Why Kookaburra? Why Community?

Hello and welcome to the first ever Kookaburra Community Blog post! By way of introduction, I am Abe Hatch, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and owner of Kookaburra Community LLC (K.C). K.C. specialises in parenting support, infant-toddler mental health and mind-minded relationships. This initial blog post is a little introduction to the overarching ideas that guide my work and the principles and values of K.C. Let’s go!

Our need for relationship.

All throughout the Australian outback you can hear Kookaburras call out in the early morning and again at sunset. Their birdcall sounds more like a great big belly laugh, as if something hilarious has unfolded. As a child, I remember my classmates giggling when the teacher was trying to quieten us down because a Kookaburra had laughed outside the window. Like a good comedian, their timing was perfect. When adults hear the Kookaburras call, they may laugh, they might look up, they might be reminded to be present to their surroundings and to not take the day so seriously.

Relational wounds require relational healing.

Kookaburras live in families, in fact their call is protective, it warns animals and birds that this is their territory, stay away! They choose one partner and stay with them for life, raising a family together, with the older siblings helping to raise the younger chicks. They live in community. This is the fundamental and universal challenge to good mental health, relationships and being a tuned in parent. Living in relationship, in family and community, is hard wired into us, and it is kind of a contrast to the self-help, self-actualization, self-growth or as one of my mentors called it “project self” society that we live in. The promotion of the self-help movement is not all bad, however …relational wounds require relational healing. We need help, tools, support and authentic spaces to reflect on our lives and be great friends, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and so on... All of this was inspired by a Kookaburra!?

There are environmental barriers to our health.

When I moved to Oregon from Western Australia and started my counseling practice, I began to work with individuals, parents, infants, toddlers and couples experiencing challenges to their relationships, to their social capital, their connection to community and to their sense of joy, presence and good health. There are barriers that all of us are subject to, and that we certainly contribute to, that prevent us from being in healthy and meaningful relationships and life-giving communities. Some of these are systemic; such as power structures, racism, geographic biases, class divide, politics, intolerance to intolerance, moral self-righteousness and spiritual superiority…the list goes on! Other’s are thrust upon us by our circumstances, our reactions to stress and trauma, the lack of resources and support in our communities, mental health challenges, shame, fear, doubt, pride and hurt.

Seeing the self from the outside in, and others from the inside out!

As a kid born in the beautiful, arid, hot, red dirt of the Australian outback, I have had incredible privileges to navigate and overcome through opportunities such as study, travel, trainings, and most importantly through listening to my clients deeply vulnerable stories. What I have learned is not new. Authentic change is hard, humans are complex and mind-minded relationships are the key to a meaningful and joyful life. You and I will always need to exercise our mental and emotional capacities, learn to be self-aware, and learn how to see ourselves from the outside in and those around us from the inside out.

What’s Next?

Kookaburra Community’s vision for mental health interventions and counseling services is a place where we hold the value of relationships and community with the highest regard. Where we focus on no-nonsense mental health interventions based on the wisdom and evidence that we have available to us. Over the coming weeks these blog posts and whatever else feels fitting and salient will be focused on the first community we are a part of…the family and the parent-child relationship. We will provide you with expert advice and ideas about infant-toddler mental health (what is that?! - the next post will address this) and concepts that promote better relationships such as mind-mindedness, the value of being less knowing (seriously!) and more curious (known as mentalizing), and developing knowledge and capacities for how to narrate, describe and soothe our internal experiences or as the great Professor Dan Siegel called it turning toward “The Inner Sea” with acceptance, loving-kindness and courage.

Thank you for having a poke around here, indulging my love of Kookaburra’s, and of course…. welcome to Kookaburra Community!