The role of emotional literacy in mental health

Emotional literacy is a key ingredient for good mental health. But what exactly is emotional literacy, and why is it so important for better mental health outcomes? And most importantly, how do we as a society improve our emotional literacy?

Join Nazia Ahmed, the Founder of The Social Outcomes Lab (SOULAB), as she sits down with Matt Runnalls, Founder and CEO of Mindfull Aus, and Hana Zaarour, Principal psychologist at Signature Psychology and Consultancy Services and SOULAB advisor, for a candid discussion in Mental Health Month. Matt, Hana, and Nazia will explore the role of emotional literacy in mental health and what steps we can take as a society to improve our emotional literacy.

Celebrate the start of Mental Health Month with MindfullAus, Signature Psychology and Consultancy Services and The Social Outcomes Lab. 

MEET THE PANELISTS

Matt Runnalls
Over the past seven years, Matt Runnalls has worked tirelessly as a mental health advocate to create awareness, acceptance, and education. Having lived with a mental illness, surviving suicide attempts, and losing several friends to suicide, Matt utilises his knowledge of lived experience to encourage others to feel comfortable to speak up and manage their well-being just as he continues to do. Since devoting himself to advocacy full-time, Matt has delivered over 1000+ speeches & keynotes, workshops, and events across Australia, Canada, and America.

Hana Zaarour
Hana is Principal psychologist and founder of Signature Psychology and Consultancy Services and a specialist consultant with SOULAB. She has extensive experience working directly with children in foster care, domestic violence survivors and individuals with challenging behaviours. Hana advises on projects in relation to mental health and also ensures that trauma-informed approaches are applied when working with vulnerable communities.

Nazia Ahmed
Nazia is a leading economist in the human services sector with over 20 years experience in management consulting and government. Last year Nazia delivered a TedTalk at TedX Canberra: IMPACT on the power of asking for help where she spoke about an interesting research finding of hers - asking for help, as a first step, is a central predictor of successful mental health which leads to improvements in other social outcomes.

MEET MINDFULL AUS AND SOULAB

Mindfull Aus
Mindfull Aus encourages those in high-risk areas of Australia to put wellness back into their own hands. Their success derives from equipping those individuals with skills, strategies and techniques to ensure that they not only get by and cope, but learn to live and lead healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. Mindfull Aus offers a range of mental health services, from programs for primary school students to guest speakers to tailored workshops, all with the aim of improving the mental health and well-being of participants. 

The Social Outcomes Lab (SOULAB) 
SOULAB is a for-purpose Social Impact Consulting firm dedicated to helping organisations and communities drive better social outcomes. SOULAB specialise in designing and testing social change initiatives, and the economics of human services. They are experienced multi-disciplinary consultants with strong technical expertise combined with a passion for working with and learning from people with lived experience.