Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

Wow we are marching fast towards the end of term 3. Happy Father’s day to all our very special Dads. You bring a much needed role model into the lives of our tamariki and we wish you a grand day on Sunday 3 September,  full of fun and laughter. I hope the brekkie is edible!

The evenings are starting to draw out and it will only be a few short weeks before daylight savings start (24th September). Time to check the batteries on the smoke alarms.

I am working away in the background to get some events to our region. Its always such a pleasure to spend time with you and your tamariki.

During my time in this role I often reflect on the things I see around the region. Being a caregiver for tamariki/children with attachment difficulties and trauma is tough, really tough,  and it can be difficult to find space for self-care. I want to share this from our guru Dan Hughes (where our DDP, therapeutic parenting model originates).

‘HEALTHY MIND PLATTER’ FOR SELF CARE

Dan Siegel and colleagues suggest that parents attend to:

Physical health.

Aerobic exercise increases the heart rate and improves physical health.

Focus.

Periods of focusing on one thing at a time.

Down time.

Allowing time in the day when nothing needs to be attended to.

Connecting.

Time to connect with others and receive social support.

Sleep.

Getting enough good quality sleep.

Play.

Time to be spontaneous and have fun.

Time in.

Reflecting on inner world (mindfulness). The ability to deliberately

focus attention on feelings, thoughts and experiences in the present

moment and in a non-judgmental and accepting way (Kabat-Zinn 2004)

For me this is a work in progress …….and needs an intent to apply it!!

SUPPORT

Nelson Coffee Group

• Every second Monday of the month, excluding school hols.
• Next meeting – Monday 9th October (September group will be Training) from 10:00AM
• Tahunanui Community Hub, 55 Muritai Street, Nelson

West Coast Coffee Group

• Monday 4 September from 10.00am
• Venue to be advised via text
• Please check our Facebook page for coffee groups around the region

If you would like to join our private Facebook group click the button below.  This has the most up-to-date information for our support groups as they occur, sometimes it is difficult for our liaisons to have confirmed dates in time for our Snippets cut off.

TRAINING AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

I will be in Blenheim on Wednesday 6th September for Helping Children Feel Safe.

This course helps us to identify the emotional age of our tamariki, to explore how to use structure and supervision to help the child feel secure, and to consider therapeutic parenting and what is an appropriate level of supervision for tamariki that have experienced trauma.

I will be delivering a face to face /Kanohi ki te kanohi  in Nelson on Monday 11 September for Right from the Start.

This course is brand new! To gain an understanding of developmental trauma (ACES) and how this impacts the child’s internal working model (how the see themselves, others, and the world around them). To explore the concept of mistrust, shame and their developmental age. To consider therapeutic parenting (DDP) and why we need to parent these tamariki in a different way.

To find out more and register please use the button below. I would love to see you there.

events

We will be having a few sessions with our Therapist Rob Surtees! Have a look at the details below.

Westport

• Wednesday 20 September
• A morning session for all and an evening session with the “blokes”
• More details to follow

Greymouth

• Thursday 21 September
• A morning session for all
• More details to follow

 Me mutu pea i konei/I will leave it there

Ngā mihi nui

Denise