With a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Criminology, I finished university hopeful to make the world a better place. Landing a job in foster care, I quickly became aware of the complexities and challenges we as humans face, trying to build and sustain relationships in the context of fear and distress. Over the years moving between out of home care and child protection roles and furthering my education by becoming a registered counsellor, I met many people and noticed a similar pattern. We are all yearning for connection, yet we live in a world that underestimates the importance of human connection for safety and wellbeing. We know from research that distress, isolation, and fear influence our mentality, our physical health and our emotional wellbeing. Yet, for many systems that work to support people, a model of relational safety is not upheld or often is unheard of.

Becoming a Mum, I experienced the rollercoaster of conflicting emotions; joy, overwhelm, anxiety, love, helplessness, excitement, exhaustion and the list goes on. It was the best and most challenging year of my life. What held me through those challenging, sleep deprived times, were the relationships around me. Relationships that allowed me to feel seen, heard and accepted.

It is my hope that DOMIA Mind Body Connect can be a platform for connection, knowledge, positivity, and hope, where people can gain a deeper understanding of how to foster relational safety in their own lives and build deep and meaning connections with their loved ones.