Creating Space Project

Ruth Nelson
  • 5.0 (4)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

In the Creating Space Project, Ruth Nelson asks women to share a moment from their lives. The moment is used to uncover their personal values and beliefs. From ordinary women, come stories that are real and inspiring.

  1. 11 AUG

    The Art of Authenticity

    Do you ever feel like who you are on the inside is different to the way you perform for other people on the outside? You should listen to this episode. M did beautifully moving artwork for a journal article that I was part of, called Barometers of the City. Published in Human Arenas, it is qualitative research using poetry by psychologists as cultural data. M reflects on the process of producing art, which for her is about personal expression, for an audience. She describes being hyperaware of what's expected of her in the world and feeling that she does not match the expectations of others, and the low self-worth that comes with that. Articulate and generous with her insights, M describes a phenomenon that is common to many of us. It is the need to be authentic to yourself and to heal your sense of pressure to meet the expectations of others.

    39 min

  2. 25/09/2019

    People Not Gender

    When is about people not gender?  Sahra and Ruth explore patriarchy as a system of oppression that affects all genders.  Far from experts on the matter, we are two psychologists sitting with self-doubt and the discomfort of critically examining what it is that we value, and how we bring that into a therapy room.

    34 min

  3. 15/09/2019

    Asylum Seekers on PNG

    Trillions of dollars have been spent by the Australian government detaining asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea for six years. It would be far better governance to bring about an end to this situation.  Cathy McGowan is the former Independent member for Indi, in rural Victoria. She talks to the Creating Space Project and asks each of us, right now, to email our local Member of Parliament and our state Senators and ask for answers to the following questions: What are the Government's plans for the asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea who can't go to the USA? What would it take for the Government to agree to New Zealand's offer? If you are an Australian citizen, you can find the relevant email addresses on www.aph.gov.au and it only takes about 15 minutes.

    16 min

  4. 28/08/2019

    Creating Space Project

    The Creating Space Project is currently exploring feminist psychology and intersectionality, through asking listeners the question "What would you ask a feminist psychologist?" In this episode, Sahra O'Doherty and Ruth Nelson talk about Tanya's question regarding how you weave feminism into counselling, about being a values-based therapist, and the embodiment of values.

    35 min

  5. 03/08/2019

    Patriarchy and mental health

    What would you ask a feminist psychologist? Ruth Nelson and Sahra O'Doherty respond to Jess's question about the effect of patriarchy on women's mental health, and how many problems stem from inequality. "I should look good." Ruth and Sahra explore the ways feminist values inform their psychology practice. They also explore systems of oppression, layers of privilege, intersectionality, who is allowed to get angry, cultural expectations of women, pain and motherhood, unrelenting standards and the male suicide rate.    Photo 'Tern with a Fish' by David Noble

    36 min

  6. 19/07/2019

    Uncomfortable Feelings

    It's very hard to find the words, "I have experienced this." What brings people into counselling? The Creating Space Project talks about therapy and mental health with psychologist Sahra O'Doherty. People can spend a lot of time squishing uncomfortable feelings back down, and get worried that if they lift the lid, they're not too sure what's going to emerge. We can be pretty afraid of our emotions. Society teaches us to fear failing. Shame and guilt feel painful. Vulnerability is frightening. So to come and talk to a psychologist can take a lot of courage. And what's it like to be a psychologist sharing space with clients? Sahra talks about the ways that providing counselling has shaped her and how if we, as therapists, can't sit with our own discomfort and vulnerability, how can we expect it of anyone else? The research tends to show that 70-80% of the effectiveness of therapy comes from the relationship between therapist and client. It's the relationship that heals. So if you have a really fantastic and strong therapeutic relationship, that can facilitate positive change.

    39 min

  7. 23/05/2019

    Ballot Boxes and Witness K

    "I find it very hard to accept that Australia's national interest is about putting security listening devices of the walls of our poorest, nearest neighbour." This is an interview about espionage, exploitation and politics. Elizabeth Biok is a lawyer and member of the International Commission of Jurists. She talks to the Creating Space Project about the case of Witness K and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery. These two men exposed the Australian government for bugging the offices of the newly formed government of Timor-Leste. "The Australian intelligence agents were asked to put listening devices inside the cabinet room and some of the ministers' offices in the parliament of Timor-Leste. And that was no doubt to eavesdrop on what the Timorese politicians were saying, while the negotiations were going on with Australia about the oil boundary, and sharing the resources in the Timor Sea." For exposing corruption, Witness K and his lawyer are charged with breaching the National Security Act and are now imprisoned and facing a trial that lacks open and fair justice. Elizabeth went to East Timor as a legal monitor of the Independence Ballot in 1999 and bore witness to the political oppression and militia violence of the Indonesian occupation. She takes us, with wonderful clarity, through the history and geography of our relationship with Timor-Leste, and our place in South East Asia, to help us understand how this situation came about and how it pertains to processes of economic development, democracy, and our identity and values as Australians.

    46 min

  8. 16/04/2019

    Cultivating Openness

    Cherie Heggie is wonderful. She sees the world with an openness and compassion that many of us just can't seem to attain. She declared as a Bahá'í in 2015 and what drew her to the faith is its belief that all the major religions of the world are from God. In her life, she has found no difference between herself and the Muslims who live around her. Talking two days after the terror attacks on the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Cherie talks about privilege, peace, fear and the outrage that we are wasting time on hatred between religions when the true crisis facing us is the climate emergency engulfing us all.

    22 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

In the Creating Space Project, Ruth Nelson asks women to share a moment from their lives. The moment is used to uncover their personal values and beliefs. From ordinary women, come stories that are real and inspiring.

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