CONNECTING WITH WORKPLACES THROUGH LIVED EXPERIENCE

Building rapport within a workforce is essential to the delivery and success of any workplace training. At the Mental Health Movement we pride ourselves in our capacity to build connection with employees, managers and supervisors.

Every individual has a story. We have all been through our own changes, challenges and adversities no matter who we are, and one of the most powerful things you can do is talk openly about a personal experience with mental illness or mental ill health.

At the Mental Health Movement, we draw on the power of story and lived experience of our facilitators. These personal stories and experiences of dealing with mental health issues and the social pressures that come with them, help to connect with individuals, remove the stigma often associated with speaking up, and give participants the permission to share their own personal experiences.

Courage is contagious and this unique aspect of our methodology is intentionally designed to make the lessons learned, real for participants and to facilitate powerful and effective learning amongst the group.

At the Mental Health Movement, we believe sharing your own personal story can:

Demonstrate to others that it is possible to continue to work and manage mental ill health or mental illness

Remove the stigma around mental ill health and mental illness in the workplace

Help someone who may also be experiencing mental ill health to seek support

Encourage others to also share their personal stories and experiences

Encourage your employer to develop a mentally healthy and supportive workplace

"The Mental Health Movement delivered a mental health initiative to our NSW and ACT businesses. Delivering a combination of mental health awareness and education to all our managers, supervisors and frontline leaders. They delivered 22 presentations to over 400 employees. The feedback was unbelievable and the positive impact within the workplace has been great. We highly recommend the Mental Health Movement if you are looking for improved mental health outcomes within your workplace."

Greg Price

Executive General Manager NSW, Boral

"Dan and the Mental Health Movement are doing great things in the mental health space. Dan has presented to our corporate staff and his education and story has had a real positive impact on our staff and management. Dan is now St George Bank's Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassador and we look forward to continuing to work with him and the Mental Health Movement."

Ross Miller

General Manager Retail Banking, St George Bank

"Mental Health Movement have made a really big impact within our workforce. They have really connected with us and have assisted us in creating a mentally healthy, supportive workplace. Dan is an inspiration to all of us with not only telling his real-life story of having a mental illness but leading the way in helping and educating so many others. As a company we would highly recommend others to connect with Dan and the Mental Health Movement team to understand and manage mental health in their workplace."

Barry Riley

Health Safety & Training Superintendent, Centennial Coal

"We engaged the Mental Health Movement to deliver stages 1 & 2 of their Mental Health Workplace Blueprint to our entire workforce covering more than 2000 employees. The work was of very high quality and the professionalism was second to none. MHM also work in collaboration with our company employment assistance program linking many employees to further support. This collaboration was a key driver in the huge success of the initiative. We would highly recommend Dan and the MHM to any workforce. It was a pleasure to work with them and be a part of the change."

Keili Adams

Human Resource Manager, Gemco, Temco & Cannington, South 32

"The wonderful team at MHM have been providing Mental Health Education and Training for the past 3 years within our Australian Business. Their relatable and “real life” approach seems to really connect with many of our employees, and in my dealings with them I have really valued the personal and caring approach they have taken to meet the needs of the teams and individuals they have worked with.  Their care for supporting us to reach our aspirations to create awareness and build capability in this space is genuine and much appreciated. Every interaction has been a pleasure and a positive experience."

Stephanie O'Dwyer

Health, Wellbeing & Innovation Manager, BlueScope Wollongong

"The feedback received from staff has been overwhelmingly positive with many resonating with the personal stories and journeys shared by the Facilitators. All of our Facilitators, Brett, Alisha, Ashton, Chris and Dan, are down to earth, genuine and relatable guys with a natural ability to connect with our diverse workforce. This was evident by the amount of staff sharing personal experiences in the sessions and some staff staying back to talk about their struggles and seek further support from the Facilitators. The workplace audit will play a key role in informing our future mental health strategy, education and training at Council and we are proud to partner with MHM over the next few years as we continue to develop and strengthen our workplace to be aware, take action, break down the stigma and support a mentally fit workforce."

Sharni Watts

Manager of People & Culture, Georges River Council

"After the first session every single employee personally thanked the business owners for organising the event and said how much they appreciated it. I think it gave us a better understanding of some of our difficulties in life, that everyone has struggles which reminded us to be good to each other. I believe it brought us closer as a group and reinforced that we all support each other. I think the whole MHM crew are amazing people doing a great job for our community and the different workforces they encounter. They genuinely care, want to help and make a difference."

Ben Cohen

Director & Licensee, Ray White Shellharbour