Clare MacLeod Consultancy

Clare MacLeod Consultancy Providing trauma informed supervision & mentoring to support and empower you in your caring roles.

As I sit and mourn with First Nations people on this anniversary of invasion by people of my birthplace, I am reflecting...
26/01/2026

As I sit and mourn with First Nations people on this anniversary of invasion by people of my birthplace, I am reflecting on what has been and what is. Scroll past if you choose to, or if you feel the discomfort of today, and want to keep reading, then thank you. šŸ™šŸ»

I was born and raised in a country that has so much to answer for. I was also raised by an overtly racist father (I don’t know about my Mum’s views - I never got to find out). I actually don’t know how I managed to escape becoming the same, but maybe it was that inherent and deep down genetic and spiritual link to my true Scottish heritage and also the warrior social worker heart. Who knows? Maybe it was all of the trauma that made me find a way out of it all. Whatever it was, I know I have witnessed racism within my family (and called them out), cringed at others’ expectations of Britishness when visiting other countries, and in my job working with First Nations people, seen and heard so much more. I feel shame.

Australia is not my birthplace. I did my social work degree here and was horrified that Aboriginal Studies was not a requirement of the course. I sought out Aboriginal Studies as I did when I was studying education. When I had children and they went to school, I was horrified that they were being taught about Captain Cook as a discoverer.

Again, Australia is not my birthplace and I can not be silent as I watch folks celebrating a day of genocide and r**e. I used to say ā€˜Change the Date’, but I listen and reflect and continue to educate myself. I know I can do more and better. I listen and hear First Nations people talk about abolishing the date not just changing it, and about Treaty.

Do you know what land you stand on?
Do you know what your children are being taught about Australian history? When you visit different parts of Australia, do you know what land you are visiting?
Do you ever get a heavy feeling when you visit certain places? Do you find out what happened there?

Thank you for reading, and my hope is that I have touched even one person somehow. If you don’t like what I’ve written, and you feel uncomfortable, then I have touched you. I know as a white person, I hold privilege and I don’t stand in the shoes of First Nations people, but I speak in love, compassion, sorrow, and a deepest apology as an ally. ā¤ļøšŸ’›šŸ–¤

There are many social sanctions (resolutions) regarding New Years’s Eve (Hogmanay) and New Year’s Day. If that’s what yo...
30/12/2025

There are many social sanctions (resolutions) regarding New Years’s Eve (Hogmanay) and New Year’s Day. If that’s what you choose to do for yourself, then that’s your choice. A biggy is ā€œI’ll be more motivated next yearā€¦ā€¦ā€

Motivation is overrated. I keep seeing posts about how to develop motivation, work on the resolutions, and build on the ones that never got accomplished this year (2025), and I just wanted to add my perspective around this.

Firstly, it comes from a place of compassion and by that, I mean self compassion, and then when I read other posts about not being motivated, I have compassion for those who are struggling with motivation.

I’m not highly motivated. I don’t have amazing willpower or self-control.
I don’t always get up at 6am to read, meditate, drink a green smoothie, and run 10K. That’s because I don’t believe in motivation. That doesn’t mean I can’t still be productive; it just means I’ve removed that internal drive. I’ve put habits in place which means I can still be productive, and for me, it’s a kinder way of being.

All that motivation is, is the desire to do something. We don’t always have a strong desire and then procrastination can kick in, and then we can beat ourselves up because the pain of not doing it becomes greater than the pain of doing it.

For many folks, the Holidays are a busy time and to feel pressure to have to set goals when you’re feeling tired or burnt out, is probably not going to be helpful for you.

When we are feeling on top of everything, it is so much easier to set exercise goals and plans, or non physical plans and actions. When we are not feeling on top of everything, we can find the heart strings that connect us to our values and choose the actions that match up with them. In the heat thanks Aussie summer, my walks are shorter and I can be gentle on myself and accept that a walk around the block with my Isopup (dog) are valued actions especially when I see that she is happy just to walk around the block and sniff every blade of grass along the way.

So, I just wanted to say that if you’ve got to the end of this long post, motivation is optional, and you don’t have to feel like getting something done in order to actually get it done. Remember that the need to feel motivated is an external pressure. Go easy on yourself and find the small moments like lil’ Isopup enjoying sniffing all of the blades of grass.

Happy Hogmanay and well wishes for 2026.












As we head into the New Year, there will be many folk who may be questioning their weight and looking at possible traini...
30/12/2025

As we head into the New Year, there will be many folk who may be questioning their weight and looking at possible training options.

WARNING
If you go somewhere where they measure your BMI, choose another option, or refuse to have it measured. Ask them why it needs measuring.

Last semester at Uni, I taught addictive behaviours which included problematic eating issues.

FACT
Did you know that Body Mass Index (BMI) was invented by Belgian mathematician Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet in 1832 as a way to describe the "average man" for population studies, not individual health, and was later named the "Body Mass Index" by Ancel Keys in 1972 for use in health research.

In a nutshell, BMI was invented by a white male who wasn’t even a health professional! So why are we using this ridiculous test? Why is it being used on women? Do folks still using this ridiculous test realise the damage it can cause to women who are already struggling with body image or eating issues?

I just had to fill this out for my health fund profile. Needless to say, I’ve sent them an email!




24/12/2025
As we know, working with complex trauma is tough work. We spend our working life supporting folks. During the holidays w...
23/12/2025

As we know, working with complex trauma is tough work. We spend our working life supporting folks. During the holidays we can be surrounded by lots of family and friends and whilst it is a different kind of being with people, sometimes it might be about planning something just for you without lots of folks around.

If you need to, set a boundary and make a plan to have some time to yourself. Weather permitting, finding your favourite place in nature can be nurturing. Give yourself permission to take the well-earned time for you.











As mentioned in a previous post, I am sharing small tips and strategies for those helping professionals working with tra...
19/12/2025

As mentioned in a previous post, I am sharing small tips and strategies for those helping professionals working with trauma.

The first tip is about gift buying.

If you choose to buy gifts during the holiday season, reflect on the gift you would like to receive. Have you included yourself in the gift list? Buy yourself a gift, or give to a charity that fits with your values. Explore how you can be caring to yourself. Wrap up the gift or charity certificate for yourself as if you were lovingly and caringly wrapping it for your best friend.











Over the days leading up to the holiday break and during, I’ll be sharing small tips and strategies for those helping pr...
18/12/2025

Over the days leading up to the holiday break and during, I’ll be sharing small tips and strategies for those helping professionals working with trauma. Working with complex trauma is tough work. Whether you celebrate the holidays or not, there are some public holidays coming up. It’s important to find moments of joy, love, connection, rest and things that bring a sense of purpose and meaning away from your work. Over the coming holidays, may you find these moments. šŸ’š













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08/12/2025

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At this time of year, conversations inevitably go to Holiday topics. There can often be an assumption that folks are inv...
03/12/2025

At this time of year, conversations inevitably go to Holiday topics. There can often be an assumption that folks are involved in activities during this time. We don’t always know someone else’s story. For many folks with trauma stories, this time of year can be a difficult one and also one that some folks don’t want to be a part of.

Instead of asking, ā€œwhat are you doing for Christmas?ā€, we could ask, ā€œare you doing anything over the holidays?ā€ If they say ā€œNoā€, we can leave it at that and move on to another topic unless they choose to elaborate.








As we approach the holiday season, it’s important to be reminded of protective behaviours for your child. https://www.cl...
28/11/2025

As we approach the holiday season, it’s important to be reminded of protective behaviours for your child.

https://www.claremacleodconsultancy.com/post/protective-behaviours-during-the-holiday-season










As we know, the funny memes come out at this time of year, many of which are like the one I have shared here. The difference is, I do not find this remotely funny at all. This child is clearly distressed, listening to his gut and body. The distress here is NOT worth the Christmas photo and nor is it...

Whilst it’s not Thanksgiving here in Australia, and there are many posts regarding the holiday, there are plenty of post...
26/11/2025

Whilst it’s not Thanksgiving here in Australia, and there are many posts regarding the holiday, there are plenty of posts and other marketing from the US telling us to make sure we get our workouts in before eating a feast! Not on my watch. Whilst the below meme is for Thanksgiving, let’s also keep this in mind for the holidays following Thanksgiving.

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