My favourite resources: October – December 2023
My favourite resources: October – December 2023
After a super busy and additionally chaotic time traveling and navigating a surprise pre-Christmas gift of COVID-19, it’s somewhat surprised me to be sitting down a week before the festive period – when did December happen? I find it’s even more important to prioritise this practice of reflection when life is extra-busy thought because otherwise it’s almost like operating in some kind of (non-clinical) dissociative haze. And I really do love this week every quarter as it forces me to sit down and really pay attention to how I’ve spent my time, what I’ve consumed and learned, and it can help shape how I plan to spend the next few months.
All of this is central to the purpose of this blog: I really want it to be a useful space where people can find all sorts of therapeutically relevant information, mixed up with a good dollop of personal reflections and ramblings with a sprinkling of humour for good measure. I also want it to be a place where you can find links to all the resources that I share with clients, things that I think have strong therapeutic merit or that are innovative and really want people to see. It also gives you an insight into me, what I believe in, how I practice, and I hope it helps to provide some tangible illustrations of my core values: authenticity, curiosity, integrity, openness, and respect.
Therapy isn’t just about what happens in session. I’m all about being creative with therapy – that’s what the whole ‘therapy. done differently’ is about. I believe that therapy can also come in the form of blogs, podcasts, books and conversations with other people who are important to your healing.
So here are some of my favourite blogs, websites, books, apps etc. that I’ve been devouring – would love to hear what you think of them and hear what you’ve been busy enjoying as I’m always on the lookout for inspiration!
Podcasts / YouTube interviews:
According to my ‘Spotify Wrapped’ for 2023 I’m one of The Imperfects podcast top fans so it won’t be a surprise to find that I’m sharing some of their latest episodes that I’ve loved:
- Season 5, episode 46: Chanel Contos (discussions on consent, #MeToo movement and rape culture) https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/season-5-episode-45-chanel-contos/
- Season 5, episode 44: Gina Chick (especially loved the discussion around discomfort) https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/season-5-episode-44-gina-chick/
- Season 5, episode 30: Prof. Tim Spector (this is where my obsession with the gut microbiome started!) https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/season-5-episode-30-professor-tim-spector/
I don’t mean this to sound like a shameless plug, but I was interviewed for Kylie Patchett’s podcast, menoPAUSE, this quarter and I think we had a really interesting conversation about attachment, relationships, caring/nurturing and how all this evolves and changes through life stages for women. If you didn’t get a chance to listen, here’s how you can find that episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/06LrRb9Xs79sUqq7ytdpbd
Books:
In amongst all the academic reading my PhD requires I’ve managed to sneak in a bit of other reading – some novels and some non-fiction:
- Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well by Prof. Tim Spector (I’m a bit obsessed by role of our gut microbiome and how it can impact of physical and mental health – see the above episode of ‘The Imperfects’ podcast)
After my very brief trip to Japan I’ve been absorbed with reading novels set in Japan / translated from Japanese / written by Japanese authors:
- Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley
- Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Before the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Apps:
- Reading List – one of my goals this year has been to read more consistently and in order to track / record my progress I played with a few different app’s before settling on this one as my fave. So far, I’m on my 20th book in 2023, which is nowhere near as many as I wanted to read but I haven’t recorded the 100’s of articles I’ve read for Uni so I feel like it’s ok. I will though, be adjusting my target for 2024 to be a bit more reasonable. What I learned from this little experiment is that if you don’t have the data, you really don’t have a very clear picture of progress!
Here’s a reminder of the support services that are available 24/7 because therapy isn’t for everyone, it’s not available 24/7 and our challenges don’t always fit neatly into our therapy sessions (if we do therapy):
- Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
- Lifeline – 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline – 1800 55 18 00
- Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
- MensLine – 1300 78 99 78
- QLife – 1800 184 527
- Find your local CAT Team (Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team) https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/crisis-management
If you’d like a space to talk about how you’re feeling, please get in touch with us: www.theabaker.com.au / hello@theabaker.com.au / 03 9077 8194