Supporting Healing Rebuilding Lives

Talie Star is a singer songwriter, consultant, speaker about domestic, family, and sexual violence, disability, homelessness, specialising in trauma and recovery. Recovery is so important to Talie. Since the age of 5 she knew what she was living was not right. This started her trajectory to recovery and freedom.

Read more in Talie’s own words.

This is why it was so exciting to be part of input into the Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre, and what spurs me on as part of the organising committee for the inaugural DFSV Recovery & Healing Conference. Both of these are life changing. Having trained as a counsellor, it is a way to bring leading thinkers into this space and open up the discussion that I have been having with myself since I was 5.

What I experienced was not my fault. I did nothing to elicit this kind of abuse, it is purely the fault of the person who chooses to use violence! What I’ve loved about my recovery (even though it was really hard at times) is that it has freed me from the messages of abusers. I no longer have to believe their limiting critical beliefs about myself. What they said was to control me, so that they could continue without recourse and accountability.

To express the things I couldn’t articulate in any other way, I poured out everything into the creative arts. At first this was just for me. Then when I shared my songs and poetry, I found it resonated with others. As I poured my struggles and hopes onto canvas, I found it created a shift in myself and others. I wanted to share the delicious possibility of freedom with everyone.

I developed singing workshops that enable others to shift their internal dialogue and reclaim the truth about who they are. “One persons freedom is another persons hope.”

As part of this journey, I became a ‘Love Bites’ facilitator, having trained as a youth worker, Love Bites is a Respectful Relationships Education Program for young people aged 15-17 years. This then opened doors as a consultant, working with governments’, peak bodies, health, and services nationally.

As we step into the space of recovery, we have to ensure that we’re engaging with people safely and in a trauma Informed way – to ensure what we do is actually assisting and empowering people to move through to healing as they choose. What this looks like will be different for everyone. Freedom’s power is it’s truth.

Sydney Morning Herald, photo credit Louise Kennerley

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