Joyful Being

05/08/2026

I can’t claim this analogy as my own—it was shared with me by a supervisor many years ago, and it’s one I’ve returned to countless times with clients. And personally I find this so helpful as well 🫶🏻

Sometimes we spend years trying to find the perfect words to communicate our needs with family. This is done with the hope that if you just explain yourself differently, stay calmer, try harder, or become “easier”, they will finally understand you and meet your needs ❤️

But what if the problem isn’t you or your communication?

What if you’re trying to order a fruit salad at Bunnings?

It doesn’t make Bunnings a bad shop. It simply isn’t what they stock.

Sometimes family members may genuinely not have the emotional capacity, insight, safety, or skills to offer the understanding, validation, or support you’re longing for. And this can be incredibly painful to acknowledge 💔

Acceptance isn’t about saying, “This is okay that my needs are not being met.”

It’s about recognising reality so that you can stop exhausting yourself trying to get something from a family member who simply isn’t able to provide it.

Then comes the important part: actively finding your fruit shops.

The people, places, and communities that can offer empathy, safety, connection and meet your needs ❤️

Sometimes the most compassionate thing we can do—for ourselves and for others—is to stop expecting and trying to order a fruit salad from Bunnings, and start looking for a fruit shop instead 🍎 🍇 🍊

16/07/2026

Birth Trauma Awareness Week 🤍

When we think about birth trauma, we often think about the healing needed afterwards.

But we also have an opportunity to reduce the risk of trauma before birth.

Working collaboratively with , the amazing team of midwives, physiotherapists and reception staff my role is to support families psychologically throughout pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal period.

Together, this may include:
✨ EMDR Intensives to process previous birth trauma, pregnancy loss or tokophobia.
✨ Neuroaffirming, trauma-informed birth planning that honours sensory needs, communication preferences, consent and preempts any possible triggers.
✨ Continuity of psychological support before and after birth when needed on the postnatal ward in the hospital.

Every person’s response to birth makes sense in the context of what they’ve experienced and any earlier life experiences. By working together as a multidisciplinary team, we can create care that helps families feel heard, informed and safe.

Healing matters, but more importantly prevention matters too 🤍

02/07/2026

I wanted to share this beautiful offering by .au and .themother.

They’ve created a beautiful card deck called With You, designed to gently hold you through pregnancy loss and support you to nurture yourself while navigating grief.

As soon as they were released, I ordered a set.

When I experienced my own pregnancy loss, I found it incredibly hard to care for my body when it felt like the source of my pain and a constant reminder of what I’d lost. Self-care can feel almost impossible when you’re grieving.

These cards offer such a gentle way to reconnect with your body, create moments of grounding, and bring a little softness to an experience that can feel so incredibly raw.

Even years after my own loss, I find myself loving them. The guidance really feels nurturing, comforting, and deeply supportive. 🤎

27/05/2026

Are you carrying the invisible mental load of everyone’s needs while barely having space for your own?

Are you feeling touched out, overwhelmed, anxious, overstimulated, or like you’re somehow “getting parenting wrong”…

You are not the only one. And you do not have to keep carrying it all alone.

This is your sign to book in with Melissah.

Melissah offers perinatal mental health support that is honest, trauma-informed, neuroaffirming, and grounded in the reality that parenting can feel really hard sometimes.

Melissah has increased her hours and has current availability on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Please email [email protected] or fill in the enquiry form on our website. Parenting is hard and you deserve support 🤍

18/05/2026

Two babies on brown couches… and now somehow we are both sitting on a brown couch together as adults supporting parents through one of life’s biggest transitions🤎

Before perinatal work, Melissah and I both worked as child psychologists — and honestly, that experience feels incredibly valuable in this space.

We’ve had the privilege of seeing the impact of longer-term patterns. How early relationships, nervous systems, emotional support, overwhelm, and family stress can shape a child and the family system over time.

It’s why we feel so passionate about proactive, preventative support for parents.

Perinatal support matters deeply — because when you support a parent, you support a whole future family system. It’s truly the best job and we are so grateful to have the opportunity to make meaningful change ✨

11/05/2026

Sadness is not trauma!

Clinical words like trauma have very specific meanings, and I think social media is starting to pathologise normal human emotion in ways that are making parents terrified of being imperfect.

Please know that a tough Monday night where you might have lost your patience does not equal lifelong trauma for your child.

In these moments your child does not need your perfection.
They need your repair. An acknowledgement of what they are feeling and an apology if you overreacted.

A hard moment will not become the whole story of their childhood.

09/05/2026

Mother’s Day can feel incredibly hard when you are carrying the grief of pregnancy loss, baby loss, infertility, or the ache of the child you hoped would be here. Just a normal day is hard enough.

If Mother’s Day hurts, you are not doing it wrong. I know personally how painful this day can be. If I could go back in time and talk to me when I was suffering I would say:

You are allowed to survive it quietly.
You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to cry.
You are allowed to protect your heart today.

And if the grief feels too heavy to hold alone, the Red Nose Australia Grief and Loss Support Line (1300 308 307) is available 24/7 and might be what you need to feel held and supported by people who understand.

Please be gentle with yourself 🤍

09/05/2026

08/05/2026

I’m going to say something deeply hypocritical as a psychologist on Instagram:

Please don’t follow parenting advice on Instagram too closely.

Some of it has parents trying to sound like emotionally regulated meditation apps while raising children in actual real life.

Perfectly calm voices.
Perfectly regulated responses.
Perfect therapy-script parenting in the middle of very human moments that are actually really hard. Without ever feeling anything but calm.

Real life is actually messy.
Parenting is triggering.
And humans have feelings.

Your child does not need you to be a perfectly calm parent.
They need a real one. Showing them how to live in the mess of life.

The work isn’t never getting overwhelmed. That is an impossible expectation.
The work is learning more about yourself, understanding your feelings, and repairing with kindness when things get messy.

I wish people would aim for healthy parenting vs perfect parenting ❤️

05/05/2026

Turns out my VA, Mel, used to do admin support for my husband… who is an electrician ⚡️

This was not a crossover I saw coming!