Community, Collaboration & Connection: Behind The Couch
May 2025
Hey Caddyshackers
We are welcoming Autumn vibes, and along with the fresh air, we thought it was the perfect time to share some of our reflective conversations with you.
As you may know, one of our biggest team achievements in 2024 was expanding our On The Couch to a podcast! Learn more about our podcast in this special podcast episode with Jade, our 3rd year public health student of 2024.
The process has been rewarding, with a lot of learning and behind-the-scenes work. Jump back and have a read of our April 2024 blog where we discussed the history of On The Couch and shared a glimpse Behind The Couch.
We are so proud of the reception our podcasts have received over the past 9 months. Thank you for being part of the journey. If you are new here, you can check out the 2025 line up, register for upcoming episodes and watch episodes from our past seasons.
The episodes of On The Couch have given us so much pure gold, great quotes and general work/ life advice, that naturally the content generates lots of discussion amongst the Caddyshack team. We are constantly reflecting on our work and are ever evolving. It’s fair to say that our conversations always continue long after we stop recording.
So, we thought we would share a small insight into the reflections we have as a team producing On The Couch and the many themes and discussions that cross-over multiple episodes. Let’s call it a blog mini-series!
Behind The Couch mini-series
This mini-series is essentially a transcript of conversations we have had about On The Couch episode themes and key messages including consent, transgender healthcare and in this edition, community care and coordinates of belonging.
So welcome, sit back and enjoy as we take you Behind the Couch.
On the Couch: Sense of Community
We are so in awe of people’s experience, mastery of their practice and generosity. We get such incredible quotes from people around us that we collectively just go “whoa that was SO good”.
We think what’s important here is how our listeners think and feel about the episodes. We truly think there is something for everyone, whether the episodes initiate deeper reflection, appreciation or really tap into the essence of our collective humanity.
It really is a community approach that we have here at Caddyshack Project. Communities we are a part of and the communities we support are important in the work we do. Community makes change, and to be honest, we feel like On The Couch has become a community in and of itself. We have a number of followers/fans who come along to each of our episodes - thank you all for your ongoing support! The process of connecting with our guests and how we promote our work is all part of Community.
Community has a sense of space, place and belonging and we think our platform has given a safe place for marginalised communities to have their voice and to be heard, accepted and respected.
How we create community On The Couch
One of the incredible things we generate through On The Couch between the host and the guest is the energy. It’s like friends or peers are having a chat around a topic they are passionate about. Whilst it feels and seems like we have known each other for years, in a lot of cases, it’s been a max of 1hr of actual chats before the day and a few emails back and forth.
Creating Space & Vibe Check
We have received lovely feedback about the space we create with guests. We start planning the season and partnering up the potential Caddyshack host with the guest. This happens pretty naturally but really isn’t confirmed until after we meet with the guest face to face or online.
There have been times in that first meet up, or vibe check if you will, where a connection has been made between one of the team members and the guest. We are pretty flexible as a team and run with the vibes. Previously, we have even swapped the original planned host for the episode to go with the stronger connection and match.
We think sharing a passion, being open, empathic and authentic creates this energy and in turn our own little community.
Co-ordinates of Belonging and Connection
On The Couch, from mid 2024 onwards, we started by introducing our listeners and followers to a framework known as Co-ordinates of Belonging or Fields of Existence. These terms were introduced to us by Leah Manaema from Co-Culture Communication. We highly recommend viewing her Instagram reels on the topic for a deeper understanding.
In a nutshell, our co-ordinates of belonging form how we relate and connect to each other. We have connection beyond our bodies and skin, connected by our ancestorial stories and our understanding. Through our co-ordinates of belonging, we share who we are in the moment, what shapes us, who we are becoming, what we are committed to and what we yearn for. Sharing these factors brings about autonomy, but also a collective resistance. We stop seeing ourselves and acting as individuals and think more collectively in the sense of community.
It has added further depth to our conversations with On The Couch guests and contributes even further to that sense of community we have created.
Guest Experiences of Community On The Couch
So many of our guests have touched on their communities and what community means to them.
Kirli Saunder’s connection to community care was particularly powerful as she shared her own practices.
If we reflect on not just self-care, but community-care, where we are looking out for mother nature and others within the community, as well as ourselves, it just feels so right and makes so much sense, but it’s a practice, we have to do the work until it becomes more natural and ingrained in us.
Our sexuality and gender diverse guests have certainly framed community as a place of support and a way of being, where they are accepted and respected. As allies to so many of these communities, we really advocate for that acceptance and respect of all communities in the work that we do.
The same is true of our culturally diverse communities. We are mindful that the messaging around sexual and reproductive health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities can be taboo, shameful or stigmatised and again, we are advocating within communities to highlight the importance of these discussions, and work together in a way where the messages can be delivered in a culturally sensitive way.
Receiving feedback
We ask our listeners on the live online recording events to leave us a rating out of 5 stars and any comments or feedback to help us improve moving forward. The feedback is valued and helps us keep building our community.
It’s important to us that we give a platform to all communities and stories, and the different ways in which individuals feel about community.
It’s core to Caddyshack to support and give voice to others and showcase diverse communities and experiences. We think you can see that if you look at the podcast episodes and the diversity in topics we chat about. As we say in the podcast introduction “we explore current social themes, sex positive topics, share stories and insights that matter”.
On The Couch is really about us learning and developing as professionals but also personally.
It’s a nice way to wrap up this blog by acknowledging that whilst we all come from different backgrounds, we can all come together and connect On The Couch.
Tune in next month
In our next Behind the Couch blog we will explore and reflect upon the diversity of transgender experience we have seen over 4 episodes with our transgender and drag performer guests.
We create this work because we are allies in actively challenging discrimination, microaggressions, and exclusionary behaviors. We want to create spaces where people feel safe to share their thoughts, knowing they will be heard and respected. Such an environment fosters collaboration, innovation, and contributes to a more inclusive society.
Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook, where you can share On The Couch with your colleagues, friends, and family.
Until next time,
Peace, Love & Protection