Edie is a Byron Bay–based therapist working with women and gender-diverse people around cycles, desire and rest. In this conversation, she reflects on healing, menstruation and listening beneath the surface.

 

Name: Edie

Pronouns: She / Her

Day job: Therapist

Location: Byron Bay, Northern NSW

 

Describe your work in one sentence.

As a therapist, I work with women and gender-diverse people who seek gentle, heart-centred care and a safe container for personal growth and for traversing tender spaces.

 

How did you end up doing this work?

From a young age, I was deeply curious about the inner workings of human beings. I would ask other kids what they were thinking or how they felt when they were alone. I often asked strangers personal questions – I was that girl in the corner at parties, having meaningful conversations.

I then quite literally came across an Arts Psychotherapy course open day in my hometown and enrolled on the spot. It combined my interests in psychology, spirituality, philosophy, and art. Throughout my years of study, I also began exploring my relationship with my own sexuality, gender, menstrual cycle, and the cultural and social buzz around those topics. I ended up writing my thesis on menstrual shame, which led me further down the path of sexology.

 

How do psychotherapy, sexology, and art therapy intersect in your practice?

My background in psychotherapy feels like the bread and butter of my practice. It allows me to build safety, trust, and rapport with clients, and to work with them in ways that best serve their therapeutic intentions. Depending on the client’s goals, my work as a sexologist can be beautifully woven into the therapeutic objective. I often use analogies that relate things back to sex, as I feel that most things in life can be linked to how we express ourselves sexually.

Art therapy is an incredible tool for working with trauma or with topics that are painful, hard to articulate, or steeped in shame, which is often the case when airing an aspect of one’s inner work for the first time.

My work is not defined as a sexologist in one moment and a psychotherapist in the next. It feels more like a tapestry, where each moment pulls a different thread and we artfully weave them in and out together. My work also involves an ongoing journey of personal reflection, continually dismantling my own conditioning around sex, gender, and pleasure, which is ever evolving.

 

How do you explain your work to someone new to therapy?

We sit together, create a safe space that reflects your needs, and delve into what’s present and current, tracing possible roots back into your past. All the while, we are co-regulating our nervous systems and using different practices and tools to support us as we go.

There are many misconceptions about therapy, but one I often encounter is the assumption that it will “fix” people’s problems. This comes from the harmful belief that parts of us are bad or unworthy, and it overlooks the collaborative and intentional nature of therapy. We work together, and while I am skilled in knowing what to say, which threads to follow, and how to support you, ultimately, you show up for yourself and do the work.

Another common misconception is that therapy is only for people with severe mental health issues, that you must be “broken” to be “fixed.” Perhaps the most common misunderstanding, though, is that therapy is just sitting and talking for an hour, which, at least in my sessions, isn’t the case.

What does a healthy relationship with desire look like?

Aim to reconnect to your own relationship with desire, why it matters, and how significant it feels in your life. How do you feel toward your desire for pleasure, whether that be found in sex, touch, food, sensations, rest, friendship, and so on? Unpacking this is a good place to start, while also listening to the signals your body is sending and, if you are personally concerned about your relationship with desire, looking at the deeper experience going on.

 

How do emotional and hormonal health connect?

It’s a feedback loop, a chicken-and-egg scenario. When your hormones are out of balance, your mood is affected, and when you are emotionally distressed, it can contribute to a hormonal imbalance. The more you nourish your hormones, the more emotionally balanced you will feel, and vice versa. This speaks to a value around holistic health and resourcing yourself with support that targets your physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing.

 

What does rest mean to you, beyond sleep?

Rest, to me, is a state of deep peace. It is when I feel most connected to myself, when my nervous system is nourished, my mind quiet, and my heart centred and calm. Rest is very important to me, and I prioritise it above all else. It is something I have had to learn to make space for, as it is not always easy to drop into.

For me, rest is about cultivating peace in all areas of life: home, friendships, work, relationships, and solitude. If I can pause, take a deep breath, and find a moment of silence in any of those spaces, that feels like true success. Leaning into the stillness is often when I draw upon interoception, connecting to what I need and how I am feeling.

 

How do you honour slower or heavier phases in your own body?

I tend to withdraw from the world. I need a lot of silence and solitude. I try to spend quality time with myself as if I were a dear friend. I let myself do whatever I need, while also sprinkling in intentional and conscious self-care, and doing my best to resource myself in ways that reflect the state of my inner world.

 

How do you reset after an emotionally heavy day?

I have a specific process that involves the practice of containing - a visualisation exercise where I imagine a container to hold all the heavy feelings, thoughts, and sensations I’m experiencing. Sometimes I also release those feelings somatically through shaking, movement, sound, jumping, or squeezing or punching pillows. If needed, I will journal or engage in art therapy. 

What’s still tender but true in your healing?

Perfection is impossible, and imperfection is more freeing than anything.

 

Why are periods still taboo?

Because there are incredible healing possibilities in the menstrual phase itself. If the world truly let that knowing in, it would dismantle many of the structures that keep people who bleed disempowered. We only understand a fraction of what is truly mysterious and sacred about menstruation, and, like most things mysterious and sacred, the world dismisses it.

The origins of the menstrual taboo can be traced back over 2,000 years. Narratives that kept women oppressed became dominant and are still woven into society today. One such myth is that period blood is dirty, when in fact it contains stem cells and nourishing properties. More broadly, the belief that bodily functions are dirty runs deep and sits at the root of much of the shame, self-hatred, and unworthiness we carry.

It’s also important to note that not all people who menstruate are women, and not all women menstruate. Trans and gender diverse people have also carried the weight of these inherited taboos, often with even less visibility.

 

What do you hope changes about how we talk about periods?

I would love to see a world where people who bleed are supported to rest, honour their cycles, and foster deep listening relationships with their bodies. In my lifetime, I hope to see menstruation embraced with reverence and curiosity, and for its wisdom to be taught across all areas of life, woven into our culture’s transition toward less shame around sexuality and bodies in general.

 

MY CYCLE

• My period in three words: Tender, evolving, meaningful.
• Period self-care toolkit: Hot water bottle, ginger tea, magnesium, slow stretching or intentional movement to release stagnation, warm baths, feeling my emotions, and, where possible, staying in my little bubble of rest and gentleness.
• Favourite herb for hormone balance? Red dates (jujube) for blood nourishment and vitality, and yarrow for excess estrogen, uterine relaxation, and because she is the queen of herbs, ruled by Venus and has special folklore origins.
• Most underrated period self-care ritual? Remove yourself from the cycle syncing echo chamber and find your own inner rhythm. Listen to your unique cyclical needs. 
• Ultimate period outfit:  I need to feel like my outfit is a warm hug, no matter the weather. I always go for soft, natural fibre pants, something stretchy like bamboo, with a comfy, loose top. Warm socks to keep my feet cosy, and extra layers around my belly if needed. 
• On day one, you'll find me: In bed or lying in the sun, drinking gallons of ginger tea, reading, sleeping, stretching, writing, or being creative. 
• Favourite comfort food in full period cocoon mode? Simple, salty foods, like salted butter on toast or a warm bowl of pho. 
• Best way to move your body on your cycle: Gentle walks, hip opening stretches, and, if it’s not too cold, floating in bodies of water.
• Scarlet pick: High-waisted period underwear and heat pack combo. A dream of being wrapped in a warm, secure, cosy cocoon.