Australian businesses are now very aware that healthy, happy and connected employees offer them a
highly competitive commercial advantage.
Forward thinking employers ensure they effectively integrate employee wellness programs into their organisational fabric, cultivating positive behavior's and fostering a supportive culture that also addresses their governance requirements - from a legal, compliance, risk management and corporate social responsibility perspective.
We work with your business or department to understand, identify, manage and genuinely nurture and improve your
staff's health, wellbeing and potential,
and strengthen the internal connections, team bonding and ultimate success of your business in the process.
A WIN, WIN FOR BUSINESS AND EMPLOYEES!
We tailor our program to meet your needs. Our services include:
✅Identifying your Corporate Psychosocial Hazards and providing the guidance, tools and training your business needs to effectively manage them.
✅Understanding and effectively addressing the wider realm of internal psychosocial risks and compliance obligations (beyond OHS) - including Privacy Laws, Menopause friendly practices, Respect@Work, new Disconnect laws, Anti-discrimination, Harassment and Bullying, Fair Work practices including safe processes for domestic and family violence leave applications.
✅Assisting to develop the leadership, culture, knowledge, training, support & reporting obligations required.
✅Providing Workplace Health & Wellness Solutions and assisting to implement and manage them as required.
✅Creating tailored Wellness Programs that suit your personnel (including working with your business to develop and present your yearly wellness calendar, programs and promotion).
✅Improving staff connection, inclusivity, respect and relationships internally through the wellness programs and conga-line program.
Meet Our Team
Our team provides genuine and practical expertise in
psychosocial and wellness support, which will ensure your program is
truly effective, engaging and compliant:
✅Governance experts- Risk, Compliance & Board advisory
✅Training personnel
✅Psychologists with psychosocial expertise
✅External counsellors
✅Leadership and culture change experts
✅Human Resource experts
✅Men's support networks
✅Domestic Violence support and behaviour management specialists
✅Health and Wellness experts with specialists in oncology, menopause, grief, mental health
& separation/divorce support, nutrition, breathwork, yoga.
Susan Crain
Susan has a Law Degree and majored in Psychology, Counselling, Dispute Resolution. She has completed her Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance and has advised Boards and Management on Corporate Health and Wellness, Compliance, Risk Management, and Complaints Management. She has received numerous Corporate Training Awards and runs successful Women's Wellness Events.
Susan has held board and board sub-committee positions with organisation's including Act for Kids, Greening Australia and Open Haven Ltd. She has worked as inhouse counsel for many Australian and New Zealand companies and most recently has been a consultant to Radford HR.m She has trained organisations including Tattersalls, Daimler Chrysler, Mater Hospital. She is also a Separation/Divorce support coach, author, and owner of Family Counselling Support Network and Separation Support Network.
Susan has seen first hand how highly effective corporate health and wellness programs can make an enormous impact on businesses operations, governance, profits and most importantly, their people.
Natalie Knight
Natalie has been practising as a Psychologist since 2001 and is a member of the Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPI). She is passionate about working with people and has a particularly strong interest in stress and burnout management, anxiety, trauma, resilience and designing and facilitating high quality physical and mental health and wellness awareness workshops.
Natalie applies her wealth of knowledge, training and expert psychological expertise to create scientifically supported and measurable service delivery to meet your business and staff needs.
Claire Kelly
Claire is a very well regarded and highly skilled nurse consultant, educator, and health and wellness coach, specialising in oncology/cancer and peri/menopause wellness. She has an extensive background in practice, education and training, program development and care coordination - working with women, workplaces and health professionals to support them with their unique menopause, cancer and midlife health needs. We are honoured to have her on our women's wellness panel.
www.middlehealth.com.au
CORPORATE TRAINING - psychosocial, health and wellness
National workplace safety legislation means the Board members and all employers must now take steps legally to identify, minimise or where possible, eliminate psychosocial hazards in the workplace. Psychosocial hazards refers to aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm.
Corporate Wellness Solutions offer small to large Australian businesses and government departments, education, training, frameworks, systems and programs in psychosocial hazard identification and management, which extends beyond compliance with just OHS. Our programs enable your organisation to legally and effectively address other specific Australian legislation and recommended best practices, which have a direct impact on employee psychological and/or physical harm. This includes but is not limited to Respect@Work, Right to Disconnect, Privacy, Fair Work Act, Domestic Violence leave applications, Menopause friendly initiatives, Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying.
We work with your organisation to develop really effective and engaging wellness programs that genuinely support your personnel. Our programs are able to be tailored according to the unique needs of each organisation and can be delivered online or in person to reach employees in the office, working from home, on the road, on-site, or in remote and regional areas.
Our trainers are not only human resource specialists, psychologists, counsellors, menopause coaches, domestic violence support personnel and wellness trainers, they are also experienced lawyers, compliance and governance experts who have trained staff, leaders and board members Australia wide.
We ultimately take the stress out of psychosocial related compliance, training and wellness programs for your business. We offer a diverse range of corporate wellness offerings, to inspire and enhance your employees mental and physical wellness, cultivate positive behaviours and provide solutions to foster a supportive and connected work environment.
In turn, our programs have proven to positively impact productivity, staff satisfaction, staff retention and overall business success.
Corporate Wellness Plans
We can make it easier on your business by helping your business to:
🌿Draft a Corporate Wellness Plan and calendar that is tailored to the needs, resources and interests of your employees AND
🌿Ensure the plan/program is easily implemented and maintained by your business to effectively create a wellness culture that is enjoyed and sustainable.
Good governance: Risk Management, Compliance, CSR & Culture
Corporate Governance can be summed up in 4 words - people, purpose, process and performance.
Risk management, compliance, culture and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fall within the realms of Corporate Governance and are all ultimately the responsibility of the Board and Senior Managers.
They all require genuine commitment, resources, processes, training and operational support to be effective. In the event of a breach of any regulatory requirements, a highly effective governance and compliance program and carefully documented risk management system, will potentially be critical to reduce the risk to business and employees, as well as the personal liability risk to Directors and Senior Management.
This includes addressing bullying, harassment, discrimination, and sexual harassment (Respect@work), ensuring workplace health and safety, adherence to wider psychosocial obligations including the appropriate management of domestic violence support requests and a menopause friendly workplace, compliance with fair work processes and procedures, including disconnect legislation, ensuring adequate reward and recognition, and a genuine culture of health and wellness support is embedded.
The extent to which a company implements good governance practices can influence consumer and investor decisions, as well as potential employee, board and human resource outcomes. We provide effective guidelines on your governance obligations, especially as they pertain to health and wellness, in a way that is easily understood, implemented, documented and maintained.
Workshops, Seminars & Events
We run a series of specific health and wellness workshops and can tailor these to meet your business requirements. Most workshops can also be offered in webinar format, as required.
We regularly attend and present at strategic planning days, to assist boards and management to fully understand the realm of governance obligations as they relate to psychosocial culture, compliance, risk management and employee wellness.
Our team attend conferences and retreats to provide wellness workshops and activities, and we provide expert keynote speakers.
Our very popular, conga line program is a successful team bonding initiative, which is presented at many of these events, and has proven to inspire ongoing connection and collaboration, communication, and strengthen relationships within teams.
E-courses and Online Webinars and Training
We offer a range of complimentary e-courses, online webinars and training.
Please contact us for more details.
The Conga-Line Connection Program
Unfortunately, many businesses, especially since Covid-19, have reported a serious decline in internal staff connections. With many staff still enjoying flexible working arrangements, including a much higher number of people now working from home, businesses are struggling to find effective ways to reconnect with their staff and connections within and between teams. This has led to communication breakdown, poor collaboration, isolation, disconnect, lower morale and poor attendance.
Our Conga-Line Connection Program has lots of fantastic, fun and engaging ideas on how to get your staff up and moving again in a supported and connective way, regardless of where they are located.
External Wellness Service Registry
If applicable, we can assess your current external wellness service registry deliverables to determine if they are actually meeting the needs of your staff, merely providing band aid solutions, or at worst, adversely impacting your employees wellness by providing sub-standard service.
We can alternatively (or in conjunction with your external wellness service registry) provide you with access to expert external wellness support in various areas beyond what we offer in our programs and workshops. This includes access to psychologists, counsellors, coaches, peri/menopause support and clinics, men's specific wellness initiatives, domestic violence assistance, separation and divorce support and other key health and wellness service providers as and when your employees may require it.
Read our Blogs
Are they gaslighting me?
ARE THEY GASLIGHTING, LOVE BOMBING OR HOOVERING?
“That never happened. Have you taken your meds?”
“You’re crazy. That’s not what happened.”
“I only told you that you were fat because you I would hate you to let yourself go.”
“I never told you that.”
“You’re too sensitive. I was only joking.”
Are you often thinking your mind is playing tricks on you? Are you starting to question your own sanity or losing your memory? If any of the above statements sound familiar, you are likely the victim of gaslighting. It’s an emotional abuse tactic that can leave you unsure about yourself, others, and life in general. If you don’t address it, you can have long-lasting effects, emotionally and physically. Counselling can help you understand what you are experiencing, help you set boundaries and reach a decision about the relationship which feels right for you.
What is gaslighting?
Gaslighting is an actual, intentional, and serious form of emotional, psychological abuse. It is a psychological manipulation tactic someone uses to control and manipulate a victim by making them doubt their memories, perception of reality and judgments.
It can occur in romantic, platonic and family relationships – or even at work.
Often victims of gaslighting are not even aware that this is happening to them because it has been happening for so long, in a slow, covert fashion.
How Does It Begin?
A relationship with a gas lighter may seem to start out quite well. They may praise you, the victim, on a first date and very quickly confide in you. This is where the manipulation begins since, disclosure, before any real intimacy has been established, results in trust being quickly established. This tactic is known as ‘love bombing’. Once you become fully engaged with the gas lighter, you become vulnerable and then the next phase of manipulation often begins.
COMMON GASLIGHTING TECHNIQUES
Do you recognise any of the following most common gaslighting techniques?
They blatantly lie to you with a straight face. The abuser blatantly and habitually lies to change your reality. Even when you know they are lying, they can convince you otherwise, which in turn makes you start second-guessing yourself. If you call them a liar they turn around and call you a liar or insist they lied for a good reason for example to protect your feelings or theirs.
They attack things important to you. They might criticize your job, make snide comments about you, your family or friends. These remarks are meant to make you feel insecure and inadequate.
They deny their bad behaviour – their lying, hurting your feelings, or doing anything wrong. They insist that you misunderstood them, that you’re remembering things incorrectly, or that you’re making things up to hurt them.
Their actions don’t match their words. They may insist they support you, but always criticise your choices.
They will target your insecurities to make you feel weak about yourself.
They spread rumours and speak poorly about you online or in face to face conversations. They will often portray themselves as the victims to others.
They can’t stand criticism themselves and will take it as a personal attack, no matter how respectfully you complain about their behaviour.
They project on you – for example the abuser is cheating. Instead of admitting to the affair, they’ll accuse you of being unfaithful. You end up having to defend yourself rather than seeing what they’ve been doing to you.
They manipulate your relationships, whether through isolation or through groupthink type behaviours. They will tell you that your family members don’t really love you and claim that they are liars. They may even try to convince everyone around you that you seem emotionally unstable or “crazy.”
They can confuse you with sudden kindness to distract you from their bad behaviour. One minute, they may cut you down and the next, they praise you.
They wear you down until you just give up – you stop arguing or defending yourself since you feel so defeated.
SIGNS YOU ARE A VICTIM OF GASLIGHTING
- You constantly second guess yourself.
- You wonder if you are just overly sensitive or too hormonal.
- You create excuses for the gas lighters behaviour and their actions.
- You stop trusting your own judgement and recollection of events, beliefs, and perspectives.
- You start to wonder if you are losing your memory, regularly confused, or going ‘crazy.’
WHAT IS ”HOOVERING”?
When you try to leave the gas lighting relationship, they may use the ‘hoovering’ tactic which involves excessive praise, expressions of love, showers of compliments and fervent promises of the ways in which they will make positive changes in the relationship. Unfortunately, it does not take long for old habits and behavioural patterns to resurface, once you commit to staying. Their goal is to always keep you locked in to their control.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP BEING A VICTIM?
If you identify with any of the signs, here are some tips to take back control of your life and your reality:
· You need to stand firm and not let their denials cloud your thinking and actions.
· Remember you are not responsible for someone else’s behaviour. It is not your fault.
· Trust your own judgment and believe in yourself.
· Acknowledge the feelings you are having are real.
· Remind yourself that you deserve to be respected and supported by the people in your life.
· If someone displays a pattern of behaviour, trust the pattern over anything that person says.
· Don’t back down if you believe your criticism is fair, even if the gas lighter won’t change.
· Set clear boundaries to protect yourself and expect them to be respected,
· Document what is occurring so you can help track the reality.
· Ask someone independent, with whom you are close and who you trust, if they think you are being manipulated by the abuser.
· Realise you will never win an argument with this person or get any apology.
· Limit contact with the gas lighter. Consider ending or pulling back from the relationship if you want to, especially if the gas lighter refuses to change their behaviour.
If, despite attempts to move towards a healthier relationship, you still feel blocked in implementing these strategies, then please reach out to our trained team of psychologists and counsellors who can help you plan and strategise to move forward positively. Furthermore, if you feel unsafe because of someone’s controlling behaviour, seek assistance from the police or call 000 if it is an emergency.
