The Paperbark Wellness Project
The Paperbark Wellness Project is a long-term project in the South West founded by the Holistic Health Practitioner Network to make wellness and connection a vital part of our community through an emotionally focused, heart-centred approach to mental health.
We aim to bring, inspire and create projects that will help bring community members together in a heart-focused way in order to achieve lasting change that will reduce feelings of isolation and disconnection and ultimately lower levels of anxiety, depression and suicide in our community.
We will do this through small and large projects that a Paperbark Steering Group feels are suitable, for which we will look to secure funding from local individuals, community businesses and government sources.
The Paperbark Wellness Project was born out of Genevieve Morrissey’s 8 years in addictions counselling and 5 years of private practice. She was struck by the high level of disconnection and isolation that she saw not only in her work but also in the wider community, and the ever-increasing anxiety, depression and suicide rates rang alarm bells for her. The causes were many and varied, the issues were mounting, and our health system was crashing under the weight.
Genevieve’s experience of working in the “therapeutic community” model of addiction rehabilitation exposed her to the power of community when it comes to healing and helping people discover just how vital and important they are to the health and wellbeing of a community. It also highlighted that if an individual was not thriving then the community itself could not truly flourish and, moreover, that it was the community’s responsibility to hold the space for and nurture the individual.
Genevieve Morrissey is the Coordinator of the Paperbark Wellness Project, and the Steering Group consists of Dr Sarah Moore (Integrative GP Obstetrician and Chair of the Holistic Health Practitioner Network), Karen Crutchlow (Educator and Cancer Wellness Coach), Rilla Beresford (CEO of The People Place Busselton), Shelley O’Brien (Suicide Prevention Coordinator, St John of God Bunbury Hospital), Joanne James (Translator, Proofreader and Editor) and Kendra Grace (Suicide Prevention Coordinator, SWCADS / St John of God Social Outreach).
Projects in the pipeline for 2020/2021
Paperbark Conversations
Paperbark Conversations is an opportunity for community members to come together in a local cafe to spend an evening with a panel of local holistic health practitioners and people with a lived experience, discussing a wellness topic in the context of a balanced holistic approach to the issue and the different types of management options available. These evenings are held in a local cafe.
Hello To Me
Hello To Me is an experiential heart-centred workshop to facilitate growth in, and understanding of, our most basic emotional and cognitive needs. Hello To Me raises our awareness and challenges our preconceived beliefs about who we are and where we fit into our families, our workplaces and our communities. With new information, new strategies and the support of the group we can start to rewire our brains to make new patterns and feel more connected to ourselves, which will lead to greater emotional and mental wellbeing and resilience.
Wellness Seminars
Building on Paperbark Conversations, these are day-long seminars exposing participants in greater depth and in an experiential manner to the many different healthcare modalities that address the issues discussed in Paperbark Conversations. Participants engage with healthcare practitioners for longer periods via discussions, experiential groups and workouts, etc. In this longer format, participants are able to immerse themselves in a variety of modalities, giving them more exposure to the various forms of help and support available to them.
Movie Nights
Movie Nights are hosted to continue with the theme of educating the community about mental wellness and the important role that the community plays in this. The movies are consciously chosen to inspire and raise awareness of themes and issues that we feel are relevant and timely for our community. A key aspect of our Movie Nights is gathering people together in the one room to have a common experience. The movies are consistent with the core values of PWP. They are followed by a panel discussion with leaders in the field of the movie’s topic. Another important aspect of the Movie Nights is fundraising for PWP’s other ventures.