Author: Donald Marmara

Donald Marmara created Core Development , a learning not a clinical process which acknowledges the unity and inter-relationships of mind, body, emotions and spirit. Core Development  draws on the principles and understanding of somatic psychotherapy, structural dynamics, and Donald's own personal therapy, professional training and life experience. Core development adopts a flexible approach, recognising that what works for one person may not work for another. Donald currently resides and practices in Sydney, and is available for individual sessions, couples sessions, sessions for teenagers and parents, and facilitating training programs and workshops. He is also available for Zoom and phone sessions worldwide. He can be contacted on  0412 178 234.

What’s Different?

Welcome to Core Development.

Core Development is a unique method of dealing with stress by turning stressful situations into constructive rather than disruptive tools.

Rather than trying to eliminate the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, therefore, or labelling them as illnesses, they are recognised as signposts to a richer and more fulfilling life. read more

Somatic Psychotherapy and Indigenous Wisdom

by Donald Marmara, somatic psychotherapist and educator, Core Development Sydney

My Initial Diagnosis: Clinical Anxiety and Depression

At the age of 14 I was diagnosed clinically anxious and depressed and prescribed an ever-increasing dosage of psychotropic drugs. I was told that I would be dependent upon them for the rest of my life.

I would probably have continued to be dependent on these drugs if I had tried to adjust to the values of society . read more

Points To Ponder

WORKING WITH TRAUMA

“Trauma is all about speed and reflexivity—which is why, in addressing trauma, each of us needs to work through it slowly, over time.

We need to understand our body’s process of connection and settling. We need to slow ourselves down and learn to lean into uncertainty, rather than away from it. read more

How to Learn the Language of Emotions

by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist and Emotional Learning Educator, Artarmon, Sydney

Most of us are not terribly good at dealing with our emotions, let alone speaking about them. How do we find the right words, and be sensitive yet honest when talking about our own and other people’s emotions? Is it always appropriate to be honest about what we really feel? read more

STRESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION : THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY!

Individual Sessions, Couples Sessions, Sessions For Parents and Teenagers(together and separately), and individually tailored Talks and Workshops for Groups and Organisations.

  • Are you stressed, anxious or depressed, or know someone who is, but hesitate to seek help because you do not want to be labelled dysfunctional or mentally ill?
  • Have you wondered why, despite our advances in technology, and the increasing use and availability of counselling, coaching and psychotherapy, these issues are still major problems?
  • Have you considered that stress, anxiety, depression and other emotional states may be symptoms that need to be explored to find their cause, rather than “negative” emotions that need to be  eliminated? Like a flashing red light on an instrument panel?
  •  Have you wondered whether so-called “dysfunctional” feelings may sometimes arise because you do not fit into the boxes that you are expected to fit into?
  •  Are you interested in exploring different ways of dealing with these issues?
  • Would you like to explore these questions with an experienced practitioner who has been helping people with these issues for 40 years, and who has turned his own life around after struggling for several years with serious anxiety and depression?                                                           
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Donald Marmara  grew up in Malta where he gradually became aware of the extent of his own and others’ emotional and psychological wounding, and how deeply this affected our wellbeing and the way we treat ourselves and each other. read more

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF EMOTIONAL LEARNING

WORTH REMEMBERING DURING THESE TURBULENT TIMES “We live in a community of people not so that we can suppress or dominate each other or make each other miserable, but so that we can better and more reliably satisfy all life’s healthy needs”. Wilhelm Reich, M.D.

This is the TRUE PURPOSE OF EMOTIONAL LEARNING:

To Respect, Value, Deepen and Enrich our experiences, our relationships and our lives.

So why do we need Core Development ?

Just as a high proportion of the causes of problems in the atmosphere lie beneath the surface, in the soil and under the sea, many and possibly most of the causes of our emotional and mental challenges, and the resources needed to heal them, lie beneath the surface of our consciousness. read more

DO YOU USE TOUCH IN YOUR WORK?


Sometimes I use touch, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I work with clients who know each other, sometimes I don’t.

When I asked one of my supervisors, David Boadella, what contract he had with his clients, he answered “which client and when?”

The creative process does not work according to any standard formula. Flexibility is the key. read more

Dealing with Anxiety, Depression and Trauma

So you’re feeling anxious or depressed. Or you don’t feel quite right but you find it hard to describe how you feel.

You know your life can be better but you don’t know how to get there. You may have already tried various approaches, perhaps even been to counsellors and psychotherapists but not been able to get the results you’re looking for. read more

Restoring Our Capacity To Give and Receive Love

ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND CORE DEVELOPMENT

This is what my work in experiential and emotional learning  is about. Restoring our capacity to give and receive love.

As a society, and indeed as a human race, we have moved so far away from our true nature, from what we know in our hearts – ie that our true nature is loving, cooperative and compassionate – that we we have come to believe that human nature is destructive. read more

THE POWER OF CHOICE: A FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE

When I was 18 years old, I was a good amateur table-tennis player. I never made it to a final, but I made it to a semifinal and a number of quarterfinals.

In the first round of a national competition I was drawn against a player who had one leg shorter than the other and consequently limped and was unable to move fast. read more