Conversation Cafés at Blue Borage are held with care, intention, and respect for the complexity of the topics we explore.
This page is offered to help you decide whether attending a particular Conversation Café feels right for you at this time.
A gentle invitation
Conversation Cafés are not therapy sessions and they are not peer support groups. They are facilitated conversations designed for shared reflection, learning, and sense-making.
People arrive with different experiences, roles, and capacities. Some come to speak.
Others come to listen. Both forms of participation are equally welcome.
There is no expectation to share personal details or disclose lived experience.
Emotional readiness
Many of the themes explored in Conversation Cafés touch on sensitive areas, including harm, family dynamics, justice, responsibility, and recovery.
Healing is not linear. Some months you may feel steady and resourced enough to join a conversation. Other months, life events, family stress, or something as small as a passing comment can land more heavily than expected.
If you notice a sense of emotional fullness, irritation, or rumination before a session, it may be helpful to pause and consider whether this is the right moment for you to attend.
Listening to that inner signal is an act of self-care.
Choice and agency during the session
Your wellbeing comes first.
During a Conversation Café, you are always welcome to:
- keep your camera off
- participate through the chat rather than speaking
- step away briefly to ground yourself
- choose not to attend a particular session
You do not need to explain your choices to anyone, however, letting the facilitator know in advance means we know who is where and also provides a feeling of safety for the whole group.
After the conversation
Sometimes a comment or theme continues to stay with us after a Conversation Café has ended. This is a natural part of reflective learning.
Some participants find it supportive to:
- journal or sit quietly after the session
- talk with a trusted friend, therapist, or support person
- take a break from further engagement for a while
Within 48 hours of each Conversation Café, we offer a short reflection survey. At the end of the month, we also share a Recap Newsletter that gently summarises themes and insights from the conversation.
Engaging with these resources is always optional.
A shared responsibility
Conversation Cafés often include a mix of survivors, parents, practitioners, and advocates. Many participants have done significant inner work, and others may be earlier in their learning journey.
We trust those who attend to honour the shared conversation agreements and to engage with curiosity, care, and respect for difference.
None of us have grown up having these kinds of conversations regularly. We are learning together.
A final word
Conversation Cafés are an invitation, not an obligation.
If attending feels supportive, you are warmly welcome. If it doesn’t feel right right now, that choice is respected.
There will always be other conversations, other moments, and other ways to engage.