Community of Practice

A Healing Space is generated through the mindful & discerning practice of safety, kindness & compassion. Practicing as a group creates a container  where we hold each other in safety, acceptance & compassionate care, this has collective benefits. Within this field of practice our bodies may feel 'safe enough' to settle, ground & regulate. Repeated moments of experiencing connection creates a pathway 'home' individually & collectively that builds gravity over time.

Simply put practice is a repeated activity. Intentional practices are transformative & help to shift habitual practices, build resilience & enhance well being. Together we practice & build skills of non-judgemental listening, mindful presence, compassionate care, body awareness & relational skills. Practice deepens understanding of our nervous system & helps to 'befriend' stress regulation.

Our intention is that Heart Place Core Classes ( **Heart Place Class Passes) are trauma & grief informed, mental health aware & compassion focused. For Heart Place to be a space where people feel emotionally, physically &  culturally safe. Heart Place recognises that safety is nuanced & we are all unique. Sense of safety can vary from moment to moment & what may feel safe on one day may feel less so on another. 

We are available to chat on how best to meet your needs. In our classes we encourage you to go at your own pace & rhythm. We support you with each movement or practice in adapting to suit your needs. We offer a variety of group practices as well as private consultation.

The practice of Mindful Compassion brings together the qualities of mindfulness with the benefits of compassion. Mindful compassion is vital in tending to our capacity to care. Dr Kristen Neff's research on self-compassion revealed 3 elements to practice: mindfulness, common humanity & kindness. We begin our journey into compassion with focus on self. At Heart Place we bring awareness to the '3 Circle's of Care': Self - Each Other - Land'.  We Invite you to practice with us.

Awareness of our common humanity helps to bring us together & strengthen community. As we have different needs at different times, we may be focusing on particular skills that are healing & integrative  in our journey. For this reason we offer a range of modalities with availability for group practice (timetable) or one on one (counselling & mind-body tab). 

Coming 2025! Online Practice Library.

We are in process of gathering a trauma informed team offering the following practices & modalities some of which are a program (see tabs) in & of themselves: mindful movement ( yoga, dance, tai chi, qigong), creative expression, mindful art making & craft, theatre for wellbeing, song & sound, mindfulness & meditation.

We are informed by our Vision & Mission  & through intentional practice to create a community of care. This is a non-medical space where as a group we seek to strengthen our capacity to care & our skills to respond to suffering & distress towards ourselves, our community & surrounding communities.

A central principal from our Caring Community Training is that over our lifetime all of us will need to receive caring attention (illness, distress, suffering, grief, childhood & old age) & all of us will care for someone or something larger than ourselves (climate change, conflicts, nature..). 

Capacity to care is vital for wellbeing, social cohesion & indeed our survival. Capacity is dependant on conditions within us & around us. The skills we practice at Heart Place support caring capacity individually & collectively. As part of this program & vision we offer community events, club activities & have a meeting space for discussions & circle facilitations.

Sometimes we need a little help it may be with navigating grief, integrating trauma, we may be experiencing anxiety or depression. Heart Place is building the capacity to offer wrap around services for times when a little help is needed. Currently we have a mental health social worker available on the mental health care plan, a counsellor & trauma informed body therapist experienced in working with trauma as part of an holistic team. See our (Counselling & Mind-Body Tab).

We also train in Mental Health First Aid  (our trainers are licensed with MHFA Australia) & Suicide Prevention this is available for the whole community and specifically our team members. This works hand in hand with our own Caring Community & Trauma Integrative Community training & helps to give the needed skills base to meet our vision & mission.

We are establishing collaborative partnerships with local govt. & universities & referrals from health professionals & GP's for Social Prescriptions. We actively promote awareness of the safety pathways for crisis & emergency see our Directory pdf below visit our Mental Health Station Directory.

As mentioned above educational trainings & workshops compliment our Community of practice giving needed context & knowledge base to our practice. We have a wonderful training room & therapeutic space. This can also be used for meetings in line with our vision & mission by our own community & surrounding. Visit our event calendar for up coming workshops & trainings. We invite you to explore all of our programs.

We care about accessibility & know the cost of living is impacting everyone especially in times of vulnerability. All Heart Place pass classes (**), events & trainings are available on Sliding Scale of economy & partial scholarships are available. Look out for fully funded options where possible. Additionally we have concessional availability for First Responders, Veterans & Carers.