 Having worked in child protection for 13 years I am disgusted and disappointed at the recent behaviour of the Dalai Lama. His behaviour involved abuse of power when he was observed on video giving a young boy about 9 years old a command to 'suck my tongue'. Tongues and genitals should be reserved for intimate relationships where there is cognitive ability to consent. The discourse that has followed is of concern with various cultural groups justifying his behaviour as a cultural norm in Tibet (but he lives in China!). What is also concerning is the 'group think' mentality of the observers cheering it on. Child safety trumps cultural norms and I believe he should be sacked from his role.
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Networking in the disAbility and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) field can benefit you in various ways. Firstly, investing time in networking can help you build relationships and connections with other professionals in the industry. This can lead to potential collaborations and referrals, which can help grow your business.
Secondly, networking can also help with ethical marketing. By building relationships with other professionals, participants, carers, stakeholders and peak bodies you can gain insights into NDIS participant's needs and pain points. This allows you to tailor your approach to better meet their needs. This type of marketing is more ethical as it focuses on building trust and providing value rather than simply pushing a product or service. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that is triggered by a traumatic event. Symptoms of PTSD may include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the event. People with PTSD may also experience difficulty sleeping, depression, difficulty concentrating, and increased feelings of stress or fear. Treatment for PTSD often involves cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), medication, or other NDIS supports and support from family and friends.
Living with PTSD can be a difficult and isolating experience, but there is hope. Recovery is possible with the right support, understanding and resources. At Whole Warrior Solutions, we understand that managing recovery can be overwhelming, which is why we provide comprehensive counselling services to help you through challenging times. Happy new year! How has your first month of 2023 been? This January I've been busy birthing two new things! Firstly, the launch of a new 12 week one on one Signature Whole Warrior Workshop that I've been incubating for over a year, and secondly an online shop on my website!
One of the 12 modules in my new Whole Warrior Workshop is a Vision Board session. Vision boarding is an incredibly powerful tool for manifestation and goal setting. It can help you to focus on your goals and dreams, and it can also help you to visualise the steps you need to take to make them a reality. Benefits of vision boarding include: The journey of a childless woman presents many twists and turns. Those childless by choice may revel in the control of their decision to live a childfree life. Those childless by circumstance, may however experience inequality and varying socio-economic status across the lifespan. The journey of infertility often negatively impacts relationships, health, social status, and wellbeing.
Famous childless women such as Oprah, Cameron Diaz, Dame Helen Mirren, Condoleezza Rice have worked for causes they believe in, overcame the inequity of stigma and the gender pay gap. Yet many childless women experience invisible heartache, social discrimination, relationship pressures and situational decline in mental health (Graham, 2015). Causes of infertility may comprise 50% endometriosis (La Rosa etal, 2020), and varying percentages of PCOS, pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids and other issues. Sometimes it is also the man who is infertile. The length of time and number of medical interventions attempted prior to and after diagnosis may also negatively impact earning potential, mental health and finances. RUOK day is coming up on 8 September 2022 and it’s a great time to check in with your clients, carers, contractors, staff and self. Are you ok? Frontline workers in the field of humanities during a pandemic have been exposed to challenging working conditions.
How do you know you or a client are ok? What are the signs that someone is becoming mentally unwell? We unpacked this today in our Interagency Meeting at the NDIS Network. Some of the signs of becoming unwell or burnout identified include: absenteeism, irritability, negativity, angry outbursts, alcohol and other drug abuse, fatigue, micro-managing, insomnia, lack of boundaries, lack of compassion, or a self-harm or suicide disclosure. As practitioners, people with disabilities, carers, business owners or employees…what are some ways we can support good mental health? Becoming self-aware of our own triggers and signs is the first step. Keep an eye out for our colleagues, any change in behaviour and check in with them if they are ok. With clients we can learn and practice a person-centred and trauma informed approach to provision of care. Have specific care plans for each client and ensure staff read and implement it so the least intrusive approach is taken with each client. Incorporate education in your continuing professional development plan each year, book your staff into the Mental Health First Aid Certificate and annual free Suicide Summit. Equip your workforce, offer them employee assistance and wellness support, an empathic ear, time off or alternative duties if they show signs of or state they are not coping. Having a detailed disaster recovery plan will help entrepreneurs continue service provision if an employee has a mental health issue and needs time off. Some mental health tips at work include: appointing an RUOK workplace champion, offer a free Workplace Online Course, and create a supportive culture around wellness and good mental health practices. What is the cost to your business of workplace injury (or loss of clients) due to underperforming or injured staff? The Rape Crisis Line years ago had about 30% of staff on workplace injury (they have since merged with 1800 RESPECT national DV line). When they implemented a 15 min phone handover / debrief at the end of each shift and issued a bonus $2,000 mandatory spa self care package to each employee their injury rate for psychological injuries including vicarious trauma (also known as secondary trauma) and PTSD reduced a whopping 99%! What process do you have in place for employees working from home re debriefing, support, or critical incident debriefing within 24 hours. Have you started a walking group at work or promoted a self-care culture? Employers, do you offer a listening ear and empathy to workers and or clients experiencing stress and mental health vulnerabilities? Do you have a wellbeing policy and procedure for the workplace and ensure your staff and contractors take annual leave. Even the best laid P&Ps only work if they are implemented and if the staff member agrees to engage. Yes, staff and clients have the dignity of risk to manage their mental health and stress the way they choose. However, there is a minefield of HR legislation and best practice to keep up with. What are your best tips for mental health at home, work and in your practice with clients? Having been a frontline worker for over 20 years I have learnt the value of self-care the hard way. The crawl back from burnout is not a pretty one. It’s worth my time and money to invest in preventative measures, believe me! For me the investment in clinical supervision is the best money I have ever spent as a counsellor in private practice. In this pandemic climate I’ve noticed people at times present a bit frayed, stressed out. It only takes pressing a contractor a little for a deadline, and they walk off the job! Tempers are frayed! For me personally, having a routine that incorporates mindfulness, meditation, exercise, fresh air, sunlight, personal, social, nutrition, water, boundaries integrity and professional development is the key to longevity in human services. I don’t always get the balance right but I owe it to myself and my clients to keep working at my wellness so I can continue to hold the space for them. Knowing the signs of burnout, preparing, planning and implementing a wellbeing plan in the workplace can alleviate a lot of pain and prevent psychological injuries. Boundaries also definitely help with knowing your own limits, being self-assertive, managing time and workload can save a lot of heartache and event reduce risk of suicide. Finally, mind, body spirit integration is an evidence based multi-pronged approach to heal emotional wounds, overcome self-sabotage, improve communication, and increase sense of wellbeing. If you’d like to know more about it, reach out to me at www.wholewarriorsolutions.com.au for employee assistance counselling, peer supervision and wellness mental health workshops. Furthermore, I had a dear counselling client pass away recently and want to pay it forward with a free workshop called The Seasons Light - Awaken the Dawn Mental Wellness Workshop on 9 September 2022 11.30 am - 1 pm online. Book here! RUOK, start a meaningful conversation that could prevent a suicide! Do reach out if you'd like to book a confidential counselling session or a peer supervision workshop for your team. In this profession there is no shame in debriefing, doing reflective practice and doing case reviews to increase our resilience and reduce risk of vicarious trauma on the front line. In fact it is an essential practice for sustainability and longevity so we can help more people and do no harm. Finally, RUOK? Reach out via return email. Light, love and healing Tania For many years during my career I have worked with families in crisis who were involved in the justice system and or child protection system. So with father’s day approaching I wanted to share my top tips for Dad’s to have positive supervised contact visits with their children.
Tips for Fathers & Family Contact - Positive Supervised Contact visits Prepare - Preparation is key for a positive supervised visit with your children
On the day of the visit
After the visit
By preparing, supporting yourself and your children, you’ll be sure to have glowing supervised contact reports that may improve your visits for the future. Every circumstance is different so seek professional advice where necessary. Have a very happy Father’s Day! Remember that you will always be the children’s birth father. If you'd like to book a counselling session to unpack this further I'd love to support you. Please reach out. If you are in need of a trauma informed lawyer on in Sydney, Newcastle or the Central Coast consider Jacqui Bilson of Bilson Law - who has an ethical commitment to empowering parents to develop parenting plans, settlement and divorce in the least intrusive way possible. Love & light Tania Are you affected by the floods in NSW? I'm situated on the Central Coast NSW which has been declared in a state of disaster again! Courage to you. Thankfully I'm safe and dry, however a number of my colleagues have been flooded in and their homes damaged. Good news is Service NSW have opened up $1,000 grants to help people financially affected. However, it really doesn't go far whilst you're awaiting an insurance claim does it! Whilst you're paddling like a duck underwater...the last thing entrepreneurs might be thinking about is marketing! However, marketing is essential to be able to keep the cash flow coming in and scale your business.
Are you a helping professional providing hands on essential disability services? Are you busy in the field and need ideas how to attract more customers? Are you an NDIS participant feeling bombarded with a plethora of disability providers social posts? How do you know who to choose? Marketing is simply communication about your unique product or services (skills and talents) available for purchase. There's so much information available about how to market your business. Where does a new business start? When I worked in corporate marketing in my first career, I learnt there are some basics for formulating a winning marketing strategy. The first step is to develop a business plan. Then apply the marketing mix to your business goals and clearly identified services/products. The marketing mix involves four Ps: Product/service, Price, Place and Promotion. Many start up entrepreneurs tend to jump straight to the fourth P of promotion before drilling into the rest of the mix. However, spending time to drill down and unpack your unique selling property (USP), define your geographic catchment area/s, and develop a pricing strategy is crucial before jumping into the fun part of promotion. As a result of applying the marketing mix, when I'm coaching start-up NDIS providers in clinical and marketing practices, they tell me that prospective clients then reach out to them! Communicate what problem you empower clients to solve, what's unique about your ethical service/product, and how to book in is the key. Eliminate the need for cold calling or expensive advertising campaigns using the basic marketing principals. Ultimately it will increase your return on investment for your marketing dollar (ROI)! If you'd like to learn more about the principles of developing a marketing strategy for your start-up NDIS provider business I'm hosting a beta Workshop in Western Sydney this month on 29 July 2022, 9 am-10.30 am. It is priced for start-ups for a limited time at only $100 and will be delivered face to face in a luxury venue. After the workshop it will then flow on to an optional professional networking seated lunch and mini expo for the disability field. Participants, carers, teachers, support coordinators are all invited to mingle with providers. It's a way to build relationships, share information and showcase your ethics and personality. It's also a fun way to connect as we love developing inclusive communities @ndis.network. What you will learn at the workshop:
What you won't get from this workshop:
I'm really excited about this next NDIS Network event day on 29 July 2022 as we will also be celebrating my fourth business birthday party @wholewarriorsolutions! Hope you can join the party! I started the @ndis.network brand to empower sole traders and other start-ups to find their tribe. Love to share this event with you if you're a person in the disability field or living with a disability. I've gone all out and booked the Triple Crown Ballroom at Rydges Parramatta. So I'd love it if you would invite a colleague and spread the word. Come along and learn to develop a marketing strategy or review your existing one. Hope you can also stay for the lunch and mini expo. Learn more go to our website or SMS Workshop to 0401 503 477 or make a booking at www.wholewarriorsolutions.com.au. Ticket sales for the Sydney luncheon on Friday 29 July 2022 close Thursday 14 July 2022. Happy fourth birthday to Whole Warrior Solutions! The best present would be to hear how my business and community development project NDIS Network has helped you. Word of mouth really is the best advertising and I will unpack that at the workshop! Tania 🥳 [email protected]  How do you set boundaries?
Boundaries are crucial for protecting our mental health, having healthy relationships and good emotional wellbeing. Personal boundaries can help you build independence, a strong identity and increased self-esteem. If you feel like you’re being taken advantage of or you’re walking on eggshells in your relationships, it might be a sign that you may benefit from establishing boundaries. Or it is possible you're in a domestic violence relationship characterised by coercive control. If you have survived a controlling relationship, you might know what it is like to live as a prisoner of war. I'm sorry if you have experienced such oppression and terror. Everyone deserves to live in peace and safety. Where there is liberty there is love. Liberty is freedom. Perhaps setting boundaries starts with an open conversation about the limits of your personal space, touch, kissing and what you are comfortable and not comfortable with. Interested to hear your tips! In the workplace it may start with an open conversation with your supervisor on how you like to be supervised and setting limits to prevent micro-managing. Also having the courage to give your supervisor feedback if you feel micro-managed or intimidated by their behaviour or communication. Love to hear your tips on how you set boundaries for healthy relationships. Light and LOVE Tania x #boundaries #domesticviolence #counselling #counsellor #recoverycoaching #psychosocial #casemanagement #empowering #woman #women #wellness #mentalhealth #anxiety #depression #ptsd #aces #bipolar #traumarecovery #mindfulness #wholewarriorsolutions #ndisnetwork #ndiscentralcoast #centralcoast Counselling and recovery coaching. Follow us @wholewarriorsolutions 😊 How much does a cup of coffee cost? Good cafe's have pricing strategies that account for expenses including the cost of labour, target market (consider coffee snobs), resources (the actual cost of the coffee), packaging, cleaning, insurance, capital equipment, marketing, supply and demand, and pandemic economic fluctuations. It's the same in human services except we don't sell coffee, we are 'selling' or providing our tools of self! Would you like full cream, or almond milk, and sugar with that? Pricing can be a really distasteful concept for start up entrepreneurs, counsellors, empaths, spiritual workers, disability support workers, nurses, and other helping professionals to put a price on themselves. We are not selling a product but a service. It is our tools of self that we come alongside our clients with in order to help them. That's gold! Yet, I've noticed a negative culture or attitude in certain communities about pricing. Think about the NDIS or disability field. Yes there is a Pricing Arrangements guide formerly known as the Price Guide. I've noticed there seems to be a trend in the privatised and competitive disability field of undercutting. I see many Disability Support Workers selling themselves short when it comes to the skills, qualifications and life experience that some workers have. They charge really low hourly labour rates, wave half the transport and do the first home visit for free! This leads to onboarding a large 'case' load which can contribute to less ethical standards of work and burnout. Even chaos for some start ups when a crisis occurs for a participant as business growth occurs too quickly. This type of business model can negatively impact the participant or client unless the business has the systems, infrastructure and skilled labour to provide a high volume of service. Consider your business model and do no harm.
Like me you may be thinking, but I want to help as many people as I can in my counselling and coaching practice at Whole Warrior Solutions. Yet, in developing my Pricing Strategy I had to be realistic and keep it in line with the Business and Marketing Plan that provides the pillars that underpin my business model. Even my Clinical Supervisor said stop working for free and know your worth, you have many skills and much experience as a key mental health worker and start up coach! Once I actually decided on my Schedule of Fees and stuck to it, with set promotions, capped a number of scaling fees for private customers, and implemented consistent short notice cancellation fees, it also reduced my stress. Intake to invoicing became easier, more consistent, not having to look up a client service agreement every week to check the price I had offered the session for and improved accuracy. Attendance at appointments also increased and the DNAs went down. This in turn improved my productivity as it reduced my non-billable administrative hours. Ultimately it meant I could also find more balance between work and home life. The boundaries of the service agreements became clear and consistent which in turn benefited the client who received a quality service. Perhaps you're an entrepreneur helping people and are not sure about how to price your services? Considered doing a skills audit. What lifestyle do you want, do you have time to do 10 new intake assessments per week, how many hours per week do you have available to provide a high standard of service or care? Work out your business mission, values and at what point you break even after expenses so you can stay in business to do what you set out to do. After all a staggering 90% of small businesses fail (Forbes)! Participants have choice and control to select their providers within their limited budget. Price point is one consideration, however other factors are crucial including worker skills, experience, reliability, communication, team work, and most importantly trust. Yes an NDIS Provider can advertise their services at the capped or top rate of the Pricing Arrangements guide. However, for those that don't have a profession behind them, limited or no work experience they may choose to start their pricing at the lower end. Consider Arnott's biscuits and their pricing strategy. Arnott's provide a premium product, quality ingredients, premium packaging, extensive distribution, they used to have red glossy branded trucks with the parrot logo, and premium shelving space in the grocery shops with high cost gondola ends for shelf visibility. Also, when I studied marketing, research showed that Arnott's would never discount their biscuits. This was written into their Pricing Strategy which complimented their overarching Marketing Strategy. I don't know about you, but I do enjoy a quality biscuit and Arnott's business has certainly lasted the distance with premium pricing for a premium product (despite selling it to an overseas buyer doh!)! Fancy a Tim Tam or a lesser quality biscuit? So if you are a start up entrepreneur, and want to learn more about developing a Pricing Strategy and Marketing your human services agency ethically, do get in touch. I have a limited number of places available for my Start Up Business Coaching Package. I not only share from my own experience as an entrepreneur, 21 years in human services, but also from my 13 years experience in corporate marketing. Yep I've priced it accordingly as it is a service of value to budding entrepreneurs. The testimonials are evidence of value for service. 'I'm mind blown every coaching session! Learning so much and putting it into action in my business!', Sidra Rasheed, Dignified Caring. It is by investing in your business start up you will find your ideal customer and be able help more people in an ethical way! Isn't that after all why we are in the helping profession! So now when you look at that cafe price list above, and think about hanging a price tag label around your neck, you may wear a new lens in your glasses! Pricing Strategy is a mindset about knowing your worth and considering supply and demand. Developing and applying an ethical and sustainable Pricing Strategy to your Schedule of Fees in your human services agency is essential. Knowing where to pitch your services in a competitive market is a skill. Let's talk further about whether you want to help a few clients or a lot, and how to balance your lifestyle and business goals! I'm offering a limited number of Power-up Business Coaching Enquiry Sessions and would love to help you manifest your start up dream! Love & light Tania x |
AuthorTania Gorry is the founder of Whole Warrior Solutions based on the Central Coast of NSW. 
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