Breaking Free - October 2021

From the Editor

What an amazing day Blue Knot Day 2021 was! Connection and engagement are what healing and recovery is all about. It is about listening and hearing and believing. It is about sharing what is comfortable for each person and having your feelings validated. It is about knowing that you matter and that what happened to you matters. And most importantly it is about understanding that even though we may feel alone and isolated, there are many others who are on their journey too – a unique journey but one which also has some shared experiences, challenges and possibilities.

We thank the Minister for Families and Social Services, Minister for Women’s Safety, Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston for launching Blue Knot Day. We thank the Minister for her support and for launching our Guideline and Plain English Guide around building a trauma-informed community in the disability sector.

On Blue Knot Day we heard from a number of survivors who provided us with a window into their journeys, through trauma-informed support or in advocating for trauma-informed change. A very big thank you to Andrew, to Helen, to Robert and to Celeste. We heard from some of our Ambassadors, our trainers and our counsellors – reflections on what building a trauma-informed community means to them. And we shared time with Janine, Louise, Natasha, Jo, Tamara and Shirley gaining insights through learning and engaging in activities and concepts and reflections.

Hundreds of survivors and their supporters joined our mini-webinars, with a big thank you to Tamara and her team for providing such important accessible information so seamlessly.

A big thank you to our Blue Knot team, to Anne, Tamara, Dylan and everyone who together made this day the great success it was. But most of all a big thank you to our community for joining us and supporting our vision of building a trauma-informed community.

Again, we thank you for your support and look forward to you joining us again next year on Blue Knot Day 2022. So put the date in your diary today – Thursday, October 27th 2022!

In other significant news, we are delighted to announce our partnership with The Healing Foundation and Australian Childhood Foundation for the National Centre for Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Our aligned values, approach and passion will see our partnership help change the lives of Australians now and into the future. We look forward to updating you on the progress of this vital initiative.

Thank you for joining us on Blue Knot Day!

Introduction and Welcome to Blue Knot Day

Dr Cathy Kezelman welcomes us all to Blue Knot Day, and introduces Minister Ruston to officially launch the day along with new Blue Knot Guidelines and Plain English Guide for Trauma-Informed Practice for the disability sector. The guidelines are available for download here

Building a Trauma-Informed Community

Hear Blue Knot Ambassadors, facilitators, counsellors and friends of Blue Knot share their reflections about what a trauma-informed community means to them

Dr Cathy Kezelman in conversation with Louise

Louise shares insights from her own healing journey, training and study and how they have informed her work and her advocacy around building a trauma-informed world.

Detective Inspector Peter Fox talks about the importance of a trauma-informed community

Morning and Afternoon Meditations with Natascha

Join Natascha as she guides us through gentle meditations to help centre our mind and spirit. These sessions can be explored at your own pace, and you can stop or pause the videos at any time.

Morning and Afternoon Meditations with Natascha

Join Natascha as she guides us through gentle meditations to help centre our mind and spirit. These sessions can be explored at your own pace, and you can stop or pause the videos at any time.

Dr Cathy Kezelman in conversation with Celeste

Celeste reflects on her process of recovery, and her vision and advocacy for a trauma-informed justice system.

*Trigger warning * This conversation discusses issues related to experiences of abuse and trauma. Although focussed on today’s theme of building a trauma-informed community and healing, the conversation may cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories for some people who have their own experiences of violence, abuse or trauma.

Trauma-Informed Art Therapy with Jane Daisley-Snow

Explore a creative way to support wellbeing by using different types of clay. This session will explore how we can use clay to calm the nervous system. You can use any soft clay or if you are feeling adventurous, feel free to make your own.

Trauma-Informed Aquatics – Presented by Janine Ramsey

Janine Ramsey is a counsellor and is passionate about all things aquatic. She talks and presents information in a webinar format about the nurturing properties of water, while highlighting the need for trauma-informed principles to be embedded into swimming coaching.

Neta in conversation with Robert

Robert speaks with Neta about his time in and out of the prison system, and how the counselling support he has received from the National Counselling and Referral Service team has changed his life.

*Trigger warning * This conversation discusses issues related to experiences of abuse and trauma. Although focussed on today’s theme of building a trauma-informed community and healing, the conversation may cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories for some people who have their own experiences of violence, abuse or trauma.

Dr Cathy Kezelman in conversation with Andrew

Andrew speaks about his journey of recovery and what’s helped him along the way, including the use of humour as a coping mechanism.

*Trigger warning * This conversation discusses issues related to experiences of abuse and trauma. Although focussed on today’s theme of building a trauma-informed community and healing, the conversation may cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories for some people who have their own experiences of violence, abuse or trauma.

Trauma-Sensitive Yoga with Shirley Hicks

Shirley takes us through a gentle trauma-informed yoga session suitable for participants of all levels. You may take part at your own pace and stop or pause the video at any time.

Close of Blue Knot Day 2021 by Tamara O’Sullivan

Tamara closes the day by reflecting on the theme of building a trauma-informed community, the contributions of the day and sharing thanks to all who have participated and contributed.

Other Blue Knot Day Resources
We also featured a range of useful resources to help build knowledge and provide support in the areas of complex trauma.

Having Safe Conversations
A series of fact sheets to support safe conversations with a friend, family member or colleague who you suspect or know has experiences of trauma. You can download them from our website here.

https://blueknot.org.au/resources/blue-knot-fact-sheets/talking-about-trauma/

Supporter Fact Sheet
Are you supporting a family member, friend, partner or someone you care about to recover from childhood trauma? Our fact sheet can help you understand what happened to them, how it’s affected them and how you can help. You can download it in standard, Easy Read, Plain English and other languages free from our website here.

https://blueknot.org.au/resources/blue-knot-fact-sheets/survivors-and-supporters/supporting-recovery/

Survivor Self-Care
Survivors often find it hard to care for and look after themselves. We have developed a number of resources that we hope can help you choose simple ways to support and care for yourself. Read more here

https://blueknot.org.au/survivors/survivor-self-care/

In the Media

What does building a trauma-informed community actually look like?

Interview with Dr Cathy Kezelman and ProBono Australia

Complex trauma almost ended Paul Klotz’s life until someone believed him. Four survivors with lived experience share their stories.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-28/trauma-survivors-call-for-compassion-support-on-blue-knot-day/100572166

https://abcmedia.akamaized.net/radio/local_capricornia/audio/202110/akr-2021-10-28-complex-trauma-podcast.mp3

Dr Cathy Kezelman interview with ABC Western QLD

Listen to the podcast here

Dr Cathy Kezelman discusses Blue Knot Day with The Advocate

Listen on Spotify here
Listen on Apple here

Other Blue Knot Foundation News

Announcing our partnership for the National Centre for Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

A big part of Blue Knot’s mission is building awareness across the community about what it means to be trauma-informed.  The vision of a trauma-informed community which enables healing in which survivors are supported and understood is what drives us, and what inspired our theme for Blue Knot Day this year.  The theme – Building a Trauma-Informed Community allows us to share what this means for  everyone affected by complex trauma – those impacted by it and those supporting them.  This year, our program includes people with a lived experience of complex trauma sharing their experiences of what helped them in their path to recovery and their reflections on a trauma-informed community. We also hear from trauma-informed advocates and change agents sharing their ideas and experiences and have the opportunity to participate in trauma-informed activities.  In addition, we are excited to offer free webinars and other resources to provide information and support and help build a trauma-informed community.

It is hard to believe that it has been 3 years since the National Apology to victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. And it is now also almost 4 years since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse handed its report to government. The Royal Commission was a watershed time for survivors, and it is great to see that work enacted further with the proposed National Centre, along with other initiatives.

That’s why we at Blue Knot together with our partners The Healing Foundation and Australian Childhood Foundation have been so delighted to have been selected to establish and run the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. With partners who are so uniquely aligned in values, approach and passion we are keen to be able to work together and with so many others to help change Australian lives now and into the future.

The current name does not fully capture the intent of this Centre, and one of the first activities of the Centre will be to consult widely to identify a suitable name. In addition to its focus on prevention, around which we will work closely with the National Office of Child Safety, the Centre will have the voices, expertise and needs of survivors at its core.

Its focus will be on a range of activities to improve responses to survivors, opportunities for support as well as prevention strategies. To support its leadership role the National Centre will engage widely, in the first instance through genuine co-design processes with survivors across the lifespan and from diverse backgrounds. It will seek to find out what is needed, and what is missing, and be informed by lived experience and expertise, practice and research over time.

At Blue Knot we know the importance of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and we are keen to continue that work for survivors of child sexual abuse not just from institutions but from the home, family and neighbourhood. For sadly child sexual abuse is pervasive and its origins, dynamics are the harm it causes are complex. There is a lot to learn and a lot to do, but doing it well is just so critical and we will be reaching out for your support and guidance over time.
Although the National Centre’s remit is child sexual abuse, we believe that many of the insights it finds, the changes it drives and the developments it makes will also be of great benefit to people experiencing other forms of abuse and trauma. For child sexual abuse rarely if ever occurs in isolation either as a single trauma or event and it occurs within an individual, familial and societal context. All of these elements need to be well explored and understood so that the changes made are meaningful and real.

Blue Knot’s mission is to empower recovery for the more than 5 million Australians impacted by complex trauma, of which child sexual abuse is an all too common and significant cause. With this in mind, Blue Knot itself will continue its leadership and advocacy for people with complex trauma experiences because this is our core, and we will continue building a trauma-informed community for all Australians.

Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder
Book Pre-Order with Discount

This beautifully illustrated picture book and guidebook set offers a broad introduction to childhood trauma and its legacies, with a focus on dissociation and DID. Written with clinical accuracy, warmth and accessibility to individuals of all ages and backgrounds, it provides a non-threatening understanding of dissociation and DID that will empower survivors and educate the friends, family and professionals who want or need to learn more about the condition.

The set includes:

  • Our House: Making Sense of Dissociative Identity Disorder, a simple and accessible picture book that uses the metaphor of a house to explain how and why DID can develop. Additional guidance accompanies the story, explaining the metaphor in depth, offering advice regarding dissociative disorders, and signposting further help for both individuals and professionals.
  • Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Guidebook for Survivors and Practitioners, provides practical exercises and opportunities for reflective discussion that will expand and deepen the understanding, application and usefulness of the picture book. This resource is accompanied by downloadable resources.

This is an invaluable resource for survivors of trauma and for those who support them, counsellors, psychologists, social care workers and other professionals, as well as family and friends.

Order here
20% Discount Available – enter the code FLR40 at checkout (see attached flyer for details)