You may have noticed that we’ve renamed from Cornerstone Melbourne to Turning Ground. Here’s a little context for the change, as well as an introduction to Turning Ground and some of the metaphor and meaning it holds for us in this time.

So, why the change?

In December 2023, we received a trademark infringement notice from the legal representatives for an allied health provider in New South Wales. With no prior knowledge of their existence or intent to misrepresent anybody in the ‘marketplace,’ we complied with their requests to change our name completely and de-register anything with ‘Cornerstone’ included.

With 1 month to find a new name that was available on all Trademark and Australian IP searches, we entered our ‘identity crisis’ with great trust that ‘Cornerstone’ really was the first stone in the building to be laid: it was now time to build the rest of the building!

Why Turning Ground?

Turning Ground was born out of the distillation of what it is we feel we serve in this time of what Joanna Macy refers to as “The Great Turning”: to collectively turn the soil of our known foundations (individually and collectively), creating the possibility for more courageous futures to emerge here in Naarm/Melbourne. Acknowledging the active participation necessary for cultural change, ‘turning ground’ speaks to and invites all voices, hearts, and hands to partake in our joint venture of a life-affirming society. As a place for cultural regeneration through our events and programs, and as a place for the restoration of agency and courage within psychotherapeutic practice, we’re attempting to actively support movements toward healing and renewal.

Leigh Saunders from the Aborigines Advancement League offering an Acknowledgement of Country at our Horizons of Hope Launch event in 2023

Turning Ground is an attempt to acknowledge and honour the ground beneath our feet, while fostering the courage to change, and generate the capacity to imagine what might be.

Our foundational philosophies, guiding principles, and practices remain the same, now holding the name Turning Ground. As before, we intend to collectively and collaboratively inquire into and understand the essence of who and how we need to be and become in the world to move towards a regenerative future.

What does ‘Turning Ground’ mean or evoke for you? We’d love to hear your thoughts and sense of our new identity, as we seek to continue telling our story together.

Photo by Moritz Kindler on Unsplash