SEEING her friends and colleagues surviving difficulties and going on to achieve success inspired Lisa LaMaitre to create a new way of connecting and supporting women in Canberra.  

“I think women keep so much of their wisdom to themselves, and I want to tap into that and share it,” she says.

Lisa, who runs massage clinic Therapy Masters in Civic, says her project Canberra Wise Women came out of a desire to share the knowledge that comes from having been through challenges and come out the other side.

“I had worked with women in business for around 20 years, and I started to think, why just inspire businesswomen? Everyone needs inspiration,” she says.

Canberra Wise Women is a series of two-hour events that feature a guest interviewer and three local women sharing their stories.

Events so far have included interviews with Kelli Donovan, designer of eco label Pure Pod; Chrystina Stanford, CEO of the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre; the Merrymaker sisters, Carla and Emma Papas, and powerlifter Elizabeth Craven.

The next event will be on Tuesday, April 5, with three more following in June, August and October. The April event will include interviews with Tigress yoga instructor Kelly Henderson and local entrepreneur Laurie McDonald.

Lisa says she experienced trauma when she ran a business that was repeatedly targeted for crime, as well as experiencing a home burglary at around the same time.

She says the combination of these experiences from 2006-10 had a hugely damaging effect on her.

“It could take hours to report the crime and support our staff, and then it could be six to 12 months before it enters the justice system, by which time it’s out of your control,” she says.

“I was left with post-traumatic stress disorder, and many people who experience that stay in that place.

“But if you go through it, you can be healed and you find out who you are.”

Lisa says that in 2011 she started 18 months of counselling through Victim Support, ending up needing 20 sessions where most people have two.

“We all have these beliefs and mindsets that the world is a safe place and that we’re always taken care of,” she says.

“When you go through trauma, that veil is lifted and it doesn’t go back down. Things are not how they were and the only way forward is to accept that.”

Lisa says she’s learned to shed the things that don’t serve her.

“Now I value positivity and motivation. Healing took a long time and some days I still feel antsy.

“But this project is easy – this is the first thing I’ve done that’s just flowing.”

Tickets for the Tuesday, April 5 event (5pm-7pm at PwC in Barton) cost $55 and are available through Eventbrite by searching Canberra Wise Women. More information at facebook.com/CanberraWiseWomen