The EAP Counsellor

Welcome to Episode number 51 of The EAP Counsellor Podcast. Today I'm thrilled to be joined by Lynsey Byrom, a Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of experience supporting people and workplaces to build healthier lives and cultures. Lynsey has worked across defense, law, finance, health, and corporate sectors, and offers everything from one-on-one therapy to large scale psychoeducational workshops and seminars. She's deeply passionate about helping people live rich, full, and meaningful lives while navigating stress, pain, and pressure - and she has a beautiful way of making mental health practical, human, and workplace-relevant. Lynsey is based in Geelong, Victoria, and can be contacted via her website - www.lynseybyrom.com.au  

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Katrina Shaw - grief educator, counsellor, and the founder of Grief Talks. Katrina is passionate about making conversations around grief more compassionate, accessible, and real, whether that's in workplaces, schools, or communities. Katrina Shaw is determined to showcase that talking about the ‘hard stuff’ doesn’t have to be a scary or sombre experience. Her passion and advocacy as a grief specialist in particular, is shaped by much of her own life with the death of her mum as a teen and more recently navigating infertility, recurrent miscarriage and motherhood. With a diploma of counselling, she gently blends storytelling and evidence-informed strategies to ensure audiences leave with tangible and effective tools for their own belt.  Starting as the first appointed ambassador for Child Bereavement UK back in 2015, Katrina naturally progressed to become founder of Grief Talks Education and is regularly termed the ‘grief-girl’ for her community contributions and awareness efforts. From working with primary school aged children to sharing knowledge with business leaders and their teams, her ability to break down barriers and adapt to a variety of audiences allows her to create spaces of vulnerability, connection and most of all, hope.   

Welcome back to another episode of theeapcounsellor – the podcast that explores real conversations around workplace wellbeing, leadership, and support that works. Today’s episode is a special one – we're joining the celebration of 25 years of Mental Health First Aid by exploring the “Why” behind it all. Why people choose to become Mental Health First Aiders, why it’s more than just a course, and why it’s essential in Australian workplaces right now. I’m joined by the brilliant Leah Veenhuizen, a Registered Nurse and qualified Mental Health First Aid facilitator who brings over 15 years of healthcare experience and a deep commitment to breaking down stigma. Leah also hosts the community radio show Just a Thought, where she continues to create safe spaces for mental health conversations. In this episode, Leah shares her own "why", what makes MHFA different, and how workplaces can step up to support their people in meaningful ways.  To find out more and get in touch with Leah Veenhuizen - Go to her website - https://www.leahv.com.au/  

Tom is the founder of Ctrl Your Scroll, a company and movement dedicated to helping people build healthier digital habits, improve their wellbeing, and feel good about logging off. This is a MUST-LISTEN podcast episode. Listen to Tom's personal realisation that his digital habits were impacting his wellbeing and how he turned his own experience into something powerful that now supports others in workplaces, schools and clubs. Tom is open, honest, full of research and information, and loves to give practical tips to learn how to CTRL YOUR SCROLL. To find out more and get in contact with Tom - go to his website - www.ctrlyourscroll.com.au

Dr Mick Rowe is a Chiropractor and Founder of Grove Chiropractic in Ocean Grove, Victoria. Mick has a passion for holistic, natural healthcare, that acknowledges the body's inbuilt cleverness. Dr Mick's own introduction to Chiropractic Care was a sore back. Mick injured himself playing tennis as a teenager and couldn't play the sport he loved. Coincidentally his tennis coach was also a Chiropractor, who he saw following his injury, and who helped him get back on the court! A few memorable things stood out to Dr Mick from his first visit as a client of Chiropractic Care. His chiropractor assessed his body holistically. He wasn't solely concerned with treating his symptoms, but addressing the underlying cause of his back pain to prevent it! He was introduced to the very obvious, but previously unquestioned truth, that his body was clever and could heal itself! It is with pleasure that I introduce Dr Mick to The EAP Counsellor podcast. He is inspiring to listen too, a fabulous Chiropractor, and a genuinely great person! To get in touch with Dr Mick go to his website - www.grovechiro.com.au  

Did you know that 40% of Australian's struggle to get the recommended amount of 7-9 hours of sleep per night? That's almost half of us! Recent studies have named SLEEP the first pillar of health, and that makes so much sense. Without adequate sleep, coupled with poor sleep quality, people are struggling through their days, and suffering the consequences. In today's podcast, Lou chats to Amy Huebner of AH Sleep Specialists about the very important topic of sleep, the importance of sleep, the impact of poor sleep on our everyday lives, including our work day, and how AH Sleep Specialists are helping the sleep hygiene of Australian employees. To find out more about Amy and AH Sleep Specialists, go to her website www.ahsleepspecialists.com.au  

Getting to Know Karen Bishop-Hubert: As a valued member of The Team Approach, Karen Bishop-Hubert brings extensive experience and a compassionate, supportive approach to her work. Lou sat down with Karen to delve deeper into her journey, her philosophy, her niched area of counselling, and her approach to leadership and team wellbeing.

In this special episode we are kicking off a heartwarming mission to help as many people as we can between now and Christmas! (And don't worry, we're in this for the long game - we won't stop come New Year's!) Every day we get to help people navigate life's ups and downs, and we just LOVE IT! Whether you know someone going through a tough divorce, a child dealing with school anxiety, a family struggling to make ends meet, a carer juggling multiple roles, or an employee whose performance is affected by personal issues - our aim is to support and uplift! Ready to make an impact? Press play and let's get started.

In today's episode, Lou welcomes a special guest to the podcast, Grant Melrose. Grant is the founder of Authentic Minds, based in Warwick, who is on a mission to help over 10,000 people in rural, regional and remote communities of Australia. Grant is all about helping people to reach their full potential and has a vision to build a resilient and non-judgemental community of people that understand everyone carries their own beliefs and perspectives. If you are looking for a Personal Growth Coach, or a workshop facilitator that has lived experience and possesses an extensive skill set in the Australian Agriculture and Agribusiness Leadership community, then Grant Melrose is that man. Grant has a depth and breadth of experience, and overcoming his own personal challenges of how to deal with stress, shows that we can only really change ourselves. Some words to describe Episode 44 of the podcast are; authentic, real, raw, vulnerability, growth, lived experience, and totally impactful! Listen in to Lou and Grant's conversation and take note of the strategies, ideas and suggestions around mental health, wellbeing, personal growth, coaching, and of course workplace wellbeing. To find out more about Grant and to get in touch with him -    Email - info@authenticminds.com.au Website - www.authenticminds.com.au Instagram - @theauthenticminds  

Today's podcast episode gives listeners a brief, behind the scenes, look of a typical day for Lou, Director of The Team Approach. As you will hear Lou's days are interesting, inspiring, varied and meaningful! EAP Counselling Appointments form part of every day, as do Wellbeing Strategy sessions, Leadership Coaching, and writing and delivering Educational Workshops on a range of Wellbeing Topics. Does your workplace have a Wellbeing Strategy?

We are on a mission to help as many people as we can between now and Christmas time. (Not that we will stop after Christmas! We're in this for the long-game!) We get to people everyday people navigate life! We just love that we get to help people. You may know someone who's going through a divorce, or someone who's got an anxious child who finds school hard, or someone who is struggling to make ends meet, or someone who is a carer as well as an employee and doing the juggle, or someone who isn't performing at work because of issues at home or work???? We help all of these people! How can we help people in your life or your workplace?

In today's podcast Lou interviews Natalie Greene from She Breathes. She Breathes is a dedicated space for mother's to honour their needs and live, work and play with joy, peace, empowerment and compassion. Nat is a facilitator of BREATHWORK amongst many other things, and she is on a mission to change the way mums move through the world. Breathwork is a game-changing technique, an amazing resource for positive mental health and wellbeing, a key ingredient of self-care, and as Nat says, "It's in your back pocket! You have it with you all the time!" To find out more about Nat, Breathwork, and proactive wellbeing strategies, listen to today's podcast. Want to know more about Nat - go to Instagram Handle @shebreathesnow

Team McLean Fitness Club's Founder and head coach, Kristen, absolutely loves her job! Enabling and supporting people to take back control of their bodies is incredibly rewarding. Team McLean is a boutique and unique club, so not your typical gym, as they focus on you and take physical and mental wellness from a holistic approach.   Coach Kristen lives for - Amazing adventures, clever design, good quality food and great company, keeping a healthy body and soul, and lives by her mantra - Train mean, eat clean and live green.   It was an absolute pleasure to chat to Kristen today on the podcast and chat all things WELLBEING! Kristen's love of fitness, healthy living and wellbeing far extends from the gym walls, encompassing workplaces too.  ENJOY!

Have you heard of school can’t? Are you a parent of school aged kids? Do you employ parents of school aged children? Lou talks openly, from personal experience about school can’t and the challenges that some parents of school aged children could be facing on an on-going or frequent basis. Balancing home, work and parenthood is a challenging gig at times!

Are you a stressed out business owner or overwhelmed employee? Do you hear people in your workplace say, “I’m just so stressed at the moment!” Did you know that stress is something that affects all of us at some point. Understanding what stress is and how to manage it can help us stay healthy and productive.

Today I am very excited to introduce one of our amazing EAP Counsellors to you as part of our Meet The Team Interview Series. Meet Roee Kohn, an amazing Counsellor and a real asset to our team. Roee is a qualified and highly experienced Mental Health Social Worker with over 19years experience working in both the UK and Australia. Roee's clients describe him as warm, non-judgemental and a great listener. We also know that he prefers coffee to hot chocolate and that if he was a superhero, he would want his superpower to be able to heal people. Roee takes a strengths-based approach when working with clients and is an advocate for nature-based therapy. Please enjoy my chat with Roee today!www.theteamapproach.com.au/about/

Resilience is a term that I hear all the time, but how well understood is resilience? So, what is resilience? Why is developing resilience so important? And, how do we develop it? I see resilience or developing resilience as a healthy outcome of EAP Counselling Services. And, after many conversations with business owners, it seems that it is ONE of the most important outcomes that they want for their people. They want their employees to develop more resilience and coping skills - which will ultimately help them to be more productive and healthy.  Resilience is a powerful concept that plays a crucial role in our ability to navigate life's challenges. Let's dive into it and explore what resilience truly means, why it matters, and share some practical strategies for building it.   ENJOY!

As business owners and leaders we often find ourselves caught up in the whirlwind of tasks, deadlines,and responsibilities. But what happens when we’re too busy to prioritise our own wellbeing and that of our teams? In this podcast Lou unpacks The Busy Trap, The Busy Paradox, and The Toll on Mental Health!

In this episode Lou dives into why business owner and leadership buy-in is vital for the success of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Actions speak louder than words. Do you talk the talk and walk the walk?

Today, we’re diving deep into the world of EAPs. You know those 3 letters that sometimes get lost but have immense potential and value. But fear not! By the end of this episode, you’ll be an EAP enthusiast who wants to champion wellbeing in your organisation, not just have EAP to tick a box for compliance.