During Mental Health Week in Tasmania, we'll be hosting a conversation with local voices and health professionals about how we can best support each other and build resilience in our community. The statistics on mental health, particularly in young people, point to it being the 'shadow pandemic' of our time. This event aims to better equip our community to deal with mental health challenges through local stories of resilience. Also how we can better assist family members, friends, and colleagues to access the support and tools they need during a crisis. We encourage and invite local voices to share their stories and invite questions to the panel in hopes of tapping into the strong sense of resilience in our community.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Miranda Stephens

Leading our discussion will be Clinical Psychologist Miranda Stephens; mindfulness teacher and co founding Director of mindfulness programs Australasia. Miranda is currently running a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Wynyard. Research shows MBSR is beneficial for alleviating stress, anxiety, chronic pain and depression. Studies have also shown Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has the same efficacy as anti-depressant medication.

Leigh Smith

Leigh has a degree in Psychological Science from Swinburne University and worked for a mental health charity ‘Waves of Wellness’ (WOW) at Kirra Beach, QLD. WOW provided surf lessons for veterans and emergency services, women’s health groups, disengaged youth and other community outreach. Leigh will share his own journey of leaving the Defence force with depression and finding comfort and solace in the ocean.

Laura Johnson

Laura Johnson is a local youth mental health advocate with a passion for making a difference for others. She's the founder of Theirs and was nominated as Tasmanian Young Australian of the year.

Lix Walker

Lix Walker is a teacher on the north west coast who has worked closely with disengaged young people in Tasmania both in the education and juvenile justice systems. Her work centres around building community connection and value.