Antonia Murphy – författare

This book is intended for anyone with either an interest in suicide or suicidal behaviour. It is not aimed solely at the professional psychotherapist but at a broad range of professionals who encounter suicidal people in their work. It is also intended for those of us who have been touched by suicide personally. The book approaches suicide from the point of view of the suicidal state of mind and is intended to help us understand more about this condition. In its essence suicide is examined as a largely unconscious aggressive act having its roots in a perceived or real experience of thwarted childhood needs. The wounds of the suicidal person are often long held and deep. The suicidal person is pursued by haunting losses and the suicidal act comes from deep disturbance created by this and from the idea of death as an acting out of some form of suicidal fantasy. The quasi delusional and split quality of the act is examined - namely that suicide is both an act for and against the self.

This book deals with effective organization and management of counselling services—a clinical service. It is intended for primary care trust chief executives and directors and commissioners and providers of national health service counselling, pyschological therapy services.

A poignant and hilarious memoir from a mother who opened an ethical escort agency in small town New Zealand – the only country in the world where sex work is fully legalised – and dared to make a difference. I’m Antonia, a real-life madam. I’ve got a blended family of six kids; I spend my mornings packing lunchboxes and my evenings reading bedtime stories. And two days a week, I work as a pimp. Procurer, madam – whatever you want to call it. Personally, I think of myself as a union organiser. For vaginas.An ex-pat from San Francisco, Antonia Murphy is living on a farm in rural New Zealand with her husband and two kids, bored and isolated, when her husband leaves her. Suddenly, she has to figure out how to survive.Upon discovering the decriminalisation of sex work in New Zealand, Antonia’s mind starts to wander, and she reaches out to the international sex worker community online to learn more about the business. This group of smart, anonymous, sassy women open Antonia’s eyes to the viability of sex work that safeguards women’s health and dignity, while providing a clean, shame-free establishment for male clients. Inspired, Antonia decides to open her own agency: The Bach.Over the next three years, she encounters more than she could have imagined: domestic abuse, assault, theft, drugs and a stream of silly, horrific and sometimes touching requests from her clients. She witnesses the ways so many women are trapped – by early pregnancy, lack of education and the constraints of their circumstances. More than anything, she sees fire in the women who choose sex work: they refuse to give up and be poor, even when the odds are stacked against them.In Madam, we follow Antonia through the turbulent years of her agency, as she toils to keep both her business and family afloat, and to keep the women of The Bach safe and thriving as they practice the world's oldest profession.

A poignant and hilarious memoir from a mother who opened an ethical escort agency in small town New Zealand – the only country in the world where sex work is fully legalised – and dared to make a difference. I’m Antonia, a real-life madam. I’ve got a blended family of six kids; I spend my mornings packing lunchboxes and my evenings reading bedtime stories. And two days a week, I work as a pimp. Procurer, madam – whatever you want to call it. Personally, I think of myself as a union organiser. For vaginas.An ex-pat from San Francisco, Antonia Murphy is living on a farm in rural New Zealand with her husband and two kids, bored and isolated, when her husband leaves her. Suddenly, she has to figure out how to survive.Upon discovering the decriminalisation of sex work in New Zealand, Antonia’s mind starts to wander, and she reaches out to the international sex worker community online to learn more about the business. This group of smart, anonymous, sassy women open Antonia’s eyes to the viability of sex work that safeguards women’s health and dignity, while providing a clean, shame-free establishment for male clients. Inspired, Antonia decides to open her own agency: The Bach.Over the next three years, she encounters more than she could have imagined: domestic abuse, assault, theft, drugs and a stream of silly, horrific and sometimes touching requests from her clients. She witnesses the ways so many women are trapped – by early pregnancy, lack of education and the constraints of their circumstances. More than anything, she sees fire in the women who choose sex work: they refuse to give up and be poor, even when the odds are stacked against them.In Madam, we follow Antonia through the turbulent years of her agency, as she toils to keep both her business and family afloat, and to keep the women of The Bach safe and thriving as they practice the world's oldest profession.

This book is intended for anyone with either an interest in suicide or suicidal behaviour. It is not aimed solely at the professional psychotherapist but at a broad range of professionals who encounter suicidal people in their work. It is also intended for those of us who have been touched by suicide personally.The book approaches suicide from the point of view of the suicidal state of mind and is intended to help us understand more about this condition. In its essence suicide is examined as a largely unconscious aggressive act having its roots in a perceived or real experience of thwarted childhood needs. The wounds of the suicidal person are often long held and deep. The suicidal person is pursued by haunting losses and the suicidal act comes from deep disturbance created by this and from the idea of death as an acting out of some form of suicidal fantasy. The quasi delusional and split quality of the act is examined - namely that suicide is both an act for and against the self. Consequently a strong case is made for the contribution of psychotherapy to the project of suicide prevention since it is in this carefully managed arena the suicidal fantasy can be examined and the settling of these scores can be worked through, rather than acted out by suicide. The hope is that the book will increase understanding, challenge concepts of mental illness and suicidality but most importantly address the understandable fear we all have about suicide and its power to render us impotent. In turn it is hoped this will empower readers, who might otherwise be fearful of suicide, to intervene, support and work with those who are suicidal.