Breaking Free – October 2022

From the editor

Thank you for joining us on Blue Knot Day, and coming together as a community for our annual festival of healing with the theme  ‘Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul – Exploring What You Need’.

Hundreds of survivors and their supporters joined our mini-webinars, covering the topics Building Connection to Body, and Compassion and Empathy.  We also shared a self-containment exercise, some information about trauma-informed mindfulness, and a simple wellbeing tool to help in the development of a wellbeing plan which were all very popular.  Nurturing mind, body and soul is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Our aim was to provide real and practical information that is easy to implement, and to provide some inspiration for those looking to try something a bit different. We’ve included further information about the content we shared on Blue Knot Day in this newsletter.

Again, we thank you for your support and look forward to you joining us again next year on Blue Knot Day – Thursday, October 26th 2023!

In other significant news, we are honoured to have been recognised at The Enablement Awards, with Blue Knot receiving an award for “The Most Outstanding Counselling and Support Service in Australia in 2022 – for our National Counselling and Referral Service. A big congratulations and sincere thanks to Neta, the Manager of the NCRS and every single member of the team.

Until next time, take care
Blue Knot Team

Thank you for joining us on Blue Knot Day 2022

Introduction to Blue Knot Day 2022

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Dr Cathy Kezelman, President of Blue Knot Foundation gives a warm welcome to all this Blue Knot Day, and invites everyone to join us and take part in this year's…

Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul – Exploring what you need

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This year's Blue Knot Day theme of "Nurturing Mind, Body and Soul - Exploring what you need" acknowledges that each individual's path to healing and wellbeing is different and finding…

Wellbeing Tool & Dimensions of Self Care

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The first step is acknowledging the importance of having a wellbeing plan, identifying what a plan may include, and developing a plan for self-care that is meaningful to you. The…
Self-compassion allows us to engage difficult thoughts, feelings, and sensations with open eyes and an open heart at a pace we can manage.

Compassion and Empathy

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Deb Dana draws from Polyvagal Theory in observing that compassion emerges from a ventral vagal state in which we are open and grounded, and which enables our capacity for social…

Wellbeing from Rose Parker, Ambassador

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Meet our Ambassador Rose Parker, she shares what she does to maintain her daily wellbeing. Our theme for our annual Festival of Healing this Blue Knot Day is “Nurturing Mind,…
What are your low, medium and high impact strategies for wellbeing?

Survivor Resources

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For many of us finding the motivation to engage in self-care practices can be a challenge, feeding into our feelings of low self worth and keeping us in a shame…

Meditation

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Creating a safe space internally can support you to regulate your mind and body if you are feeling overwhelmed. This visualisation can help create a container of safety for you…

Self Hold Containment Resource – Natajsa Wagner

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This self hold containment resource can help us to re-ground, re-balance and reduce sympathetic nervous system activation. This is a way to feel the physical container of our body and…

Supporter Resources

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Compassion fatigue can be a side effect of caring for someone in need. It causes physical and emotional exhaustion and reduces the ability to empathise. When you are overly compassionate…

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness

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Trauma-informed mindfulness is mindfulness practice which has been adapted to the needs of people with experiences of complex trauma. It is important to note that some aspects of mindfulness and…

Blue Knot Brand

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Thank you for joining us this Blue Knot Day. As our Festival of Healing draws to a close we wanted to bring you back to the essence of Blue Knot…

The National Centre Would Like Your Feedback

The National Centre is seeking feedback about its Draft Five-year Strategy and plans to urgently tackle the problem of child sexual abuse. Marking the fourth anniversary of the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, the National Centre has identified seven key challenges that need to be overcome in order to more effectively protect children and better support adult victims and survivors.

“The Draft Five Year Strategy sets out what we need to do, when, and how to stop child sexual abuse before it starts and drive generational change for everyone subjected to the trauma it causes.”

Dr Cathy Kezelman AM, Deputy Chair of the Board of the National Centre

To find out more including how to provide feedback on the five-year strategy please visit https://www.ncacsa.org.au/news/draft-five-year-strategy/

Victims and Survivors’ Perspectives on Sex Offender Reintegration

This project is being undertaken by a team of researchers in the School of Justice at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in collaboration with the Bravehearts Foundation.

The purpose of this project is to better understand victim/survivors’ views about sex offender reintegration and the management of sex offenders within the community. This study will contribute new knowledge about victim/survivors’ opinions of sex offender reintegration and provide guidance to policy makers.

We are seeking participants who are victim/survivors of sexual violence, 15 years or older, and who live in Australia. To find out more about the requirements of participation, please access the information sheet here.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact the Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Kelly Richards at E: [email protected] or PH: +61 7 3138 7125.

To respond to the survey go to: https://qsurvey.qut.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_8BUTXZDrEwhc6bk

Blue Knot Foundation Wins Enablement Award

This month, Belinda Johnson, our Deputy CEO, Lyndsey, our NCRS Program Coordinator and I had the honour of attending an Awards ceremony. The Enablement Awards, sponsored by Disability Update, collectively represent a celebration of top performers in the Disability Care, Housing and Services Sector in 2022. They celebrate and reward excellence, innovation and exemplary achievements in the disability sector.

Blue Knot’s Enablement Award we received was for “The Most Outstanding Counselling and Support Service in Australia in 2022 – for our National Counselling and Referral Service

A big congratulations and sincere thanks to Neta, the Manager of the NCRS and every single member of the team. The difference you make in callers’ lives every day is a testament to your commitment, professionalism and humanity.

Cathy Kezelman, President Blue Knot Foundation