Healing Hands Help Hearts’ latest service is helping people connect with their inner mental health and wellbeing through the power of reading.
Alana Perry, owner of Healing Hands Help Hearts, has started a therapeutic book club service for people to understand their behaviour, thoughts, feelings and emotions.
“We centre the work around a book that’s about mental health and wellbeing, with the main book that I use is What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey,” Alana said.
“It’s all about the brain and how our brain affects our regulation and state and then impacts our behaviour and how trauma impacts our brain and nervous system.
“We use that as our springboard ... and we chat about the book, and there are journal prompts that people can write about.”
The book club is designed for small groups of up to four people, with the program running for around seven to eight weeks.
Meeting once a week for two hours, you’ll discuss what you’ve read during the week and use it to reflect on your own experiences through therapeutic activities.
“We do collages, drawings, a lot of art and craft activities, painting, clay and a sand tray,” Alana said.
“There’s lots of connecting in with the breath, connecting in with your body and sensations, things around mindfulness, love and compassion.
“We also connect with nature, as nature’s really regulating and can help us get to a ventral vagal state, which is where we want to be able to bounce back to where we can connect, play, learn and grow.”
While Healing Hands Help Hearts predominately offers services to children and families through play-based therapy, she said she was excited to expand and offer her services to all members of the community to help people connect and heal their inner selves through the therapeutic book club.
For more information on the services Alana offers at Healing Hands Help Hearts, you can head to her website https://healinghandshelphearts.com.au/, or you can contact Alana at alana@healinghandshelphearts.com.au or 0477 373 458.