Project 18 the wellbeing nook

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Project 18 the wellbeing nook Project 18 the wellbeing nook is located in the heart of Port Adelaide. It is a safe and welcoming space, shared by experienced qualified practitioners.

It is a counselling practice specialising in support for children, adolescents and young adults.

A little Friday reminder for supporting our mental health:Mindfulness.This one is a biggy. We all know it. The benefits ...
22/10/2026

A little Friday reminder for supporting our mental health:
Mindfulness.

This one is a biggy. We all know it. The benefits are many. We hear about it all the time.

But mindfulness is a practice that is much broader than many think, it is not limited to breathing exercises and meditation, and it is important that you find what works for you, because we are all so very different!

Journalling, Yoga, Body scan, grounding through the five senses and progressive muscle relaxation are some of the more commonly known mindfulness practices. Some perhaps less known examples include cloud tracing, listening to birds sing and crafting rituals.

Here’s a few more ideas too: 7 Unconventional Ways to Practice Mindfulness Creatively

📷 One of my most favourite mindfulness practices is colouring in.

A little Friday reminder for supporting our mental health:Movement is good for us!Your mind and your body are intimately...
16/10/2026

A little Friday reminder for supporting our mental health:

Movement is good for us!

Your mind and your body are intimately connected, so it makes sense that movement can improve your mental health.

Moving your body doesn’t have to mean doing vigorous exercise or playing sport, although they are good for you too.

It might mean going for a stroll, hopping on your bike for a little ride, it might mean having a dance around your lounge room, or doing some stretches.

The more you do the more benefit you get, of course, but even 10 minutes a day or a little something on the weekend can offer mental health benefits.

Here’s some more inspo for you, if you need it: 7 simple movement exercises to boost your mental health — Calm Blog

📷 The Port River is a great spot for a cruisy bike ride.

Today is World Mental Health Day.It is not a coincidence that it coincides with our National Mental Health Month.But it ...
09/10/2026

Today is World Mental Health Day.

It is not a coincidence that it coincides with our National Mental Health Month.
But it is important to acknowledge it in its own right.

This is an international day of global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. Supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Each year campaigns for changes in systems, removal of stigma, political action and highlights an important aspect of addressing issues such as inequality and imbalance. This year advocates for meaningful engagement with people with lived experience (PWLE) of mental health conditions.

As strong advocates for authentic engagement and for listening that results in people being truly heard we do not underestimate the power of the voices of PWLE and the strength in their genuine involvement in decision-making. This is how we create change, inclusion, involvement, genuine listening and real action!

Check out the WHO page for more info and some of this year’s key messages: World Mental Health Day 2026

A little Friday reminder for supporting our mental health:Spend some time in Nature.There are undeniable and repeatedly ...
09/10/2026

A little Friday reminder for supporting our mental health:

Spend some time in Nature.

There are undeniable and repeatedly proven mental health benefits of spending time in nature. It can improve our mood, reduce our stress and promote an overall sense of wellbeing. Even for those who don’t believe they are ‘outdoorsy’ because time outside can even help boost our immune system, all that fresh air and sunshine is just so good for us!

So, this is your friendly reminder to enjoy some time in nature, maybe go for a stroll along the beach, take your lunch outside, perch on a bench in a park, or sit under a tree and listen to the birds.

If you are looking for some more inspiration, this is a great time for it, check out the guide for the Nature Festival that is still on over the weekend here in SA: Nature Festival South Australia: 25 Sept - 11 Oct 2026

📷Trees (technically bamboo is not a tree) from my camera roll - I LOVE TREES (and bamboo).

Mental Health Month starts today.Like many days or months of awareness this is not just about what we do or share now. I...
30/09/2026

Mental Health Month starts today.

Like many days or months of awareness this is not just about what we do or share now. It is about how we can learn more, share more and do more in an ongoing way, to help ourselves and others to improve our mental health and wellbeing.

This year’s theme is “Together We Thrive” and that could not be more aligned with all that Project 18 was built upon.

I believe, and always have, that if we work “together” anything is possible. If we support each other, we can achieve so much. I believe that “together” we are stronger. We are social beings and were never meant to act in isolation.
This is more important than ever!

Things are tough for many right now. There is a lot going on, and it’s not all good. Many are feeling burdened and under pressure. There are few who are not, in some way, either directly or indirectly impacted and it is our mental health that so often carries the load.

So what can we do. How can we “thrive together”, here are a few ideas, it doesn’t have to be big, even ‘micro moments of connection’ can boost our wellbeing:
Host a coffee catch up with some friends or have a chat with your barista. Take your dog for a walk and say hello to others doing the same. Go to a community event, a market, or a gig, or try something new, like a pottery workshop.

There are plenty of things happening, have a look at some of the events here:
Mental Health Month 2026 - Mental Health Coalition of South Australia

For more ideas check out these 31 tips:
31 Days of Mental Health Tips – Together We Thrive | Mental Health Australia

Celebrating 7 years of Project 18!Yes, It’s true!7 years ago, in September 2019, I took a leap of faith and signed my fi...
20/09/2026

Celebrating 7 years of Project 18!

Yes, It’s true!

7 years ago, in September 2019, I took a leap of faith and signed my first ever commercial lease!

I hadn’t even started in private practice yet, not a single client. I was still working full-time in my role at CCYP !!

But I believed with all my heart that my vision was worth backing!
And that taking on a premises was an important part of that vision!
I knew that I needed a space, for me and my clients, that embodied all that I wanted to achieve.

And here we are, in September 2026, and I have just signed another lease renewal. It’s a different premises, but one that still epitomises all that Project 18 represents.

Has it been easy, heck no!!
It’s been a roller coaster ride. As anyone who runs their own business will tell you, there are good days, days you are chuffed and proud, and then there are days you just want to go and work at Bunnings!!

I have learnt a lot.
Grown a lot.
Discovered as much about myself as anything else.

I have cried, been frustrated, angry, confused and lost at times.
But most of all, I have not once regretted the decision I made 7 years ago to back myself, believe in my vision and to commit every day to creating safe and meaningful connections, supporting children and young people through life’s challenges!

So, here’s to another 7 years – hopefully!

📷 Me, a few more lines, a few more greys, and many more learnings.

Back to Basics!Another questions I'm often asked, sometimes directly and sometimes more subtly, is: “Why is counselling ...
14/09/2026

Back to Basics!

Another questions I'm often asked, sometimes directly and sometimes more subtly, is: “Why is counselling taking so long?”

It’s a fair question. We often think of support as something that identifies a problem, provides a solution, and then comes to an end. Sometimes that is exactly what is needed.

But many of the children and young people I work with are not dealing with a single, simple problem. Some are navigating the effects of trauma, while others are living with significant anxiety, identity questions, friendship difficulties, family stress, emotional overwhelm, or the challenges that can sometimes come with neurodivergence. These experiences can shape how a young person sees themselves, relates to others, and experiences the world.

Trauma is often created in relationships, and when the wound is relational, healing is rarely just about learning a coping strategy. But even when trauma is not the main issue, young people still need a space where they feel emotionally safe, understood, accepted, and supported.

Before a young person can talk about the hard things, they need to know that someone will listen without judgement. Before they can explore change, they need to feel safe. Before they can trust their own voice, they might need to experience a relationship where their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are taken seriously.

That takes time!

Engaging in long-term counselling does not mean a child or young person is failing, and it does not mean counselling is “not working.” Often, it reflects the depth of what they are navigating and the importance of having consistent support while they grow, heal, and make sense of themselves and their world.

At Project 18, we do not measure success only by how quickly counselling ends. We look for signs of connection, confidence, self-understanding, participation, hope, and the growing belief that they are worthy of care.

Sometimes staying connected for longer is not a sign that nothing is changing.
It is a sign that the foundations for lasting change are being built.

And that takes time!

📷 Feathers as a metaphor for time.

R U OK? Day is more than just a reminder!It is more than a little encouragement.It is more than just a question.R U OK? ...
09/09/2026

R U OK? Day is more than just a reminder!
It is more than a little encouragement.
It is more than just a question.

R U OK? Day is a campaign!
It is a campaign to raise awareness about mental health.
It is a campaign that highlights the number of people who are struggling.
It is a campaign that aims to prevent su***de!

R U OK? Day is a movement!
It is a movement towards reaching out.
It is a movement towards making connections.
It is a movement towards supporting each other.

Conversations matter.
Feeling that you are not alone matters.
Being offered help without needing to ask matters.
Knowing you are supported without judgement matters.

R U OK? Any Day – let’s help share the message!
https://www.ruok.org.au/r-u-ok-day

Back to Basics!The benefits of counselling are not always dramatic or immediately visible. Sometimes they can be difficu...
09/09/2026

Back to Basics!

The benefits of counselling are not always dramatic or immediately visible. Sometimes they can be difficult to see, feel or even notice at all.

I know this can be hard sometimes, for the person who has come to counselling wanting things to feel different and for the people around them who care, are supporting them, and who understandably hope to see things change.

Sometimes people hope counselling will provide a breakthrough moment that changes everything overnight. While those moments can happen, more often the changes are quieter, gentler, more gradual, than that. They can build, bit by bit, internally, subtly, long before they become obvious.

A client may begin to understand their emotions instead of simply feeling overwhelmed by them. They may start to recognise anxiety before it takes over. They may find themselves communicating a little more honestly, setting healthier boundaries, sleeping a little better or feeling less alone.

These things might seem small from the outside. But they can represent really significant shifts for the person experiencing them.

Counselling can also help people make sense of patterns that have followed them for years. Patterns in relationships. Patterns in self-talk. Patterns in the way they respond to stress, conflict, disappointment or change.

One of the greatest benefits counselling offers, is a place where clients don’t have to perform. So many people spend so much of their life trying to appear okay, capable, strong or unaffected. In the counselling room, that pressure can fall away completely.

The goal is not perfection and change rarely happens in a straightforward kind of way. What we aim for is a greater understanding, greater self-compassion, and greater capacity to navigate life in a way that feels more authentic and balanced.

📷 Hidden potential.

Back to Basics!It doesn’t matter how long it has been around, or how familiar it is to many of us, a question I am still...
24/08/2026

Back to Basics!

It doesn’t matter how long it has been around, or how familiar it is to many of us, a question I am still so often asked is “what actually is counselling”?

And to be honest, it’s a great question. Counselling, for many, is something they’ve heard about, but never experienced themselves. So that can create all sorts of assumptions. Not to mention that there are so many different types of counselling and counsellors.

So, here’s how I often describe it:

Counselling is NOT about being judged, analysed, or told what to do. It is NOT a place where someone decides whether your feelings are reasonable or whether your experiences are ‘serious’ enough to matter.

Counselling, at its heart, is a conversation within a safe and respectful relationship. It is a two-way dialogue, an exchange and interaction, sometimes communicated without words.

It is a space where clients can speak openly, sit quietly, share, cry, laugh, question things, or simply try to make sense of what has been happening in their life.

Sometimes the work is practical. Sometimes it is emotional. Sometimes it is about exploring and discovering, to help understand patterns, build coping strategies, or uncover who you are and what really matters to you.

People often think counselling is only for times of crisis. It is not. So often clients seek counselling long before things reach breaking point, which is good.

Sometimes they reach out because they feel stuck, something feels heavy, or confusing, wrong or just different to how they want to feel.

Counselling is not about ‘fixing’ a person. I see it as creating space where insight, healing, change and growth have an opportunity to take place. This looks different for each of us, as it should, we are all different, which is great, it’s what makes us human.

If you’d like to read some other explanations here are some links:
What is Counselling? - Australian Counselling Association
Counsellors and counselling - what is it and how it can help | healthdirect

📷 Expression withouth words - shared with permission.

Address

228 St Vincent Street Port
Adelaide, SA
5015

Telephone

+61432367193

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