then marked by the conviviality on the
steps of democracy in our State. Noise, laughter, slogans of empowerment and,
most of all, connection in our community, brought ReAwaken Australia to close with
this meaningful action.
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For those present and involved in the rally, the liberation to speak our truth and walk
together in pride reminded me of the Cesar Chávez quote, ‘once social change begins,
it cannot be reversed’. ReAwaken was born, lived and a was now established as a
connected community of knowing, love, mutual support and learning.
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The final act! Heading to Parliament steps with the Manifesto for Compassionate
Change, our voices, our spirit and our connection to meaningful action
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ReAwaken Ripples
The pieces below are written by some of the amazing people who participated in
ReAwaken. They include reflections on the event itself, as well as the ripple effects
they have observed both personally and within the community as a result of ReAwaken.
‘A utopian experience’ by Suki Marek
Looking back on what was a profound week, I have
many feelings about what it meant to me. I may or
may not label them all, I haven’t decided yet. I went
into opening night not having a clue what to expect
but I just knew I needed to be there. Afterall, it was a
group of consumers and people from the mental
health industry that had some amazing ideas and
plans to improve the system from the inside out.
How great!
I got to know people that I knew briefly from along my journey and I met new
friends. Some who had travelled great distances to be there. As the week went on I
noticed some emotion stirring in me, I think hearing peoples stories and seeing the
emotion through the art pieces felt like my own stories and emotions, it reminded
me of my own experiences and so I could empathize. It made me think how we are
not so different after all. We are all humans with experiences that form who we are
and maybe if we are able to stay in connection with each other then I think in the
end, we will all be ok? I don’t think it needs to be complicated.
I did feel a bit out of my depth at first surrounded by all these amazing change
makers and dreamers. I needed to find my reason for being there. And I found it, for
me I wanted to just take it all in, learn as much as I could. Maybe make some new
friends and most importantly keep my heart and mind open.
My biggest take away from the event was witnessing the impromptu demonstration
of the peer supported open dialogue run by Amanda Waegeli and Cherie McGregor. It
sparked something in me, it worked! And I could see first hand how it worked.
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The simplicity of communication allowing a family dynamic to flow and to be with
the person in distress, It was safe, respectful and incredibly effective. “That’s what I
want to do” I thought to myself as I watched intently. And so that caused me to follow
a study path of Peer Support. And I am forever grateful.
I spent free time in the art space, painting, drawing, playing with different mediums
and exploring expression as a way of processing the things that were coming up for
me. It was an essential element of the conference as it provided an outlet for people
and a place to relax and create. I did not partake in the ‘Meaning Manual’ project,
mainly because I didn’t have an official diagnosis and could not creatively connect
with the process. I did however create an art piece for the ‘Turning Point’ art project.
A turning point in my life was finding the ‘Living beyond a shadow of Abuse’ group.
And so my art piece symbolically represented that.
The rally on the steps of parliament house and presentation of the Manifesto signified
to closing of the week. The reason we had all come together. We wanted
change in the Mental Health system. “Love not drugs” “connection = healing” “I am
not my diagnoses” a few among many of the placards displayed proudly. The singing
of John Lennon’s ‘Give peace a chance’ united us, the chanting, the smiles, the
people stopping to talk to us. Some in tears as they felt exactly the same emotions
that we felt. Now connected by an understanding. It was incredibly powerful being a
part of something so great.
The theme of the four days was connection, compassion and meaningful action. And
the theme rang true, you could see it everywhere you looked. People talking to people,
heart connections. As it should be every day, a bliss bubble. A utopian experience.
A huge thank you to Stephanie and Matt for making me feel welcome and the
amazing efforts from you both and the rest of the team that made it all happen. I
look forward to being a part of Reawaken 2.0.
Suki is a mental health peer support student, a volunteer with the Humane Clinic
and is currently working as a support worker. Suki’s own lived experience deeply informs
her work and study. She has an interest in Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
and is passionate about healing in relation to trauma and abuse.
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ReAwakening Relationships with Emotional CPR (eCPR)
I was given the amazing opportunity to attend the Reawaken Conference. It was utterly
amazing and the first time in my life experience I've seen a community of
strangers unite, resulting in a community of connection, compassion, and friendships.
I also attended the Emotional CPR (for assisting people through emotion crisis)
training that followed the conference.
I felt the desire to express what I have learnt and, apart from that, how it has
changed not only my life but that of my son.
I left the eCPR training with renewed hope and awareness, challenging myself to
bring this amazing therapeutic model into my home. My son is 8 yrs old. He is autistic
with other complex needs. Zion has always found it difficult to self-regulate his
emotions. He has an assistance dog to help him at times. To give you a picture, my
son was having daily, if not more than once a day, meltdowns which were resulting
in some behaviours of concern.
The morning after training, I landed in a situation where I could see the potential
for using eCPR. I was able to sit with my son and use the model of Connect, em-
Power and Revitalise.
Me: Buddy, I can see your feeling very frustrated at the moment.
*nods head in his frustration of not being heard*
Me: I'm feeling frustrated also as I saw ___ chose not to listen and ignore you even
though you tried to use your big voice. I feel proud you did try but, yes, also frustrated
that you weren’t listened to.
*Zion starts calms as I acknowledged his and my own feeling*
Zion growls and states “I am mad. “
Me: Yep, it is okay to be mad as you were being ignored and that is not nice.
Zion starts crying and says “I am mad and sad. “
Me: I am feeling sad too as I can see you really tried and were so brave.
Zion reaches out for a hug, we hug.
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Now normally this would have escalated to the point of a meltdown where behaviours
of concerns would have come into play. This time I was not there to fix the
problem but just to acknowledge and sit with those not-nice feelings.
We've used this model now for 3 weeks and we haven't had ANY behaviours of concerns.
It has opened up my son's understanding that having emotions is okay and it
is safe to be able to sit with another, connect together and be in a space of empowerment
and healing. I have even expanded this to be included in all of Zion's therapy
sessions. Even the therapists are in awe of his new-found awareness and understanding
of emotions. As a parent, I don’t know how to explain, having done many
years of therapy and seeing small steps, that in just 3 weeks this amazing, powerful
model of simplicity, has changed our lives. Now we are no longer living in a battle
field but in a field of understanding, acknowledgement, compassion and growth.
Thank You to the Reawaken and eCPR team.
Bianca is a parent of two amazing children.
She is passionate about making positive
change in society in the areas of disability,
mental health and trauma.
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A reflection on ReAwaken
What could it possibly mean to re-awaken- to come to consciousness? With an
eighth of this country on anti-depressants (second only to Iceland!) it's a real question
for Australia today. But I've got a shrink, haven't I, and he's doing me good,
right? So when I was asked to read a little of my poetry at the ReAwaken Australia
Conference in Adelaide in April I thought it would be doing a small favor for a friend.
Instead it became a big favor for me. That Monday night I went out on a limb, taking
it further than a poetry reading, into the troubled, normally silent world that I don't
usually share. I opened a little door to another me. Planning it, I wondered what
people would think. I didn't know anybody there, and they sure as hell didn't know
me.
I needn't have worried. From the moment I sat down and in the moments of sweet
music and grateful exchange in that audience that night, and in the days to follow
in intelligent and, dammit, sensible discourse on not just what's wrong with us but
what's wrong with what we think is wrong with us, I was to find more connection
and compassion than I'd found in ten years of shrinkage.
I watched as the DSM was pinned down like the dead frog it is and examined for
the twitch which still signifies life, as other acronyms were introduced and examined,
as my PTSD became PTS and perhaps simply PT, affected by some pretty significant
ACE and possibly an occasional BPD (on Mondays). It was alphabet soup for
the soul but, rather than throw out old work completely, I was able to see the worth
in it and the greater worth in a thorough examination of the true affects of the current
bible - the DSM - its use and misuse.
Two days after my (gulp!) personal revelation, and after being exposed to many such
reveals (suddenly, unexpectedly shared in both inner eye-opening sessions and
sunny chats in fresh air) Kane and Klaire introduced me to the depth of work which
has been done on PTMF. Look it up. I felt it immediately inform me (in-form me)
and, this afternoon, I'll inform my psychiatrist about it - compare notes on the body
of evidence for it, bring something new to the table.
And that's what this conference did - brought another face to the table, often the
face of a so-called 'victim' or a 'client', or some more damaging label, but always the
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face of a heretic: someone willing to challenge an orthodoxy so flawed that even
its authors call it out as bullshit. ReAwaken Australia's presenters and participants
challenged that current paradigm, and its dominance, with a ream of well-founded
scientific papers in their hands, personal experience in their voices, compassion in
their hearts.
From indigenous women's stories about today's broken system to a plea to rehumanise
the impact of trauma, from the suicide-deadly serious to the downright comedic,
from the power-point to the coffee machine, this was a living re-writing of
not just the DSM but of each life that attended. I shit you not - find out when the
next time Oryx, Matt, Stephanie and PJ and their disorder dissenters, their analysis
agnostics get together and make sure you're there. You'll benefit from the fresh air.
Rob is a poet, writer, performer, documentary
film maker and stage director.
His works have been published by
SAWC, Heinemann Books, Oxford University
Press, Friendly Street Poets,
Wakefield Press, The Weekend Australian
Magazine, The Broadkill Review,
eMags in Australia and overseas and
on travel blogs. Rob has taught Professional
Writing, Poetry, Short Story,
Creative Non-fiction, Film, Stage and
Memoir writing at various South Australian tertiary institutions, in workshops for
the Australian Writers' Guild and the South Australian Writers' Centre and for community
groups. With his partner Sue, Rob runs Rosebud Writing Workshops in the
Adelaide Hills. He continues to write and assists other to self-publish.
www.robdekok.com
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ReAwakening through Irish Eyes
A fellow social work student asked me last week where I am on placement. I told
her I'm working in a hearing voices clinic, to which she laughed hysterically for a
few minutes. I don’t know what was so funny and I still don’t. Perhaps if I said I
worked with ‘schizophrenics’ it wouldn’t have been so hysterical. Is it more acceptable
to work with people with labels rather than to hear a person’s story and treat
them as individuals with individual needs?
Which leads me to my experience at ReAwaken, which was an event with the purpose
of creating connection, compassion and shifting paradigms in the mental
health system. Did I see any mad people? No, what I saw were strong-willed people
attuned to the idea of a compassionate recovery rather that the current shitstorm
of a mental health system which provides limited emphasis or explanations on the
impact that trauma and abuse can have on someone. It was liberating to be in the
company of like-minded individuals; you could see in each persons eyes, the determination,
the strength, the mirrored frustration of seeing the system's lack of compassion
and the impact this has on people.
We came from all walks of life, different countries, cultures, attitudes and beliefs, we
all had our own stories and experiences but at the end of the day we were all on
the same page about what we are fighting for. And that is for recognition that we
are not broken, recognition of earlier traumas and abuses and how they affect people’s
mental health, and the choice whether to be medicated or not.
One of the big ones for me is the importance of peer work. To recognise that these
people have suffered horrific and dark experiences, have got through it and are dedicating
their lives to helping others heal themselves. Although it may be painful and
triggering, it is powerful and will change the world. That to
me is COMPASSION. Let’s not lose the momentum, let’s keep
everything we learnt fresh in our heads, let’s spread the word,
let’s keep talking until people are tired of hearing about it!
Claire McClorey is a social work student at Flinders University
in Adelaide, South Australia. She is currently doing field placement
with the HUMANE Clinic and was a core member of the
ReAwaken organizing team.
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