Dr Carrie Hayward
It all started when…
Where did my fascination with the wondrous workings of the human mind begin? My parents would say that it began as a young child; being the youngest sibling of a lawyer sister and actor brother, they say that I had no choice but to sit back quietly and just observe! And now all grown up, I have been a psychologist for the past twelve years, including heading up my own private practice for the past seven.
My love of being a psychologist really thrived when I found a therapy that I believe every person on the planet needs to know about – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Which in practice is not really a therapy but an approach to living. The core process of ACT is living mindfully, and using mindfulness processes to deal with the inevitable discomfort that life brings and to find meaning and fulfillment in our lives by being the person we want to be. Becoming an ACT practitioner fundamentally changed my work as a psychologist, and profoundly changed my way of living as a person.
I think the Human Mind fascinates many of us. And being invited to hear about the internal workings of the minds of my clients who walk through my practice door, is a very honoring way to spend my working day. And not only that, but with each client I also get to natter and natter about this wonderful approach, this way to help us live more effectively with these very complex minds of ours that can so very often rock our boats.
For a while now, I have been very eager to bring the teaching of mindfulness practices and ACT principles beyond my therapy room, to the broader community. And then along came Mandy. It started with casual snippets of conversations about our shared desire to be a bigger part of this blossoming mindfulness and mediation movement. This grew and grew, and then Madam Heap was born! My friend of 30 years has now become my business partner. It is our different but complimentary experience and training that makes Madam Heap what she is. And I have been loving every minute of it!