Dr Jodi Richardson

Moving kids and teens from anxiety to resilience

As parents we play the most important role in helping our children when they experience mental health challenges, including anxiety. And whether they experience the everyday variety of anxiety that comes with being human, or anxiety that gets in the way of school and life - there are skills and strategies we can teach our children to not only help them cope, but thrive. Now, and over their lifetime. Anxiety is common, treatable and there's so much we, as parents and caregivers, can do to help.

Expanding kids’ and teens’ anxiety coping toolkit (follow up from Anxiety to Resilience)

As parents we play the most important role in helping our children when they experience anxiety. And whether they experience the everyday variety of anxiety that comes with being human, or anxiety that gets in the way of everyday life - there are skills and strategies we can teach our children to not only help them cope, but thrive. Now, and over their lifetime. This presentation has been carefully designed to expand and strengthen parents’ understanding and toolkit of strategies from anxiety to resilience and beyond.

Struggling well: Building resilient brains in kids and teens

There's been a lot of attention on resilience over many years, and for good reason. The drawn-out nature of the pandemic and the myriad of challenges children and teens experienced as a result, in addition to other challenges that come with returning to the classroom after absence, have stretched even the most resilient among kids and teens. Adversity and challenge build resilience when resilience is understood, the right frameworks are in place, and when parents and teachers know what genuinely contributes to building it. They're important skills in the wake of a global pandemic, and over a lifetime.
Boosting teachers’ mental health and happiness. Although children are back at school engaging in their learning and connecting with their friends, the pandemic continues to seriously impact the demands, expectations, stress levels, mental health and wellbeing of educators. The ripple effect of this overwhelm ebbs well beyond the school grounds. Educator wellbeing is critical for the individual, their family and the students and colleagues they connect and work with. More than ever before teachers and other school staff need ideas and insights that, when practiced, have a powerful impact on day-to-day fulfilment and wellbeing as a whole.

Moving kids and teens from anxiety to resilience

Child and adolescent anxiety have doubled as a result of the pandemic. In addition to reducing day-to-day quality of life, anxiety impacts engagement, learning, connection and enjoyment in, and out of, the classroom. Staff, or ‘accidental counsellors’, are increasingly called upon to support anxious students and their families, often while managing their own elevated stress and anxiety. This is a challenging role made harder without a clear understanding of anxiety, how to settle an anxious nervous system and how, and when, to re-engage students in classroom activities.

What is anxiety, why it's not all bad and what can I do about it?

Not only are senior students undertaking the most important years of their secondary schooling, they're doing so in a climate where rates of adolescent anxiety have doubled compared with pre-pandemic figures. Essential mental health and wellbeing learning for senior students includes understanding their nervous system, recognising and managing stress and anxiety, learning and practicing a ‘go-to’ grounding strategy, and developing a balanced approach to life. Each of these will enable senior students to cope with both the chronic and acute stressors that accompany the academic pressure and high stakes assessments of their senior years.
Level-Headed: How To Make Decisions Under Pressure
Every day, business leaders are required to make sound and speedy decisions to generate revenue, to look after employee wellbeing and to further brands. Some decisions are easy to make. Others are difficult and complex and can, if not handled correctly, lead to procrastination and overwhelm. In this presentation, Dr Jodi Richardson will explore how today’s leaders can make great decisions, every time they are called to.

Resilience: So Much More Than Bouncing Back

Adversity both tests and shapes us; seldom do we return to who we were. With each challenge comes a choice; turn away, mark time or navigate the uncertainty with authenticity, intelligence and flexibility. In this presentation Dr Jodi Richardson explores what it really means to be resilient and shares the foundations, thinking skills and practices that foster resilience and inspire hope in the face of life’s curve balls.

From Flat To Psychologically Flexible: Wellbeing Done Differently

Mental health isn’t made in a day, it’s buffered and bolstered by the thinking skills, choices we make and habits we employ consistently. But it’s not enough to know what to do. When supported to predict barriers to change and to adopt habits in keeping with behaviour change principles, the sparks of wellbeing are fanned into a lifelong flame.

In this powerful presentation Dr Jodi Richardson reveals what stands in the way of flourishing, what contributes most to our wellbeing and teaches practical science-backed strategies that make a profound difference to vitality, productivity, mental health and happiness.