Nothing Changes

If Nothing Changes

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‘Dawn is one of Australia’s leading counsellors. Thousands of clients have passed through the doors of her premises since she started in 1997 and yet time and time again she has been amazed by the number that weren’t  clear about what counselling is all about or what benefits may be had by visiting a professional counsellor. She therefore decided it was important to address that gap in knowledge and is the author of Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes: A Practical Guide to Finding the Right Counsellor’. (Yasmin)

The 2nd Edition of this book is due out June 2020. It is amazing to see what has changed and what remains the same over a decade of the electronic medium.

Identifying and meeting gaps in Public Health issues has been my passion and the centre of my professional work. Hop onto the Chronic Pain section to learn about my next book, my personal journey living with Chronic Pain and how this has shaped my professional and personal life. I offer insights for health professionals, familes, friends, and of course, us unwilling members of the chronic pain tribe, in the hope of creating more converstaions and understanding about the psychosocial impact and devastation of living with chronic pain.

I trained in Education and Psychology at London University and later completed my Masters in Public Health at Curtin University, WA. I was then invited to do a PhD, but decided against it, opting in favour of getting some hands-on experience in the profession first. Twenty-five years later, I decided it was time to complete the cycle, and due to my work with families who had tragically experienced the death of a child, I gained my PhD at UQ in 2014. The main challenge was making sure those families I interviewed had their voices heard, and that I was honoured to be trusted with the task of making that happen and identifying the gaps and supports through their terrible ordeals. I am now one of just a handful of professionals across Australia who specialise in supporting families who have experienced unexpected loss, confusion, and at times stigma associated with their grief.

Interestingly, my chronic pain journey caused me to reflect on my appreciation of loss and associated grief. I was surprised to discover that living with chronic pain mirrors some of the same challenges I identified in my professional experience with loss and grief and much of the stigma that is associated with an unexpected death and with ‘hidden’ diseases.

So, of course, I had to write about it, in particular , identifying the areas I think we can all improve upon. follow the link to ‘Living with Chronic Pain – from OK to despair and finding my way back again’ to get your copy of this ‘must read’ book.

My experience as a foster parent for many years and working with families ‘on the spectrum’ has been a great opportunity to lead into another aspect of my work. I provide NDIS support for people with complex needs and work within a family therapeutic model, supporting the carers as well as the person/people diagnosed.

If you want to know a little more about my work history, you can are welcome to have a look at my CV here.

ABN 937 576 105 34

© Spinks & Associates 2014