Alchemise Holistic Therapy, Newcastle & Central Coast, Central Coast (2025)

06/11/2025

🐾✨ Therapy Dog in Training ✨🐾

Exciting news! Dolly and I have officially begun our Therapy Dogs Australia training programme together, and she is taking to it like the natural little heart-led healer that she is 😍.

Once qualified, she will join me in selected therapy sessions to support anxiety and emotional regulation, social communication and interaction, and individualised animal-assisted interventions 🐶💛

Dogs have lived and worked alongside humans for thousands of years guiding, guarding, herding, hunting and, in this case, co-regulating. While Dolly may look far (faaaaar 😅) removed from her wolf ancestors, she still carries the innate ability to read and respond to human emotion.

Therapy dogs are different from assistance dogs and companion dogs. Therapy dogs support many different clients within structured clinical, community, or educational settings and always work alongside a trained therapy professional. Assistance dogs support one person with disability-related tasks and have public access rights. Companion dogs provide comfort at home but are not trained for therapeutic intervention. 🐕

Specially trained therapy dogs can help activate the social engagement system, slow heart rate, reduce cortisol, and promote feelings of safety and connection, which are key foundations for emotional regulation and healing. 🤍

Importantly, Dolly’s wellbeing will never be compromised in any way. Even though she thrives on meeting new people, she needs her rest time too. Part of our training focuses on reading and responding to our dog’s body language to make sure sessions are safe and enjoyable for everyone involved 💓

Becoming a therapy dog handler has been a dream of mine, so I am beyond excited to bring this next chapter to life. We are due to complete our training by February 2026 and cannot wait to see the difference we can make in people’s lives as a team 🥰

If you aren’t already, follow our journey here or on instagram 💛

🐾✨ramm

30/10/2025

Anyone who knows me knows I have a soft spot for all things magical and mysterious ✨

And with October 31 almost upon us, here’s your reminder to get amongst it 🎃 … and also remember that behind the witch hats, broomsticks and black cats lies a history that’s more than a bit spooky.

Between the 15th and 18th centuries in Europe, around 40,000–60,000 people were executed for alleged witchcraft, most of them women. Many were healers, midwives, herbalists, or simply women who didn’t fit the mould: too outspoken, too independent, too beautiful, or owning a little too many cats (srsly) 🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛

The witch hunts may look different now, but discrimination and gendered oppression haven’t vanished, just changed form.

So while we celebrate witches today with humour, fun and Kmart (let’s be honest 😆), it’s also a chance to reclaim what “witch” really means: owning your power, trusting your intuition, creating change from within, and using that magic outwardly through kindness, courage and values-led action.

This Halloween, may we remember those witches who came before us and continue rewrite their story in our own way. 💪 🖤

DM for credits or removal 🥰✨

💫

19/10/2025

Another inspiring weekend of events as part of Mental Health Month 2025 💛

launched this year’s Bounceback exhibition on Saturday night, which annually showcases work by their incredible AiR participants (including a client of my own - so proud!!!). The art therapy programme is 100% volunteer run and provides a safe and welcoming space for participants to regularly create, feel, heal and connect through art. The exhibition runs until 26 October 2025 but I recommend getting in early as a lot of the art sells so quickly! Shout out to .wynd for sharing their impressive visual and musical artistry! 💛

Today’s Wellness Walk along Newcastle’s foreshore was another fun and beautiful reminder of our community’s commitment to raising awareness for mental health and joining forces to create meaningful change 💛

Whoever and wherever you are, please let this be your reminder that there are people and places out there who are dedicated to making the world a kinder place, who will hold space for you with genuine compassion, and who will listen without judgment. 💛

10/10/2025

🌱 🧠 Happy World Mental Health Day 2025 🧠 ✌️

This year’s theme focuses on the power of community and connection - the reminder that we aren’t meant to do life alone. Numerous studies support that being part of something, no matter how small, can significantly support our mental wellbeing. But connection isn’t about having a large circle of friends or being surrounded by people all the time - it’s quality over quantity. What matters most is feeling safe, seen, and understood, even if that comes from just one trusted person 💛

Still, connection isn’t always simple. For people living with trauma, anxiety, or social communication differences, reaching out or spending time with others can feel daunting or even unsafe. The idea of face-to-face connection can bring pressure or sensory overwhelm, making it hard to know where to begin.

But connection can be many things. It can be quiet, slow, or indirect, found in moments of shared presence, gentle gestures, or small acts of reaching out.

If direct connection feels too intense right now, here are some softer ways to nurture that sense of belonging in your own time and way:

✨ Write a letter to a friend and post it.
✨ Send a voice note instead of a text - hearing someone’s voice can feel grounding and more tangible than text.
✨ Arrange a future catch-up, even if it’s weeks away as something small to look forward to together.
✨ Go for a walk or bike ride where you might see others. You don’t have to talk, just share the space.
✨ Take yourself to the movies. Being surrounded by others in a shared experience still counts.
✨ Tell that one special person in your life who you trust and love how much they mean to you.
✨ Join or participate in a safe online community that feels supportive. Sometimes online is all we can manage and that’s okay.
✨ Visit a dog park - whether or not you have a dog, animals often bring warmth and a sense of connection (often their owners too!).
✨ Spend time in nature. Connection isn’t always human; it can be found in what’s living and breathing around you. 🌿

Sending love to everyone who needs it this Mental Health Day - pass it on 😌💌

02/10/2025

🌿✨ Rest in peace to this legend ✨🌿

Not everyone knows this, but my first degree was in science. I majored in Zoology. My love for animals and curiosity about how the world works was shaped by three very cool and inspiring nature-lovers and total legends: David Suzuki, David Attenborough, and Jane Goodall.

Jane’s story stood out to me in a particularly powerful way. She didn’t begin her career as a scientist in the conventional sense. She started as a secretary with a dream of working with animals, and despite facing dismissal in a male-dominated field, she went on to transform how we see chimpanzees, apes, and in turn, ourselves. She lived alongside them, recognised them as sentient beings, and helped bring their lives and complex behaviours into human consciousness in a way that science had never done before.

Her perspective was untainted by rigid systems. She led with a felt sense of connection and followed it with meticulous evidence collected over years of compassion and commitment. That approach still inspires me today in my work as a Mental Health Occupational Therapist. Jane helped me understand a few things that I feel are foundational to my outlook, not just in my work but in life itself:

1. That science-based evidence and heart-led intuition do not need to be, nor should be, mutually exclusive.

2. That while it can sometimes feel easier to love animals, we are all just big apes - all deserving of compassion, curiosity, and care.

If it hadn’t been for inspirations like her, I may never have found the path that led me here, to understanding and supporting people, often connecting through nature and a shared love of animals, and remembering what we are capable of when we lead with our hearts as well as our minds.

Her life reminds us all that love and curiosity over judgment for all living things - no matter how differently our bodies look or our brains are wired - is at the heart of meaningful change.

The world was lucky to have Jane in it and we remain lucky to carry her lessons forward 🍃 🖤 🤍 🍂

01/10/2025

Bring your pet to therapy day ft. Tiger the spiny leaf insect! 🍂🥰

Full disclosure: this day is by no means official within the therapy space (why would it be? Every day should be a pet day!) and is currently very pet-type dependent 😅

HOWEVER, it did remind me just how much value our furry/scaly/feathery friends can bring to the OT session, whether that be through co-regulation, joint attention, values-directed conversations and goal-setting, or simply a sense of meaning, safety and joy while working through tough feelings and thoughts.

This spiky little friend was a total joy to have around and made for all of the above. Although she may be small, she added such value and a beautiful energy to the space. And it got me thinking (definitely not for the first time!): how many of us would bring a companion animal with us to therapy sessions if we could? How many of us would love a therapy animal (a little different from a companion animal in that they are trained specifically for therapy purposes and generally owned by the therapist) to be present in sessions?

I’d love to know thoughts via PM or comments. My brain is a cauldron of ideas - keen to add yours to the mix ✨🐕🐱🐦 🐍 ✨

23/09/2025

Your mind is a creative storyteller. A resourceful problem-solver. An endless sea of possibilities…

And for those reasons, it can sometimes also be a huge pain in the a$$ 😅

When we grow up in a world that is messy and confusing (that’s all of us btw, but extra points if you’ve experienced trauma, neurodivergence, or insecure early attachments), the mind learns ways to cope. These strategies begin with good intentions: they protect us, they help us through, they show us what matters.

But over time, not every strategy keeps serving us. Some may still move us closer to the life and connections we care about, while others keep us stuck on repeat, drain our energy, create distance from others, or fuel conflict.

Let’s be clear: there’s no shame in this. These patterns were born from the mind doing its best with the skills it had at the time. It’s just that now you may have outgrown them.

My role isn’t to judge your strategies as “good/bad” or “right/wrong.” It’s to help you:

• notice which mental scripts and behaviour response patterns aren’t serving you anymore
• make choices from a place of mindfulness rather than autopilot
• choose actions aligned with your values, so you can build a life of fulfilment, healthy relationships, and self-trust ✨

This often involves strengthening skills in mindfulness, interoceptive (mind–body) awareness, self-compassion, communication, boundary setting, emotional regulation, goal setting, and action-planning. So you can confidently take that flower by the hand, rather than the teeth 🐕🌼🥲

29/08/2025

Adding a little purple to your get-up never hurt anyone, but bullying, violence and hatred continues to cause serious harm to young members of the community every day.

Whether or not you’re a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, there’s still time to show your support for young community members and celebrate their futures by sticking on a little purple before you head out tonight 💜

🏳️‍🌈

13/08/2025

I attended the Neurodivergence Wellbeing Conference hoping to gain insight and learn new tools for my beautiful clients at - I definitely wasn’t disappointed 🤩

An unexpected bonus was the deeper understanding I gained of how my own life has been shaped by the experience of being an undiagnosed/heavily suspected neurodivergent girl, from sensory and schooling nightmares to major health complications in adolescence and early adulthood. Katie Koullas’ slides (some of which I have shared here*) were as alarming as they were hopeful. The more meaningful support we can provide to our young (and older!) ND ladies, the better off we and the world as a whole will be. 🐞

Also featured are selected slides* from fabulous research presented by Dr Chris Edwards supporting self-compassion as an evidence-based intervention for ND individuals. Yes - interventions can be simple, soft and kind while extremely effective. 💛

The final slide* presents the numerous coping strategies used by a group of women and gender-diverse individuals with ADHD in a study by Dr Oli Meredith of presented by Dr Jaquelyn Osborne. The role of community, including social media communities, was central. Nature, music, and the company of animals also contributed to wellbeing, while physical activity helped manage challenging symptoms. I look forward to continuing to implement these strategies with my clients (and referencing this study in my FCAs 😅🙄).

I cannot express enough my admiration and gratitude for the strength of this community. Neurodivergent people keep showing up, sharing their stories, advocating and educating others and pushing for change — not because it’s their job, but because they care enough to make the world better for everyone. 🌻

Thank you to every speaker, organiser and community member who made these two days what they were. 🙏💛 For anyone considering, I highly recommend checking out the conference next year .

* Please PM me if you would prefer I do not share these slides 🙂🙏

11/08/2025

A few highlights from Day 1 of the Neurodivergence Wellbeing Conference 2025 🌻

Especially loved listening to on destigmatising multiplicity and dissociation, the OT role in maternal wellbeing in ND families by , and how ND shapes the brain as well as the body with ✨

Other highlights include the normalisation of:

- socialising without the expectation of awkward small talk 🚦(or any talk)

- the potential for sensory processing differences to be a genuinely painful experience 🙉

- self-compassion and strength-based approaches ☀️

- dark humour 🖤🤭

Looking forward to Day 2 🙌 💫

Alchemise Holistic Therapy

06/11/2025

30/10/2025

19/10/2025

10/10/2025

02/10/2025

01/10/2025

23/09/2025

29/08/2025

13/08/2025

11/08/2025

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