Author Archives: Dr Louise Hansen

For years I struggled to sit still, concentrate, do assignments, office work, appointments, registrations, etc. I was easily distracted. I’d procrastinate. A Psychiatrist thought I had ADHD. My attention is great today. There are so many tools. Martial Arts changed my brain. 🥷🇵🇭 It does not need to be Martial Arts, 🧘🏽‍♀️ Mindfulness also changesContinue reading “Stepping Stones”

This is your daily reminder that you belong: 🌷🌿 I have 20 years experience in Psychology. I have taught it at university. I am a Psychologist now. I have even had Psychosis twice. I have been in hospital myself. So I have been an academic, a professional and a patient. #HealingTrauma #Justice4Humanity #YouBelong I haveContinue reading “A Daily Reminder You Belong”

“The [Polyvagal] theory forces us to question whether our society provides sufficient and appropriate opportunities to experience safe environments and trusting relationships.” “Let’s start off by forgetting that we have all these complex diagnostic categories. If we use diagnostic categories, we end up describing comorbidities and using other terms that are not helpful in understandingContinue reading “If You Want To Improve The World, Start By Making People Feel Safer”

Some people thought I had a drug induced Psychosis ten years ago. Would you believe it was actually the following quote that tipped me over the edge!? Because my PhD was on hemispheric asymmetry of emotion, I began to see my PhD in literally everything: #HealingTrauma “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and theContinue reading “Breakthrough”

I made this tree in hospital last year. I was “stuck” in trauma. Caught in a panic attack cycle for months on end. The dark roots is intergenerational trauma and all of today’s injustice. Today I’d like to say trust your Doctor. Unless there is good reason not to. #HealingTrauma Some Doctors are very helpful.Continue reading “I Can Already See This World”

The Highlight of My Day (Yesterday): Lisa Wilkinson: “So the advances in technology that Scott Morrison is proposing, you say they’re not enough?” Former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders at #COP26 , Mary Robinson: “No. No. Not at all. I am not at all convinced.” Lisa Wilkinson: “So why do you thinkContinue reading “Rising Seas – Connect The DOTS (Democracy On The Streets)”

“In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?” #HealingTrauma “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if youContinue reading “Carl Rogers On Being And Becoming”

***Trigger Warning*** I cried last night for the first time in a long time. I was tagged in a post where a woman was bashed by her partner. The mother said police protected the man, not her daughter, who was now in hospital, since she tried to take her life. A brave young survivor whoContinue reading “I Cried Last Night For The First Time In A Long Time”

Genocide in Australia was written by Nathan mudyi Sentence (2020), a Wiradjuri librarian and essayist. This piece is stored at the Australian Museum and is an essential read to understand injustice (i.e. the negative operation of power) and intergenerational trauma (i.e. disconnection): ““Genocide brings to mind Hitler and the Jews, not Australia and Aborigines.” –Continue reading “Genocide In Australia”

I joined Twitter last October to see if Trump would win or lose the US election. I had not watched the news or followed politics for years; too much, too soon had made me unwell: Psychosis. I saw Trump’s tweets and thought, ‘Is this guy for real!? I had no clue then I would beContinue reading “What Is #Justice4Australia?”

Dr Tracey Westerman AM: “As an Indigenous clinical psychologist who has spent the better part of the past twenty years working solidly in Aboriginal suicide, I keep getting asked “What are the causes of Indigenous suicides?” ANSWER:I have long been concerned by public commentary on the causes of suicide & the impacts of this inContinue reading “What Are The Causes Of Indigenous Suicides?”

Dr Bessel van der Kolk – Understanding and healing from Trauma: Dr Gabor Maté – Human development through the lens of science and compassion: Dr Tracey Westerman AM – Mental ill health and suicide in Aboriginal communities: Gerry Georgatos – National Coordinator of the National Suicide Prevention & Trauma Recovery Project (NSPTRP): Dr. Stephen PorgesContinue reading “Trauma Informed Care Is Not Going Away”

Why reinvent the wheel? Let’s begin with Joseph Campbell: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. #HealingTrauma If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. If you can see your pathContinue reading “Broken Systems And Freedom Within”

This week has left me with a sense of bewilderment. On the one hand I feel an enormous sense of love. I see so many talented minds increasingly sharing the truth for justice. This includes former Prime Ministers, #HealingTrauma current politicians, journalists, teachers, medical experts, lawyers, professors, scientists, healers, poets, artists, adventurists, observers and manyContinue reading “Break The Cycle”

This piece lets Australians see what a trauma informed response to sexual abuse or rape inherent in power structures looks like. This piece might trigger you. If it does please call Lifeline on 131114, or for any emergency, call 000: #March4Justice ***Trigger Warning*** “Psychology’s been rightly criticised for ignoring for the social context of mentalContinue reading “Power Threat Meaning Framework”

Excerpts from the following paper highlight that we are not necessarily black sheep when we challenge the ‘status quo’. This piece illustrates the need for healthy skepticism and activism to achieve personal, social and political change. #HealingTrauma Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality: “In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed the diagnosis of “homosexuality” fromContinue reading “Psychiatry’s Dark Days: Healthy Skepticism”

Pioneering trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk: “The prevailing brain-disease model overlooks four fundamental truths: #HealingTrauma (1) our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another. Restoring relationships and community is central to restoring well-being; (2) language gives us the power to change ourselves and others by communicating ourContinue reading “Healing Trauma”

“The term “mental illness” was coined by people who were humane in their inclinations and who wanted very much to raise the station of (and the public’s sympathies toward) the psychologically disturbed from that of witches and “crazies” to one that was akin to the physically ill. And they were at least partially successful, forContinue reading “Perceptions Of Mental Illness”

“Eye contact and verbal contact reflect concern and individuation; their absence, avoidance and depersonalization. The data I have presented do not do justice to the rich daily depersonalization and avoidance: I have records of patients who were beaten by staff for the sin of having initiated verbal contact. Tempers were often short and the morningContinue reading “Powerlessness And Depersonalisation”

“If sanity and insanity exist, how shall we know them? While we may be convinced we can tell the normal from the abnormal, evidence is not compelling. A great deal of conflicting data exists on the reliability, utility, and meaning of “sanity,” “insanity,” “mental illness,” and “schizophrenia.” As early as 1934, Benedict suggested that normalityContinue reading “On Being Sane In Insane Places”