Natural Connections

Natural Connections Integrative Psychotherapist, Group Facilitator and Wellness Consultant BIO: Lewin de la Motte-Hall,
M.Gestalt Therapy, Grad Dip, GT, Dip.Counseling.

PACFA Clinical Member: 23568

My professional practice is grounded in the feeling of connection and belonging in Nature. These roots have grown from my families work in conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife around the world. Initiating in my adolescence with Taoist martial arts and meditation I began a lifelong affair with “doing nothing but leaving nothing undone”. During this rite of passa

ge into early adulthood I was mentored by Western & Eastern medical practitioners including, Dr John Dolic, Eric Lyleson, Adyashanti, & Dr Eng-KongTan. My career began in childcare as an OOSH Carer and Nature Connection Mentor both in suburbia and the Wilds of the Australian bush. During this time I designed a weekly program of Nature Education for primary school aged children based upon the Natural Learning Cycle. At this time the profound simplicity of the Native American Indian Vision Quest became an important ritual for my transitioning identity. Now after a series of personal quests I have been formally trained in the lineage of Apache Elder Stalking Wolf through Malcolm Ringwalt. Another major source of support and challenge is from my mentors and friends from the Gumbayngirr and Yolngu Nations. They’re refreshing authenticity grounds me and reminds me of the joyful and unfathomable depth of connection that lies within our deepest human-nature. To incorporate these experiences into a way of helping others, I completed 6 years of tertiary education in psychology and counselling. Learning from leaders in the fields of relational neuroscience, attachment, and somatic psychotherapy. Academically I completed a masters thesis on Eco-psychotherapy, as well as specialising in Wilderness Therapy with Adolescents. Both papers I have written for professionals interested in bringing their psychological practice outdoors. I have worked as a psychotherapist at both local community centres in rural towns and with international companies and am currently specialising in trauma and addictions treatment at Australia's leading treatment centre. I run an online private practice an in person practice in Coffs Harbour and lead Wellness Consultancy for organisations seeking to incorporate healthy communication practices.

17/04/2026
15/04/2026

Mentoring

Our Brian’s don’t just need omega 3s, omega 3s are a core component of your brains neuro chemistry - but don’t take it f...
11/04/2026

Our Brian’s don’t just need omega 3s, omega 3s are a core component of your brains neuro chemistry

- but don’t take it from me, see a PhD biochemist break it down in this infographic.

***And no u can’t get enough omega 3 from ALA (ALA is mislabeled as an omega 3) it has a conversion rate of 1-3% into omega 3, which means the amounts of ALA in Chia/flaxseed/walnut we would need to eat to get optimal amounts of omega 3s is not practically achievable (Lily Nichols, RDN breaks this down in her articles)

Most omega-3 marketing talks about fish oil "supporting brain health" as though it acts on the brain from the outside. The biology is more fundamental than that. DHA is not simply something your brain uses. It is something your brain is physically made from.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a 22-carbon fatty acid with six double bonds. It constitutes approximately 40% of all polyunsaturated fatty acids in the brain and over 90% of the brain's omega-3 content. EPA, by comparison, is 250 to 300 times lower in concentration. When people say "omega-3 for the brain," the molecule that matters structurally is DHA.

DHA sits primarily at the sn-2 position of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine, two of the dominant phospholipids in neuronal membranes. Each of its six double bonds introduces a bend in the carbon chain. Those accumulated kinks prevent the tails from packing tightly, which increases membrane fluidity. That fluidity is not abstract. It determines how quickly every receptor, ion channel, and signaling protein embedded in the membrane can change conformation in response to a signal.

McNamara et al. (2007, Biological Psychiatry) measured the total fatty acid composition of postmortem orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann Area 10) in 15 patients with major depressive disorder and 27 age-matched controls. After correction for multiple comparisons, DHA was the only fatty acid that was significantly different. MDD patients had 22% less DHA in this region. The deficit was greater in women (32%) than in men (16%), and could not be wholly attributed to lifestyle factors or postmortem tissue variables.

An important nuance: this deficit appears to be region-specific. Later studies from the same group found no significant DHA differences in the amygdala, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, or other prefrontal areas. The orbitofrontal cortex, the region involved in decision-making, reward evaluation, and emotional regulation, was selectively affected. That specificity makes the finding more precise, not less meaningful.

This is a single postmortem study with a small sample size, and it establishes association, not causation. We cannot say DHA deficiency caused the depression. But the structural role of DHA in the membrane is not in question, and the selective deficit in a region central to mood regulation is worth paying attention to.

Practically: DHA is not synthesized efficiently from plant-based ALA. Conversion rates from ALA to DHA in humans are estimated at less than 1% in most studies. Preformed DHA comes from fatty fish, fish oil, algal oil, and to a lesser extent eggs and organ meats. If you are supplementing omega-3 for brain-related reasons, the DHA content per serving matters more than the total omega-3 on the label. Many products are EPA-dominant. For structural brain composition, DHA is the relevant molecule.

McNamara et al., Biol Psychiatry, 2007.

Weiser et al., Nutrients, 2016.

23/03/2026

I was once told by the late Yuin Elder Uncle Max Harrison that the Lyrebird (Ngarran Ngarran) gave humans language

And that if I wanted to understand what he meant I should find a lyrebirds nest and sit next to it for a long time

The gifts of listening

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364 Harbour Drive
Coffs Harbour, NSW
2450

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Monday 12pm - 6:30pm
Tuesday 12pm - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 12pm - 6pm

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Creating natural, healthy relationships with yourself and others

The more we are connected to natural ways of being in relationship, the healthier we are. This healthy connectedness is created by weaving three strands: Taking responsibility for the ways we communicate, learning to pay curious attention to the details of our inner world and remembering a sense of belonging to “Place.” Alongside 1-1 therapy (medium to long term), I facilitate Connective Conversations with diverse groups of children, teens and adults and work cross culturally with indigenous communities. Specialising in;

~Developing Emotional Resilience (EQ)

~Reaching out beyond Depressive experience

~Calming Anxiety, panic and overwhelm