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Welcome to Attitudinal Healing Western Australia

Attitudinal Healing Western Australia (Inc) (“AHWA”) provides ongoing education and support services, including support groups and training, to the community of the greater Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia.

AHWA is an independent community service organisation that is a registered “not-for-profit” incorporated association under the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 of Western Australia. We are privileged to be associated with a global network of groups and individuals sharing the common goals rooted in the Principles of Attitudinal Healing under the umbrella of Attitudinal Healing International (“AHI”).

Attitudinal Healing ("AH") was founded by Dr Gerald Jampolsky in the 1970's. Dr Jampolsky was a graduate of Stanford University and was internationally recognised in the fields of psychiatry, health, business and education. Over the past forty five years Attitudinal Healing has expanded from small beginnings in California to a world-wide network of independent centres in over 30 countries.

“At our centres we do not believe it is our function to change people or “fix them up”. We are all here for our own healing and to learn to let go of what blocks our experience of love and prevents us from having peace of mind. We believe that by first healing our own hearts and minds, we can then bring healing to the world we see. It is our absolute conviction that the most important gift we can give another person is our own inner peace and unconditional love.” – Gerald Jampolsky, M.D.

NEWS

New online course - Attitudinal Healing and A Course in Miracles: Effortless Living

A new online Attitudinal Healing course commences on Friday, 14 February 2025. The course is based on the recently released book, "Attitudinal Healing and a Course in Miracles: Effortless Living," by Els Thissen. This book was written with love, insight, guidance and Els’ experience of over 30 years of working with AH and ACIM. The book allows us to make a personal journey through the pages and also to come together in community to learn, share and grow in our understanding of who we really are.

The course consists of six two-hour sessions to be held fortnightly between 7:30 am and 9:30 am, Perth time on alternate Fridays.

The group has participants from Australia and the USA. It will be facilitated by Geralyn Russell (AHI/USA) and Trish Halvorsen (AHWA/Perth) and will -.

invite us to explore the Principles of Attitudinal Healing and concepts from A Course in Miracles, in the manner of "Effortless Living" by referring to passages from "Attitudinal Healing and A Course in Miracles";
encourage each participant to engage their awareness, experience the essence of the teachings, listen deeply to themselves and to each other during the live Zoom groups; and
offer opportunities to share about life losses, choices you have made or choices which are on the horizon and offer instances for integration.

Particpants will need to have a copy of the book which is available at Amazon. For further information, please contact Trish Halvorsen at email: info@attitudinalhealingwa.org.au

2025 is the 15th anniversary year for the AHWA Women’s Peer Support Group. The group has been operating continuously for fifteen years since AHWA was formed in 2010 and had been meeting as an Attitudinal Healing support group for a number of years prior to then. Since 2010 it has been at three meeting locations, initially at Queens Road, Mt Pleasant, then at Hickey Street, Ardross, and now at Miller Bakehouse, Baal Street, Palmyra. The current facilitators and members of the group who have been involved virtually from the beginning are Janel, Lyndel, Rae and Cheryl. Congratulations to the group in general, but to them in particular, for making the group such an enduring feature of AHWA and for the positive support it has given so many women over the years. The group meets on the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons of each month and always welcomes new .

AHWA Women’s Peer Support Group 15th Anniversary Year

participants. It is a safe place for joining and connection with other women using the Principles of Attitudinal Healing as a guide. If you are interested in joining, please call Lyndel on mobile # 0411 331 182.

AHWA members catch up with Trish Ellis

About a ten or so AHWA members were delighted to be able to take part in a video link up with Trish Ellis from AHI towards the end of last year. Trish has been the Director of International Communications and Curriculum Development for AHI but is now taking a step back due to health challenges. Initially spending eighteen years in the high-tech world, she refocused her career in a more service-oriented direction and joined the staff of the Centre for Attitudinal Healing in Tiburon, California in 1986 wherein she formed a close relationship with Jerry Jampolski and Diane Cirincione.

For 38 years, Trish has served in numerous roles within the AHI global community. She has designed social-emotional learning and leadership programs for youth and incarcerated adults, trained more than a thousand facilitators worldwide, and assisted in the development of Attitudinal Healing centres and programs around the world.

Trish has been a very much-loved mentor, friend and guide for AHWA since its formation in 2010 and many of our members have developed a strong bond with her since then. AHWA has sponsored her for a number of visits to Perth during which she conducted many successful seminars, retreats and presentations. The link up on December 17 was quite informal and a relatively relaxed event with participants enjoying mutual sharing of their current circumstances, experiences, as well as hopes for the year ahead.

This was the second time Trish caught up with AHWA in 2024. In Aoril, Trish led a video linkup with around a dozen AHWA members and friends using the February "Foregiveness" conference in Hawaii as the basis of conversation.

Memory Café Anniversary

The Memory Café, a monthly social gathering specifically for people living with dementia and their carers, celebrated its eighth anniversary last September. It is a partnership between the City of Melville, Westfield Booragoon and Alzheimer’s WA and is supported by volunteers from Attitudinal Healing WA. It aims to provide a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for people living with dementia and their carers where they can socialise over a nice cuppa, connect through sharing their experiences and rediscovering memories. The café is located in Westfield Booragoon, a large shopping centre, where the staff have undertaken training to make them feel welcome and at ease. .

Doug Chandler is AHWA’s lead volunteer for the project and has been part of the organising team since its inception. Congratulations, Doug, on a fantastic effort over such a long period, We know your involvement is very much appreciated. And thanks, as well to Gail who has also been a longstanding volunteer alongside you.

Attitudinal Healing Facilitator Online Training 2024

AHWA continued its involvement with AHI’s on-line Facilitator Training program in 2024 with three separate training programs being conducted. With others from AHI, AHWA’s Trish Halvorsen was one of the lead trainers and other AHWA facilitators were involved in mentoring and practice sessions. The first and main training program consisted of six training sessions held weekly from 7 June 2024 through to 19 July 2024, together with six practice sessions. The main training sessions were held on Fridays with the separate follow up practice session being held on the following Wednesday. In all there were twelve meetings. Around twenty participants joined from both the USA and Australia.

As a second and follow up training program, AHWA’s Trish Halvorsen and AHI’s Geralyn Russell led a mentoring group for many of the people who had completed the Course. It was held weekly over four weeks from 6 September to 27 September 2024 and was aimed at providing practice and tips for the participants to conduct AH groups of their own. Once again AHWA facilitators were involved in support and mentoring roles.

A third initiative arising from the training program was a four-part online series “An Introduction to Attitudinal Healing” in November, which was advertised for all members and friends to join. The program allowed trainees to present segments of the instalments to build on, and enhance, their skills developed in the earlier training programs. The program was once again led by Trish Halvorsen from AHWA in collaboration with Geralyn Russell from AHI. Trainees were provided backup, guidance and materials to conduct their segments of the course. It was a four-session course that was held weekly from 1 November through to 22 November 2024. Four AHWA members took part.

Michael Verde's 2024 Webinar and In-person Presentations for AHWA

On Friday 31 May 2024, AHWA hosted Michael Verde, founder of Memory Bridge Foundation, for an online seminar, “The Life We’re Looking For”. This webinar utilized Michael’s extensive literary skills and expertise, and included aspects of his work with Memory Bridge, which brings together people with and without dementia. In the webinar Michael distilled the essential insights of New York Times bestselling author Andy Crouch’s latest book: The Life We’re Looking For. Michael’s explication of Crouch’s work artfully developed the book’s two core claims: one, that our greatest human need is to be profoundly recognized; and two, once we feel so recognized we long to extend our heart, mind, and soul in abundantly fulfilling directions.

Later in the year, during his visit to Perth in November as part of his Australia wide lecture tour, AHWA sponsored two face to face workshops . The first was a workshop for a Young Onset Dementia group associated with a City of Melville community network. The group comprised carers of, and professionals associated with, those living with Yound Onset Dementia. It was two hour gathering on 18 November 2024 held at the Miller Bakehouse meeting room, Palmyra. The second was a three hour interactive seminar and workshop with AHWA members and friends in which Michael explored relationship (and relationships) inspired by Ivan Tolstoy's novella "The Death of Ivan Illych". It was held on 20 November 2024, also at the Miller Bakehouse..

2024 Attitudinal Healing Series "Love is Letting Go of Fear"

We had a new focus for our regular Monday evening Attitudinal Healing Peer Support group which for about six months had a book/study focus, that began in March, 2024. The group used the book: Love is Letting Go of Fear (Ed 3) by Gerard Jampolsky MD. This book focuses on personal transformation and has become a classic all over the world. The narrative is a helpful guide and is comprised of twelve carefully crafted lessons that are designed to help us let go of the past and stay focused on the present. LOVE IS LETTING GO OF FEAR reminds us that the only barriers to the life we long for are the limitations imposed on us by our own minds. Revealing our true selves, the essence of which is love, is a matter of releasing those limited and limiting thoughts. The book has guided millions of readers toward self-healing with this deeply powerful yet profoundly simple message.

We offered a 12-session program via Zoom. Meetings were held twice a month on the first and third Monday evenings of the month from March through to September 2024.

Participants enjoyed the change of format for the group and are looking forward to groups on a similar basis in the future.

Michael Verde Visit to Perth, November 2023

Attitudinal Healing Western Australia (“AHWA)”) proudly sponsored a very successful lecture and workshop tour to Perth by Michael Verde of Memory Bridge Foundation in November last year. Michael Verde and Memory Bridge are among the world’s leaders in ending the loneliness of people with dementia and their caregivers. The response and bookings to the various events were extremely good and all events were very well received by the audiences. Because of the positive response very early on, it was necessary to extend his originally planned two week visit by another week. His programs commenced on November 6 and continued through to November 24. Presentations were conducted for eighteen Local Government Authorities and workshops held for five care service provider

.organisations There were over thirty separate events spread across the three weeks, largely in the Perth metropolitan area but also in the southwest regions of the state. He reached in the vicinity of 1,500 people during his time here.

One of the initial events was a screening of his documentary, “Love is Listening” at the Hoyts Cinema complex in Booragoon, which was followed by a very interactive Q&A session with Michael and Jason Burton of Dementia Training Australia.

The events for the Local Government Authorities were ninety-minute presentations on the subject of “Dementia without Loneliness” aimed at carers and families of people with dementia. He is also led a half day professional development workshop for LGPro (Local Government Professionals Australia WA).

The programs for the care provider service organisations included a three half-day training workshop for Brightwater Care Group, separate workshops at three of Alzheimer’s WA residential facilities (including one at Albany), a half-day workshop for Melville Cares (an aged care service provider) and a workshop for Dementia Training Australia.

Michael also provided three events for Attitudinal Healing Western Australia. The first was a workshop for carers of people with Young Onset Dementia and the second was a professional development workshop for aged and health care professionals, with an aim to continuing the program after Michael’s return to the US. The third event was a general workshop for AHWA members and friends, which focussed on the question, “what is calling you right now beyond your everyday life”.

During his visit, AHWA provided event coordination, facilitator services where needed, volunteer transport and accommodation. This is the fifth time AHWA has been involved in bringing Michael to Australia; the first time being in 2015.

AHWA involved in 2023 AHI International Facilitator Online Training

An AHI International Facilitator Online Training program was conducted weekly over six weeks from 27 September 2023. It was held each Wednesday morning, with the last session on November 1. On average there were about 18 participants – plus trainers/mentors - from US, Singapore, China and Australia. The program also included separate practice groups on the Friday mornings following the main practice session. AHWA’s Trish Halvorsen was one of the trainers for the main sessions, with Lyndel Hebenton and Doug Chandler both AHWA facilitators, acting as mentor facilitators for the practice sessions.

As a follow up to the AHI International Facilitator Online Training program, Trish Halvorsen and Geralyn Russel (AHI) conducted an online mentoring program for those who took part in the just completed training program. It was held weekly for four weeks, commencing on Wednesday 8 November 2023 and concluded Wednesday, 29 November 2023. There were 12 participants.

AHWA groups move to Miller Bakehouse

Sadly AHWA's lease on our facilities at Hickey St, Ardross, was not able to be renewed after 30 June 2023 by the City of Melville, so after more than ten happy years there, we needed to find a new home for our person to person groups and events. Fortunately, and with great help from the City of Melville, after looking at a number of options, we were pleased to be able to come to an agreement with the Melville History Society to use the Miller Bakehouse for our various groups and meetings. The Bakehouse was built in 1935 and provides an historical and delightful meeting place for small community groups such as ours. It is also home to a small bakery museum. It is located in a small pocket park at 7 Baal St, Palmyra.

A hearty vote of thanks is due to the members and friends who volunteered their time and efforts on Saturday 1 July 2023 to help clear out our long accumulated property at Hickey St, and in the process relocating many of the (we think more comfortable!) chairs to the Bakehouse.

Diane Cirincione visit in March 1923

Diane Cirincione visited Perth in March 2023 and AHWA members were delighted to have an opportunity for a “meet and greet” occasion with her. As Co-Founder with Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, she currently serves as Executive Director of Attitudinal Healing International (AHI), an educational, logistics, and support non-profit organization working with and mentoring Attitudinal Healing Centers, Groups, and Development Projects globally. A late afternoon gathering, and light evening meal was arranged for Sunday, 12 March 2023 at a member’s home in Applecross and about fourteen AHWA members attended. As well as

members sharing with her, Diane gave a fascinating account of her and Jerry’s Attitudinal Healing journey. It was a very enjoyable evening for all concerned, with a special interlude celebrating longstanding AHWA member, Michael Dillon’s 80th birthday.

Attitudinal Healing Monday Evening Peer Support Group

Starting in early 2023, a new on-line Attitudinal Healing Peer Support Group is being held on the first and third Monday evenings of each month. The group uses the Principles of Attitudinal Healing as tools for learning, personal transformation and peace of mind. In this group participants and AHWA facilitators work together to create a safe and trusting environment that supports honest self awareness, as well as authentic and heartfelt communication. Typically participants explore together the question"What does it take to experience inner peace now, given the circumstances life is presenting?" The online format of the group is by Zoom, between 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm WST. If you would like further details with a view to joining the group, please contact Trish on mobile 0409 641 507.

Dementia and the Meaning of Life/Michael Verde webinars and workshops for City of Belmont

Following the sucessful City of Melville program in 2022, AHWA was again very pleased that an application to the City of Belmont's Community Contribution Fund was successful to once more present Michael Verde's "Dementia and Meaning of Life" webinar series and follow-up workshops. As for the City of Melville program, the webinars and workshops were designed for carers of people with dementia, both family and home carers as carers in agencies and aged-care facilities, but this time for carers in the City of Belmont environs. Once again the webinars were lead by Michael Verde of Memory Bridge Foundation, supported by facilitators Trish Ellis from AHI and Trish Halvorsen from AHWA. The four webinars were held weekly from 30 May 2023 through to 20 June 2023 with about eighteen participants. The first follow-up workshop was held on 25 July 2023 with others to come in the coming months.

Attutudinal Healing Group: Sacred Awareness, Embracing Life

A series of on-line Attitudinal Heaing groups "Sacred Awareness; Embracing Life" was sucessfully concluded on 31 May 2023. The series comprised six meetings held over six weeks commencing 26 April 2023. The groups were co-faciltated by Trish Halvorsen of AHWA (Perth) and Geralyn Russell of AHI (Tallahassee, Florida). Around fourteen on-line participants joined the meetings from Australia and USA. Feedback received from those participants was very positive and as a consequence similar series are likely to be held in the future.

Dementia and the Meaning of Life/Michael Verde webinars and workshops for City of Melville

AHWA was extremely pleased to be awarded a Community Grant from the City of Melville in 2022 to present a series of webinars and workshops entitled "Dementia and the Meaning of Life". The webinars and workshops were designed for carers of people with dementia, both family and home carers, as well as for carers in agencies and aged-care facilities. The program had two phases. The first phase was four 90-minute interactive webinars held weekly over four weeks. The second was three follow-up Zoom meetings with interested participants from the webinars together with a follow-up workshop at the City of Melville. The webinars were led by Michael Verde of Memory Bridge Foundation with two facilitators; Trish Ellis from AHI and Trish Halvorsen from AHWA. The webinars were held weekly over four weeks in August and September 2022, with the follow-up meetings held via video link in October, November and December,2022. The follow-up workshop was held on 17 May 2023.

Michael Verde on-line workshop: The Lost Art of Dying

AHWA was pleased to sponsor an online workshop for Attitudinal Healing International (AHI) entitled "The Lost Art of Dying". It was lead by Michael Verde of Memory Bridge Foundation and co-facilitated by Trish Halvorsen of AHWA and Trish Ellis of AHI. It was held on 21 October 2022.

The content theme was based on the art of dying being the art of living. What we truly love comes to life in a form that death cannot touch, much less extinguish. At the end of our biological life we feel the passage of our spirit into all that we have loved on earth. The more intimately we live with all that we know—other people, our self, the natural world, and that which transcends nature—the less death is frightening. We can say this in another way as well: The art of dying is one that we practice, or not, every day of our lives.

Attitudinal Healing group “Living Life Fully: Discovering the True Self”

"What is the difference between making a point and creating a connection; between the person who can transmit information and the one who is able to transform lives?" (Michael Verde, Memory Bridge Foundation)

Using this idea as inspiration, an on-line Attitudinal Healing group entitled "Living Life Fully; Discovering the True Self" was held with very positive feedback in September 2022. It followed on from the similarly very successful “GRIP (Get Real Inner Peace}” groups held in June and July 2022.

The six-session series commenced on Thursday 22 September 2022 and ran weekly through to 20 October 2022. It was attended by an international group of participants from Western Australia, China and USA. The group was co-facilitated by Geralyn Russell from the AHI network in USA and Trish Halvorsen from AHWA in Perth.

BABWA Group at RAAFA Bull Creek to re-focus activities

COVID uncertainties and the consequent complexity of access restrictions at the Alice Ross-King (ARK) facility have made it very difficult for volunteers to visit their companions on a a regular basis. As a result, the Be a Bridge WA (BABWA) group at RAAFA Bull Creek will - temporarily only, it is hoped - refocus its activities. The volunteers have been meeting and training over the last four years to in effect be “Bridges”, and providing companionship, to residents in the ARK who live with dementia or who otherwise live with loneliness or isolation. It started after a visit by Michael Verde of the Memory Bridge Foundation in 2018. The group is very keen to continue meeting monthly, which they do in the Meg Oliver Room at RAAFA and a program developed around "Health, Wellbeing and Mindfulness" and “Living in Community” will be run.

The group coordinator, Trish Halvorsen, said “Whilst it is disappointing not to be able to visit our companions over the next few months, it is wonderful to be able to meet and have time to further explore how our attitudes and ways of communicating impact our relationships and our perspectives on the world around us”. New members from the RAAFA estate or in the local community are always welcome. If you are interested, please email your name and phone number to info@attitudinalhealingwa.org.au.

Get Real Inner Peace (GRIP) - a new on-line Attitudinal Healing group

Trish Halvorsen from AHWA and Geralyn Russell from the AHI network, Florida USA, jointly facilitated a new online Attitudinal Healing workshop series, "Get Real Inner Peace" (GRIP). It commenced on 17 June 2022 with an initial two-hour workshop, and subsequently continued on a weekly basis with six one-and-a-half-hour-long peer support groups. It wound up on 29 July 2022. The course was primarily aimed at how to experience inner peace, regardless of what is happening on the outside. In other words, you leave the story behind, and take the feeling of peace with you, essentially ending the cycle of “renting too much mental space” to past events or future situations which may or may not occur. You can experience a freedom and an inner equanimity which allows you to focus on what really matters to you today.

By choosing peace intentionally, we now know we can change the neural pathways in our brain, so our choice has a lasting effect. We begin to choose peace more often and recognize peace as a choice we can make, moment by moment. Our lives become more peaceful as does the world around us. We can choose to have peace of mind as our only goal.

The limited places for the program was fully booked, with participants from Perth, US and China all providing positive feedback on the series..

Women's Group Resumes

After a pause in March and early April because of COVID precautions, the Women's Peer Support Group resumed its meetings at Hickey St, Ardross, as from 26 April 2022. The normal meeting schedule of the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons of the month is back in place.

The Men's Peer Support Group continued throughout using meetings by Zoom but will resume meetings at Hickey St in the near future on a date to be advised.

Postscript: As of 1 July 2023, the venue for both programs is the Miller Bakehouse meeting room, 7 Baal St, Palmyra

Facilitator Mentoring Program

As a follow up to the AHI facilitator training series earlier this year (see item below), Trish Halvorsen from AHWA and Geralyn Russell, a senior AH facilitator from Tallahassee, Florida, have jointly been presenting an AH facilitator mentoring program by Zoom. The program is for people who completed the AHI faciltator training program. Participants from USA, UK, China and Australia registered for the series. It consists of eight one and a half hour sessions over eight weeks commencing (Perth time) Thursday 7 April 2022 and concluding Thursday 26 May 2022.

The focus of the program is on deepening participants’ skills of facilitating AH peer support groups through practice sessions that were experienced in the AHI facilitator training series. It will provide support to further develop the skills, attitudes and practices that lead to the feeling of safety, love, compassion and connectedness needed in the peer support groups, as well as in participants own lives, relationships and in the community.

AHWA Facilitators complete AHI Online Facilitator Training

Six facilitators from Attitudinal Healing WA (AHWA) recently completed Online Training arranged by Attitudinal Healing International (AHI). The training was given in six two and a half hour Zoom sessions over six weeks from 18 January through to 22 February 2022.

The course had nearly eighty participants and was offered by an international team of Attitudinal Healing (AH) trainers led by Trish Ellis, AHI’s International Training Coordinator. The ten-member training team included Trish Halvorsen from AHWA with the others from countries as far and wide as Brazil, Canada, China, Dominican Republic and the United States.

Contents of the course included the review and application of AH concepts and practising AH facilitation skills. The course was based on the award-winning AH peer facilitation model developed by noted American psychiatrist Dr Gerald Jampolsky. This adaptable model has been used in schools, hospitals, communities and workplaces throughout the world, supporting people of all ages to navigate the challenges of life with resilience and peace of mind.

Themes of the course included the role of an AH facilitator, group dynamics management, the AH peer support model, facilitator teamwork and timekeeping, active listening and facilitative questions.

All AHWA participants highly praised the course, were very appreciative of the learning experience and strongly believe the skills learned will be extremely valuable to bring to all our AHWA peer support groups.

Michael Dillon, one of the AHWA participants commented, “Even though I have been involved with AH for many years I found the course very helpful and rewarding. Meeting people from all around the world was inspiring, Jerry certainly left a great legacy”.

Michael Dillon receives Order of Australia Award

Well-deserved congratulations are due to foundation AHWA member Michael Dillon who recently received the Order of Australia award. He is pictured with the Western Australia Governor, Kim Beasley, at the investiture ceremony held on 26th August 2020 at Government House in Perth.

Michael received the award for his service to the pharmacy profession, as well as his service to the community, particularly in regard to his involvement in Attitudinal Healing. Michael has been involved in Attitudinal Healing for more than thirty years.

He was a founding member of AHWA in 2010 and served as Vice-President until 2013. He continues his longstanding involvement as a facilitator with the men's peer support group and as volunter with AHWA's Build a Bridge program at RAAFA Bullcreek.