Adelaide Arts Psychotherapy & Therapy Dog Services

03/10/2025

Rip Jane🐾 💚🐾

Lost one of the strongest, warmest, and most compassionate advocates for animals today. Jane Goodall cared deeply about all animals, teaching us how to love, respect, and cherish them. She will be deeply missed, but her legacy will live on. 😔



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15/09/2025

🩷🩵🎶🎵

Music isn’t just entertainment, it’s a brain booster, especially for babies. Scientists have discovered that exposure to music plays a powerful role in accelerating infant brain growth and supporting early development. From rhythm to melody, musical experiences stimulate multiple areas of the brain, helping babies process sounds, recognize patterns, and strengthen neural connections.

Research shows that infants exposed to music from birth or even before respond faster to stimuli, demonstrate improved memory, and show early signs of enhanced cognitive skills. Music encourages communication development, emotional regulation, and even social interaction, as babies often respond with movement, facial expressions, or vocal sounds. These small interactions contribute to forming a strong foundation for learning and growth.

Experts explain that music triggers brain regions associated with memory, attention, and language, creating a richer, more connected neural network. Early exposure can influence critical developmental milestones, boosting problem-solving skills, spatial reasoning, and emotional intelligence. Parents who sing, play instruments, or simply use recorded music provide their babies with a natural and enjoyable learning environment.

Even short daily sessions of musical engagement can make a difference. Simple activities like gentle lullabies, rhythmic clapping, or interactive songs help reinforce learning and bonding between parent and child. Music doesn’t replace traditional early education but complements it, making development both fun and effective.

This research highlights the extraordinary power of music in shaping the earliest years of life. It’s a reminder that even simple, joyful experiences like singing or listening to tunes can have a lasting impact on a child’s brain, laying the groundwork for lifelong learning, creativity, and emotional growth.

12/09/2025

🩷🩵💚🦮

After 9/11, search and rescue dogs worked day and night at Ground Zero. They were trained to find survivors in disasters. But in the rubble of the World Trade Center, there were very few survivors to find. As the days went on, the dogs started to look confused. Some got depressed. They were used to finding people. And now, they weren’t. Handlers noticed this and decided to help.

Sometimes, they staged fake rescues. A firefighter or handler would hide in the debris. The dog would find them. They’d act like it was a real rescue. This gave the dog a sense of success. It lifted their spirits.

These dogs were not just working hard. They were emotionally affected too. They were part of the team. And they needed support, just like everyone else.

References
Artifacts Tell the Story of 9/11 Rescue and Recovery Dogs – 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Godsend: The vets and volunteers who cared for 9/11 rescue dogs – ABC News
9/11 Was Hard On Responders – And Rescue Dogs – Central Florida Public Media
Remembering Heroic 9/11 Dogs – Dogster

11/09/2025

🩷🐾🐾

On September 11, 2001, amidst the chaos that erupted in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, a guide dog named Roselle emerged as an unlikely hero. She calmly guided her blind owner, Michael Hingson, along with a group of more than 30 individuals down 78 flights of stairs to safety. In spite of the smoke, noise, and confusion surrounding them, Roselle maintained her focus and composure, helping others to remain calm simply through her presence.

During their descent, Roselle only paused once, to provide comfort to a woman experiencing a panic attack. She gently nuzzled and kissed her, offering reassurance in the most human-like manner a dog could. Her quiet strength and steadfast loyalty transformed fear into courage, enabling the group to continue their escape even as the building shook around them.

Roselle’s actions that day became a powerful symbol of trust, training, and the remarkable bond shared between guide dogs and their handlers. She continued her service until 2007 and passed away in 2011, yet her legacy endures as a testament to the fact that heroism can manifest on four paws, accompanied by a wagging tail and a heart brimming with love.

10/09/2025

🩷💙🩵💚

World Su***de Prevention Day

Every year, thousands of young people face mental health challenges that feel overwhelming. In these moments, even a brief escape can make a difference.

Clown Doctors don’t just work in children’s wards and NICUs. They also visit mental health units in hospitals across Australia, bringing energy, play, and relief to older children and teenagers when they need it most.

In these settings, laughter becomes more than silliness; it’s a reminder of connection, resilience, and hope.

On World Su***de Prevention Day, we stand with every young person navigating tough times, and reaffirm our commitment to bringing comfort, dignity, and light through humour.

***dePreventionDay

05/09/2025

Just Listening Therapeutic Community is open.

If you are experiencing psychosis or suicidal distress and would value a place of connection and compassion

Just Listening is open 10am - 4pm each weekday.

Just Listening Therapeutic Community brings a new approach to mental health support in South Australia. This initiative is specifically designed for individuals experiencing psychosis, hearing voices, or other states of distress, including su***de. The Just Listening Therapeutic Community provides a unique environment to offer justice in listening through one-to-one support, daily group sessions, and a space for community connection.

The Just Listening Therapeutic Community is open to those currently accessing other mental health services and to those seeking alternative approaches to understanding and managing their experiences.

Whether you are experiencing an increase in distressing realities, tapering off psychiatric medication or looking for a place of shelter and reflection amidst your challenges, the Just Listening Therapeutic Community is a place you will be welcomed.

Just Listening Therapeutic Community is service led by professionals from the Humane Clinic Psychotherapy Collective who have developed and delivered evidence-based approaches. They will be joined by community members who are trained in the Just Listening approach.

Just Listening Therapeutic Community is a free walk-in service. No referral is needed. You can attend anonymously if you prefer.

Humane Clinic Psychotherapy Collective

27/08/2025

A little bit of art and play therapy with this cutie (my granddaughter) with a sprinkle of animal assisted love too 🩵💜❤️

27/08/2025

This is part of the approach im currently studying. I love this approach and use it often. Thank Lisa, Judy and SPT 🩵💜❤️

Feeling Your Way Through the Moment—Not Just Thinking 💗 Here’s something interesting to consider:

When you’re interacting with another person—whether it’s a client, a child, a friend, or even a stranger—you are taking in an extraordinary amount of information.

Most of it? You’re not even consciously aware of.

🔹 You’re picking up on patterns.
🔹 You’re tracking facial expressions and body language.
🔹 You’re hearing what’s being said beneath the words.

And all of this is registering inside of you—whether or not you realize it.

But here's the problem with overthinking connection. We try to think our way through an interaction…

💭 “How should I respond?”
💭 “What does this person need from me?”
💭 “How do I fix this?”

…we actually disconnect from the very parts of ourselves that are already giving us the information we need.

Because connection isn’t just a cognitive process, it’s a feeling process.

What If You Felt Your Way Through Instead?

Instead of analyzing every moment, what if you paused and felt your way through it?

Here’s how you can practice:

🔹 Pause. Before responding, give yourself a moment.
🔹 Take a breath. Feel your feet on the ground.
🔹 Check in with your body. Notice what’s happening inside you.
🔹 Get curious. What do you sense happening in them? Inside of you? In the space between you?

Once you have that felt sense of the moment, you can then ask yourself:

✨ “What do I want to do with this sadness I feel rising in me?”
✨ “What do I want to do now that I notice this person is shutting down as I talk?”
✨ “What do I want to do with this new awareness?”

This practice allows you to stay more attuned to yourself and more connected to the person in front of you.

Your Place of Practice: Pause & Feel

Next time you find yourself overthinking an interaction, try this:

✔️ Pause before jumping into problem-solving.
✔️ Tune into the sensations and shifts happening inside you.
✔️ Notice what’s happening in the other person—not just what they’re saying, but what they’re showing.
✔️ Let those feelings inform what comes next.

Because when we choose to feel our way through a moment instead of just thinking through it, we access a whole new level of connection, clarity, and attunement.

Much love on the journey 💜

Lisa

27/08/2025

What a lovely way to think about transitions and transformations🐛🦋🌼

16/02/2025

Pretty good advice ♥️

08/02/2025

**Help keep creative therapies in the NDIS.**

One of my regional clients has started this petition to present to parliament, it only needs 68 signatures to be presented. It's very simple to sign and the closing date is the 19th February, so closing soonish. She has given permission for me to pass this along to anyone who would support us. Please don't hesitate to do the same. This is the link https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6958

e-petitions
Thank you for helping to keep creative therapies part of the NDIS

e-petitions