ReAwaken Days - Sydney

‘ReAwaken not Reform’ is building on the huge success of ReAwaken Australia 2019. We are proudly partnering with Inside Out and Associates  to bring you this exciting event. The addition of  Lucy Johnstone introducing the Power Threat Meaning Framework  via video link places ReAwaken at the forefront of positive change in mental health, addiction and trauma. We are offering single day ReAwaken events around Australia, focused on themes of Compassion, Connection and Meaningful Action. To this end our goal for the day is focused on how we come together in community to support each other in the mutuality of growth and social action towards tangible change.  ReAwaken 2020 will feature local, national and international speakers along with spaces to contribute to the ReAwaken Art project the "Meaning Manual" and the book "Turning Point". We will also be offering a space for small groups to join together on a collective journey throughout the day - these "Home Groups" offer an important space for connection, mutual support and plans for the future. What attendees can expect :  Key note presentations: Matt Ball - 'Dissociachotic' Seeing the non-psychosis that we share.  Stephanie Mitchell - 'Compassion for Borderline' - All parts of a person are welcome - Internal Family Systems Therapy in recovery Guest Speakers Kath Thorburn and Sandy Watson - 'Narratives, Language and Power' exploring the 'many' paradoxes in MH Matt Ball & Stephanie Mitchell - 'Do it Anyway' Introduction to the Power Threat Meaning Framework including Q&A with Lucy Johnstone. Community Art Project : Re-writing the DSM Experiential Home Groups focused on community and mutual support Lived Experience speakers ReAwaken Manifesto presentation Evening Film screening of 'Healing Voices'. Date: 5th June 2020 Venue: Harold Park Community Hall - 1 Dalgal Way, Forest Lodge, NSW Time: 9:30-4:30pm and 6pm film screening Costs: $150 Waged $75 Unwaged/low income (limited spaces available on application) (To enquire about low cost tickets please email Rachel for details) Tickets include morning and afternoon tea - lunch and dinner can be purchased from nearby food vendors For enquiries please email Rachel at: [email protected] KEY NOTE SPEAKERS : Matt Ball - Dissociachotic: Seeing the non-psychosis that we share Understanding the dissociative nature of what is usually called psychosis and seeing how psychosis evaporates within the context of safe relational spaces. Stephanie Mitchell - Compassion for “Borderline" Coming from a place of compassion when working with people often labelled with “Borderline Personality Disorder” should be the basis of all clinical and non-clinical practice. Unfortunately individuals with diagnosis’s of BPD are often some of the most maligned in our health services. In this workshop we consider the attachment needs and legitimately adaptive behaviour of individuals who have often experienced complex trauma and significant attachment disruption in early life. Participate in conversations around responsive and compassionate approaches to understanding and being alongside individuals experiencing deep distress. Kath Thorburn and Sandy Watson - Narratives, Language and Power – Exploring one of the (many) paradoxes of mental ‘health’ care People’s unique subjective processes of meaning-making are usually one of the first casualties of mental ‘health’ treatment and contact with related systems. Paradoxically, people’s own ways of understanding what has happened are instrumental in helping to process, define, explore and activate pathways to wellbeing: to meaningful connections and responses, to resources and communities of choice. Ignoring and denying a person’s unique, alternative explanations for their experiences equates to silencing, perpetuating the very problems psychiatric services and systems claim to resolve, denying opportunities for better understandings of, and responses to, the distinct, creative and unexpected ways that people both navigate through, and emerge from their complex experiences. This presentation will explore the concept of explanatory frameworks as a way to better understand and respond to people’s meaning making around their experiences of distress and what this might mean for allies, services and communities. Matt Ball and Stephanie Mitchell - Do It Anyway The discussion since the beginning of the consumer movement has been about how we shift systems and institutions towards personal recovery, but has the time come to ask – should we still invite the institution of psychiatry and politics to be part of the conversation of human distress, mental health, trauma and addiction? Taking action is the process by which we can feel and experience the spirit of Cesar Chevez when he stated: “Once Social Change begins it cannot be reversed, you cannot uneducated the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid any more. We have seen the future and the future is ours”. Do It Anyway will explore having an idea and enacting it towards social change. From Healing Voices to Re-Awaken Australia – making change happen is a priority. Cost $150