Help available when you reach tipping point

 

Anthea Raven is a qualified and registered social worker, experienced trainer and educator, and an accredited disputes mediator. She has 30 years experience in the human services across a range of environments such as child abuse, family violence, sexual violence, and the investigation of historic claims.

Along with formal training, her skills, knowledge and understanding has grown from hearing the stories of adults, children and adolescents and witnessing the effect abuse and detriment has had on their lives. Anthea has also witnessed their self-empowerment and ability to take charge of decisions about their own lives recognising that the key to resolution comes from small changes rather than challenging the bigger issues.

Six months ago Anthea decided to establish The Tipping Point to share her skills and knowledge with the community and to offer a point of difference from the traditional counselling approach.

The Tipping Point is a concept about change and resolution. Essentially it involves identifying and instituting a series of small changes which over time become significant enough to bring about the bigger difference or cause a larger more important change.

To ensure The Tipping Point is accessible and keep the cost affordable, in several cases she has entered into a ‘green dollar’ arrangement and she is willing to do this where money is a genuine obstacle.

There are several ways in which Anthea works with people who are experiencing personal difficulties: interpersonal conflicts or problems in individual or family relationships, the workplace, or committees. This can include personal coaching which is focussed on assisting an individual to strengthen their own effectiveness and gain self-empowerment, facilitation with groups to address an issue and implement strategies for change, and disputes mediation to assist parties find agreement on matters of conflict.

Anthea recommends that people should come early on, when they first start to experience a problem. This might be workplace bullying, or a family breakup. Many people Anthea has seen have moved past the stage of optimism and hope that their situation will get better. They are often psychologically overwhelmed and emotionally fraught especially when they find themselves in unfamiliar territory.

Her approach is to identify the core issue of distress and provide some subject matter wisdom so that the person gains a sense of relief and control over the situation. Often it is the smallest aspect of a person’s thinking that can change their emotional state and their behaviours.

Anthea Raven