My Journey
Hello Friends,
People often ask me about what brought me on the path that I am walking, so in this post I share a little more about me.
My personal journey with this work has been woven throughout my life. I was raised in an alternative community on the fertile Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand’s North Island. For my first 9 years, I lived with my parents and younger brother in an off-grid tiny home nestled in the forest and overlooking an expansive estuary, a freshwater river near the ocean. I barely recall wearing shoes as a young child and have fond memories of joyfully playing on the land with my brother Dan, climbing abundant organic fruit trees together and gathering goodies to our hearts’ delight. It was in my early years while being absorbed in this pristine natural environment that I embraced the interconnection, or Oneness, between myself and all aspects of nature.
When I was 9 years old, my family relocated to Western Australia which brought many changes to the way of life that I had known - this was a time of considerable integration into a more conventional western lifestyle. Over the years my mum has described this transition from community life into a more individualistic way of living as a ‘culture shock’ for our family…locked doors, television, phones, school uniforms, nuclear family dynamics and many other changes that we were not accustomed to as young children. Despite this big adjustment, I feel fortunate that my parents continued to nurture seeds for self-inquiry in my life, like when mum introduced me to yoga at the age of 13. This early experience of connecting with my body and breath left an imprint and it was in my early 20s that I devoted myself to the study and practice of Hatha yoga. During this time, I became deeply passionate about the interconnectedness of the human mind, body and spirit. I immersed myself in various yoga courses while living in California and later while traveling through India. After living on the west coast of the United States for several years working in the fashion industry and exploring Eastern healing practices with experienced teachers, I eventually returned to Australia and was introduced to Vipassana meditation. In my mid-late 20s this practice of insight meditation was a guiding pillar for self-transformation.
As I reflect on my journey so far, I think it is important not to paint the picture that my life has only been filled with comfort and ease. Rather, I believe that my inner and outer struggles have played a central role in guiding me to the work that I do now. If it were not for the challenging relational dynamics, my journey with various health issues, the loss of loved ones, the times of great emotional upheaval and my ongoing process of developing resilience amidst these waves of life, I would not have the capacity to hold the space that I do as a therapist. So, while I recognise that I am in many ways privileged for the life that I have been born into, there is also a rawness and depth that comes with working as a mental health practitioner. I believe that both spectrums of my lived experience contribute to the authenticity that I welcome within this space. I’m often reminded that meaningful learning happens when we lean into our edges, get curious about our struggles in this human form and open to our vulnerability. It is this journey of cultivating an honest relationship with our many parts that creates space to remember our true Self - that is, our essence which is pure, whole and integrated in the present moment. I believe that the embodied wisdom and freedom which comes from doing ‘the inner work’ is the foundation for supporting healing in each other.
A central theme on my journey is my curiosity about the meeting place between eastern and western healing modalities. I studied psychology at Curtin University in Western Australia - my honours thesis research was focussed on the relationship between self-compassion, resilience and various mental health outcomes among young people with chronic conditions. My graduate training was in Compassionate Inquiry®: A somatic and trauma-informed psychotherapeutic approach developed by Dr. Gabor Maté which reveals what lies beneath the appearance we present to the world. I am a certified Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner and continue to learn from this comprehensive approach to self-inquiry both personally and professionally. My work as a psychotherapist is inspired by the teachings of Gabor Maté, Peter Levine (somatic experiencing), Deb Dana (Polyvagal Theory on the nervous system), Bessel van der Kolk (trauma-based therapy), Richard Schwartz (Internal family systems “Parts Work”), and Marshall Rosenberg (non-violent communication), among others. My approach is also guided by the principles of non-duality, Buddhism and Vedanta shared by teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh, SN Goenka, Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Eckhart Tolle, BKS Iyengar and Ram Dass.
The wellspring for holistic self-healing that I share here is sourced from my personal and professional experiences, my formal training and research, as well as my ongoing curiosity to learn, to remember the essence of who we really are and to support authentic transformation.
My wish is that this shared space will support you on your journey of self-inquiry and that this may bring insight and harmony into your life.
With love,
Joella
