- Adoptees’ Experiences of Counselling This article is a summary of my thesis on adoptees and counselling. The thesis was entitled ‘Adoptees’ Perceptions of Their Counselling Experiences and Suggestions for Counsellors’. It was submitted as part of the requirements of the Masters in Psychology Counselling at Monash University in January 2017. Adoptees’ Experiences of Counselling Counsellors are not usually provided […]
- In conversation with … Heather Kinang … Himalayan Climber, Trekker, Yoga Teacher and Late Discoverer Heather whenever I see a post of yours in social media it usually shows you climbing a mountain, running alongside the Brisbane river or in a complex yoga pose. You do seem to love the outdoors and enjoy physical activity. If we can start with your trekking adventures in the Nepal and Kathmandu mountains what […]
- Living with Adoption: A Quest for Hope, Healing and Happiness I acknowledge the mothers, fathers, adopted persons and their family members who are directly affected by adoption. I acknowledge your loss, separation, pain, and the associated uncertainty you may live with. We all carry and have to deal with our emotional wounds. I offer you strength and patience in doing so. My focus today is […]
- Writing as Therapy I was one of three guest authors invited to talk at a recent Speakers Forum hosted by Counsellors Tricia Dearden and Brooke Bengston at the Post Adoption Resource Centre, Sydney. Alongside Margaret Watson who spoke about her book Surviving Secrets, and Gwen Wilson who reflected on her memoir I Belong to No One, I talked […]
- The Space Between Spits of rain pierce dappled sun under the tall pines. A white marquee, a podium, three huge black rocks wrapped with a very long yellow ribbon, a pack of media, a crowd of mostly women, milling, meeting old friends being introduced to others. A day that had been waited for… Grundy Gardens is behind Adelaide’s […]
- Begin Again – A Workshop for Adult Adoptees I spoke with Sherry Hearn about her counselling / coaching business and the one day workshop she is offering to adopted people at Relationships Australia on 17 September 2016, in Adelaide. Sherry, you are an adopted person, born in New Zealand, in the 1970s. You grew up in Christchurch and Hawaii before studying at […]
- In Conversation with Margaret Watson about her book Surviving Secrets It’s several years since your memoir Surviving Secrets was published and I reviewed it for the Australian Journal of Adoption. How has your life been in the intervening years since the book went to print? Thank you for that review Thomas and your support for my memoir. It is coming up to 7 years since […]
- National Apology for Forced Adoption National Apology for Forced Adoptions The third anniversary of the National Apology for Forced Adoption is fast approaching. It was delivered by former Prime Minister Julia Gilliard in the Great Hall of the Australian Parliament on 21 March 2013. The ornate parchment in guilded, coloured and black calligraphy sits inside Parliament House alongside the National Apologies for […]
- When Adoption is Forever Adoption is forever. Over the decades there have been few days when I haven’t thought about my adoption and its impact on my life. Adoption stays with you always. Consequently, you do need to make provision for it, make sense of it, or find peace with it, otherwise it is likely to prod, nag, itch, […]