Ostara Occupational Therapy

22/10/2026

This was one version of the perfect mother I carried around in my head during my own matrescence.

There was another one too. The earth mother. Home birth, babywearing, homemade everything, endlessly patient, deeply connected, never once raising her voice.

Two very different women. Both their own kind of perfect. And I couldn't be either of them.

But here's the thing.
She doesn't exist.
She never did.

The perfect mother is an ideal built by society, not by real women. Her standards are unrealistic and unattainable by design. So if she's the one you're measuring yourself against, no bloody wonder you feel like you're falling short!

And she isn't harmless. She exists to keep women small, compliant and performing care work that goes unseen and unvalued.

Tell me in the comments: was your perfect mother more polished mum or earth mother? Or someone else entirely? 🤍

P.S. If she's been running the show for a while and you're ready to put all that to bed (don't mind the pun), I'd love to support you 1:1.

We'll get to know the mother you actually are, not the one you think you should be 🔥

Bookings via the link in bio. Medicare rebates available with a mental health care plan ❤️✨️

18/10/2026

In case you needed the permission slip....

Private practice can be a lonely old gig. You're the clinician, the admin, the marketing department and the person who remembers to buy the tissues.

And social media has a funny way of making us feel like every other therapist is competition.

They're not.

They're the only ones who really get it!!!

So like her post. Share her group. Send your waitlist her way when you're full. Ask her how she's actually going (and wait for the real answer).

Women supporting women in health isn't just a nice idea. It's how we build something better for the people we work with...and for ourselves!
Tag a woman in allied health who's out here doing it her own way 🤍

17/10/2026

Some of these I learned the hard way. Most I've seen again and again sitting alongside mothers. None of them are things you need to white-knuckle through on your own.

❗️If the worry feels loud and won't switch off, please talk to your GP or call PANDA on 1300 726 306.

And if you'd like a space to unpack it all, I offer 1:1 sessions in Ringwood East, in your home and online. With a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, you may be eligible for Medicare rebates.

Link in bio to book or get in touch ✨️
Which one resonates with you?

16/10/2026

15/10/2026

So many of the mothers I sit with often say some version of the following....

"I just want to feel like me again."

And I get it. I really do! But here's the thing we don't tell mothers to be... you're not supposed to go back.

Matrescence changes you, the same way adolescence did. Your body, your brain, your priorities, your tolerance for bulls$%t. It all shifts.

What if, instead of chasing the old you, you got curious about the new one?

Who are you becoming?
I'd love to hear 🤍
Or if this is something you want to make sense of with a little support, my door is open and I am currently accepting new clients ✨️

12/10/2026

Anger is allowed for all humans. Mothers too!

I say this a lot in sessions because so many women I work with feel like they're meant to stay sweet and patient all day, every day. Then anger walks through to door and they either bottle it up or it explodes... at the kids, their partner, the dog. The bloody range hood!

And then they are consumed by guilt.

But anger usually makes sense when you slow down and look at it. It tends to turn up when a boundary's been crossed, a value's been dismissed, or a need has gone unmet. Often for a bloody long time.

Touched out. Interrupted for the hundredth time. Nobody noticing what you're carrying. Running on broken sleep. Of course your body is going off.

So next time anger rises, try asking: what's this anger pointing to?
What do I need right now?

Some days you'll catch it and come back feeling more regulated. Some days you won't, and you'll repair. That's real life ❤️
If you're feeling this more often than you'd like and want some support to unpack it, I'd love to work with you. Book in through the link in my bio ✨️

06/10/2026

Generational change was never meant to rest on one set of shoulders.

You get to do your part (if you choose to) and put the rest down 🤍

30/09/2026

Consider this my version of a first coffee date.
Therapy works best when you feel like you can actually be yourself with the person across from you. So here's a little of me. If it felt like you, I'd love to hear from you.
I work with mothers in Ringwood East and online. Link in bio 🤍

28/09/2026

Play dates can hit different when you're parenting a neurodivergent kid.

You lock one in, you're kind of excited and then ten minutes later your stomach drops and the questions start rolling in.

Will they get dysregulated? Will there be a meltdown? Will they lash out, take over the game, say something a bit too blunt? Will it end in tears again? Is this the one that goes well, or is it going completely pear-shaped?

Then you're doing the mum maths. How'd they sleep? Have they actually eaten? Did they use up all their capacity at school? Will it be too loud? Should I have said the park? Should I just cancel? No, they've been looking forward to it. S**t...

And the other parent. Do I explain? How much? Will they think my kid is rude, or that I haven't taught them properly?

Tangled up in all of it there's grief, fear, maybe shame, or even a flicker of anger you don't know where to direct. And a lot of self-doubt, which is usually running the show.

Because when it goes badly we want a black and white answer. Was it their brain, the environment, the four crackers for lunch? Or was it me? There's rarely a clear answer, so where do we land? Right back on ourselves. And just to be really clear, none of this is because our kiddo is broken or too much. Their brain works differently and most spaces just aren't built with them in mind.

And the thing that sits right in my chest when mums tell me about this is how much LOVE is under all of it. You just want them to have fun, to feel like they belong, to have a friend who gets them.

So if you're packing the safe snacks, the headphones and the backup backup plan, running worst-case scenarios before you've left the driveway… I get it. I really get it.

What's the question your brain asks first? Tell me below 🤍

26/09/2026

Happy spring equinox 🌱 (a few days late, because…school holidays.)

It's also a little birthday of sorts for the name Ostara.

It took me months to choose it. I nearly gave up and called it something generic like "Tess OT." 🙃

Ostara is the Wiccan celebration of the spring equinox, all about balance, renewal and rebirth. I'm not pagan, but those three words describe matrescence better than anything I could come up with.

When a baby is born, a mother is born too.

Whatever season you're in right now, winter doesn't last forever. Spring finds us all again.