Were you at one of my presentations to 1st Year Criminology students on Mental Health and Self-care? Did you want the slides and links? Included in post. This week I had my first experience of delivering the same lecture at the Bedford Park campus and then the new City Campus! It was also my first chance to see the City Campus and I liked what I saw. The teaching spaces are nice to work in, and overall, it feels roomy with lots of natural light. A big thanks to Jeremy and Haidee who gave me quick tours of the spaces. The lecture that I was delivering was to Criminology students and focused on ..read more

I gave a talk to 1st Year Medicine students. There were slides. Those slides are attached. The world is again in balance. On the 18th March, I got the opportunity to speak to 1st Year Medicine students on the topics of mental health, mental fitness, self-care and behaviour change. I was building on a couple of lectures that psychologist Robert Skurray had already done on support services and self-care. My presentation was held in the large seminar room on the 4th floor of FMC – a room I like talking in. The slides for that presentation can be found here Whilst the slides are most relevant to t ..read more

The environments in which we work and play exert an impact on our health and wellbeing. In this blog, which I repost most years, I explore ways to create a study space that is both wellbeing-enhancing but also tuned for productivity. I also link to other similar articles on the topic.   I am a strong proponent of decluttering. Many years back now, I decluttered my unit. I went through every room, and either threw out, donated or sold stuff that I no longer needed. I did it having read the now famous book by Marie Kondo ‘the life-changing magic of tidying up’. I found the process incredib ..read more

Overview: Studyology is a group program to help students tackle that classic study challenge: procrastination. In this post learn about the history of the program and how to sign up to the next time it is being run.   One of my goals with this blog is to equip readers with practical tools for becoming better students (e.g. the procrastination workbook, the ‘Getting Off To A Good Start‘ guide). This is because many students struggle with the academic demands of university. For those coming from high school, it is a major step up in terms of expected quality. For those coming back to study ..read more

Our self-help library is there for students who wish to do some reading in the area of mental health, wellbeing and productivity and learn about different services, programs and tools they can use to improve their wellbeing. We constantly update and refine these guides so come back regularly to see what has changed. If you’ve been to the Health, Counselling and Disability Service in years past, you might have noticed we had various pamphlets and handouts on the walls (a few of them still remain). They were a mix of therapeutic exercises, information about programs, and information about extern ..read more

A colleague forwarded me a flyer about Open Arms Veterans and Families Counselling. I’ve reproduced here for those in the Flinders community who have also served with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and may be eligible for this counselling support option. Who we are Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling (Open Arms) is a leading provider of mental health and counselling services to Australia’s military community. Established more than 40 years ago as the Vietnam Veterans’ Counselling Service, we provide military-aware mental health counselling, relationship counselling, peer suppor ..read more

Work placements provide students with valuable hands-on experience, helping them to develop practical skills and gain real-world insights into their chosen field of study. Work placements can also help students to build professional networks and make connections in their industry, which can be beneficial for their future career prospects. Given this, I’ve collected together some of my (and others) advice on making the most of work placements. Work placements are a critical component of many degrees. They are chances for students to see what working in their chosen area involves. I remember my ..read more

Overview: The environments in which we work and play exert an impact on our health and wellbeing. In this blog post I explore ways to create a study space that is both wellbeing-enhancing but also tuned for productivity. Reading time ~ 7 minutes, 56 seconds.    I am a strong proponent of decluttering. A few years back, I decluttered my unit. I went through every room, and either threw out, donated or sold stuff that I no longer needed. I did it having read the now famous book by Marie Kondo ‘the life-changing magic of tidying up’. I found the process incredibly powerful. I hadn’t re ..read more

The Put Off Procrastinating workbook is very popular. We’ve moved over 350 of them since releasing it. You can get a digital copy below or sometimes there are hard copies to be found at Health, Counselling and Disability Services. Let’s be honest with ourselves. We all put stuff off that we should be doing. I find that I always put off contacting friends and family – which is both dumb and rude, but I do it all the time. You might even be reading this post, when you should really be studying. Procrastination is delaying something that needs to be done. School and university are often when indi ..read more

Overview: Studyology is a group program to help students tackle that classic study challenge: procrastination. In this post learn about the history of the program and how to sign up to the next time it is being run. Reading time ~ 3 minutes, 50 seconds.  One of my goals with this blog is to equip readers with practical tools for becoming better students (e.g. the procrastination workbook, the ‘Getting Off To A Good Start‘ guide). This is because many students struggle with the academic demands of university. For those coming from high school, it is a major step up in terms of expected qua ..read more