National Psychology Week 2013

Stressing the many benefits of psychology

APS members around the country spread the message about the difference that psychologists can make to the lives of Australians, with a series of diverse events run in November as part of the tenth annual National Psychology Week. Hundreds of events were held in locations ranging from offices to town halls and parks to shopping centres, as APS members reached out to the communities in which they live and work. This year NPW participants increasingly drew on APS research on stress and wellbeing in Australia, tip sheets and a stress management video – all prepared for National Psychology Week – as a source of inspiration for events in a range of settings for clients, colleagues and associates.

Hospitals

At the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, APS members including Nicole Livermore MAPS ran a ‘de-stress station’ in the hospital foyer, distributing a stress symptoms checklist and tip sheets for managing stress to patients, visitors and staff. Psychologists manning the station demonstrated the difference that psychological principles can make to wellbeing by discussing stress and stress management with individuals and running brief relaxation training sessions as part of the event.

Businesses

At IPAR Rehabilitation in Sydney, a team of 10 in-house psychologists enjoyed a session on improving self care strategies, to benefit their own lives and in turn to share with clients. The team, which includes Anna Hi Assoc MAPS, works with businesses and government organisations promoting psychologically healthy workplaces and assisting injured workers with psychological conditions to return to the workplace.

In Perth, Amelia Twiss, a student member of the APS and a consultant at the recruitment and HR agency Chandler Macleod, organised an NPW breakfast event attended by human resources directors and other executives from companies throughout the city. Attendees learnt about positive psychology, resilience and wellbeing at work.

Health services

Hobart-based psychologist Louise Dewis MAPS held a lunchtime brain-boosting event for colleagues at the drug and alcohol service at which she works. Activities included a mindful eating activity, a divergent thinking task and Cambridge Brain Challenge games. The menu featured ‘healthy brain foods’ and each staff member was given a complimentary pack, containing the APS stress tip sheets, stress ball, a puzzle eraser and a scented candle.

Sunflower Health Services, in Balgowlah Sydney, hosted a ‘morning tea for wellness’ which allowed local service providers to gather to discuss the importance of care collaboration, services available under Better Access and how to improve referral processes.

In the outdoors

Many of the 2013 NPW events focussed on the benefits of exercise in counteracting stress and in improving mental wellbeing. Alison Rowe Assoc MAPS, a psychologist at the Department of Family and Community Services in Hurstville Sydney, circulated information on the advantages of exercise to two offices and organised a walk around the area to demonstrate the benefits.

Georgena Watt MAPS arranged free Aquafit sessions at the Bluewater Lagoon in Mackay to demonstrate one way that community members might boost their wellbeing.

Barracks

Gayle Roe MAPS, a mental health promotions coordinator based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, organised an NPW mini Olympics and morning tea for colleagues within the psychology and rehabilitation units of the Australian Defence Force. Events, including a clothes-swapping relay, provided light relief and bonding for participants.

The NPW mini Olympics at Lavarock Barracks in Townsville

Neighbourhood centres

Mindfulness activities proved a popular means of engaging the public, with APS members in Melbourne, Brisbane and other cities hosting free sessions for the public. APS student member Julie McDonald held a free mindfulness session at a neighbourhood centre in Wyong on the Central Coast of NSW.

Attendees at the mindful meditation session held at Wyong Neighbourhood Centre

Libraries and town halls

Free informational events were increasingly on the agenda. Local psychologists in Rockhampton banded together to organise a week-long series of public seminars at the local library. The lunchtime events touched on psychological topics such as stress in children, navigating the transition to parenthood and treating ADHD, each presented by a different local expert. All were well attended thanks to an advertisement placed in the local paper.

On King Island, near Tasmania, Anna de la Rue MAPS participated in a women’s health expo, held at the local town hall, at which she joined other health professionals speaking on the theme ‘Looking after yourself’. Anna, who reflected on the stresses associated with living on a remote, rural island, won over the 50 women and children attending the festivities by sharing some principles of laughter yoga.

A Women's Heath Expo on King Island

Shopping centres

APS members enjoyed the benefits of meeting community members on the neutral ground of shopping centres and markets.

In Bunbury, Dom Mazarno MAPS, Carol Morgan MAPS, Suzanne Ray Assoc MAPS and Nicholas Keown Assoc MAPS held a stall at the local shopping centre, disseminating information about common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

In Adelaide, Alexandra Frost MAPS and her colleagues Selma van Diest MAPS and France Slattery MAPS received positive feedback in the days following a stall held at North Adelaide Village Shopping Centre.

Stall in North Adelaide Village Shopping Centre

In Richmond, Melbourne, Laura Humphreys Assoc MAPS had great success with a stall at the local street market in Gleadell Street, distributing a range of information on stress and depression.

NPW stall at Gleadell Street market in Richmond, Melbourne

Many National Psychology Week participants found that partnership with other organisations or allied health professionals allowed them to make a bigger splash with their event, through the sourcing of additional information and free items or through expanding the networks that could be invited to events.

Universities

At the University of Adelaide, the SA section of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists hosted a free public seminar on men’s mental health, with help from beyondblue and promotion from the Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia. The event was attended by more than 50 people, including members of the public, as well as human resources and mental health professionals.

At Southern Cross University Health Clinic, in Lismore NSW, staff held a ‘brain busting’ information session for clients of the clinic that focussed on the “neuropsychological basis of depression and anxiety and practical strategies for improving the wellness and functioning of your brain”.

Charities

National Psychology Week is an important opportunity for psychologists to nurture relationships and build local networks. In Brisbane, Katelyn Kerr MAPS and colleagues conducted an information night on PTSD arising from military service, and the effects this has on partners and families. The night was held in conjunction with the charity Young Diggers and attracted more than 25 attendees including former service people suffering from PTSD, their partners, parents and children.

In Adelaide, APS member volunteers celebrated their long-standing local initiative with the Salvation Army, SalvoPsych, at a morning tea attended by the SalvoPsych patron para-olympian Libby Kosmala.

SalcoPsych event in Adelaide

Fun runs

In Brisbane, the APS College of Sport and Exercise Psychologists established an exciting partnership with Mousdash, a 5km walk or 10km run held at Mt Coot-tha to raises funds for men’s health issues as part of Movember. The College’s ‘psychs on the run’ initiative is based on the Psyching Team now in attendance at marathons such as those in Boston and New York, to help participants with psychological strategies to perform at their best. College members helped those taking part to prepare psychologically ahead of the race and some then participated themselves, supporting runners to reach the finish line. The festive atmosphere and their prominent stall helped to attract many enquiries from those interested in sports psychology and how it can assist athletes.

'Psychs on the run' at the Mousdash charity run and walk

Schools and childcare centres

National Psychology Week provided a useful talking point in schools and childcare settings, with school psychologists and other staff using the stress resources to assist students to develop their own strategies for management. In Howrah, part of greater Hobart in Tasmania, Lesley Fraser MAPS conducted morning tea events – complete with smiley face cupcakes – at the schools in which she works, to educate teachers, teaching aides and administration staff about stress, its management and the work of psychologists.

At John Willcock College, in Geraldton, the student services team tasked students with developing stress posters and brochures using the ideas drawn from the APS material. These were produced earlier in the year and then displayed during National Psychology Week, with a face and nail painting stall for students proving an engaging means of attracting students to learn more about stress, psychology and self care.

One of the posters designed by students at John Willcock College in Geraldton

The APS Bendigo Branch, in regional Victoria, held an event for 70 psychologists and educators, about the origins of troubled behaviour in children, drawing on the expertise of private practice psychologists, forensic experts, school psychologists and principals to provide solutions on how schools and communities can work together.

In Cairns, Stacie Gill Assoc MAPS, an early intervention parenting specialist at Cairns Early Years Centre, held a session for more than 25 educators, aides and social workers which aimed to bust myths about psychology.

Online

Online activities were an area of expansion during NPW 2013. In Cairns, for instance, Robert Gronbeck Assoc MAPS released five video presentations on his website over the course of NPW. The videos touched on aspects of sports psychology, such as performance anxiety, mental toughness, injury rehabilitation and visualisation/mental imagery.

A number of APS members have indicated their intention to run online activities during National Psychology Week 2014, which will help to reach diverse audiences with information about psychologists, the work they do and the difference that can be made in the lives of many Australians.

Judith Heywood
Senior Coordinator, Communications Projects
APS National Office