COMPASSION - COURAGE - CREATIVITY
As the world is overwhelmed with complex and stressful circumstances, everyone’s mental and physical health is feeling the impact, with many experiencing some form of trauma.
For mental health to work for us, education, learning more about each other and the world around us builds understanding, compassion, better connections, communication and a better way for us to collaborate and work together.
Being honest with ourselves requires brave conversations, acknowledging and accepting life is messy and uncomfortable at times.
We can’t control everything, but healing needs support, we can’t do this in isolation. We can do it together, sitting in the crap side by side
"Knowledge is power"
"Information is liberating"
"Education is the premise of progress"
"In every family, in very society"
- Kofi Annan
Across our personal and working lives, how we connect and engage with each other in any activity, good mental health and being well is vital.
Feeling safe and supported is key.
As an employer, manager, team leader, member, project partner, coach, friend, family member,
Consider your level of confidence in:
- Keeping everyone safe and well
- How to provide compassionate and trauma sensitive support
- How to ‘sit in the crap or mud’ together
- How self-care is encouraged and supported
- Applying human-centric values to influence what is created, shared and delivered.
About
Mental Health At Work (mentalhealthatwork, mh@work®),a private consultancy, provides diverse collaborative strategic support, education, skill development and advocacy across mental health, suicidality, trauma (vicarious trauma), occupational health and safety, risk mitigation, research and policy reform to enhance service delivery for us all.
Human centered design is about partnerships and collaborations, coproduction and lived experience being synonymous, informed by people for people.
From places of adversity, profound trauma, pain, health challenges, and life circumstances has given rise to sharing vulnerability. Ultimately a strength that connects our humanity, guiding healing and recovery.
This underpins and informs mh@work®.
Creating new compassionate knowledge, innovations, ways of doing and being in our workplaces, life contexts and the world around us.
This is mh@work’s compass for a kinder world.
Brief History
Commencing in 2000, mh@work® has an extensive history in the mental health and suicide prevention having helped commence conversations in the community and workplaces to reduce stigma and influence how people in crisis can be better supported.
With an original focus on corporate Australia: Telstra Corporation, Coles Group, ANZ, NAB and other small to medium organisations became courageous early adopters to championing these complex emotive human issues.
OHS Legislation now enshrines employer duty of care to provide psychologically safe workplaces to all employees.
Today mh@work® partners with clients advocating Lived Experience coproduction as a “must” collaboration across all mental health and suicide prevention reform. Educating for safe, compassionate and skilled workforces across clinical and non-clinical communities navigating complex human issues.
Ingrid Ozols AM
Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University.
B.Sc, MMHSc, PgDipMHRecoverySocIncl (UK), M.Suicidology (Griff)
Ingrid Ozols AM is a highly sought after Mental Health and Suicide Prevention educator and consultant. She uses her personal experiences as a consumer with mental health vulnerabilities, suicidality and recovery, and that of a lifelong carer of immediate family members, to help others.
“In my previous life within the corporate world, I experienced and witnessed fear, ignorance and mismanagement of employees’ declining mental health, facing challenges at every level across different workplaces. Determination to climb what felt like an insurmountable mountain came from a safe and supportive employer and workplace culture that enabled my recovery. This was the catalyst for my engagement in the mental health sector.
I went on to introduce concepts of mental health and suicide prevention into reluctant and fearful Australian (and some international) workplaces in 2001, before founding Mental Health at Work (mh@work®). I wanted to create a private consulting service aimed at improving the mental health, wellbeing and productivity of workplaces and the community.
Ingrid has been able to inform national and jurisdictional workplaces, as well as community policy reform, research, and education. With 25 years in the sector, Ingrid has diverse experience, skills and knowledge working with high profile, small to medium sized national and jurisdictional not-for-profit organisations, government departments, research institutions and corporate workplaces across Australia.
Ingrid has also contributed to various mental health boards, committees, and advisory groups. Through these roles, submissions have been made to various enquiries and commissions, including the recent Productivity and Victorian Royal Commissions to bring about reform.
A recent expert advisory group member of the National Suicide Prevention Taskforce reporting to the Prime Minister, Ingrid worked on several reports, “Shifting The Focus”, “Compassion First” and “The response to the Pandemic”
“Compassion First” was seminal in elevating the voice of people experiencing suicidal ideation and suicide attempt survivor experiences to the fore.
Suicide Prevention Australia commissioned KPMG commissioned Ingrid via Suicide Prevention Australia as the Lived Experience co-facilitator for the “Leading with Empathy” project, another emotional seminal report for understanding and supporting individuals experiencing suicidal behaviours.
Alongside this work, Suicide Prevention Australia engaged Ingrid’s own lived experience for the development of “Suicide Prevention; A Competency framework”, which has been adapted by several universities and organisations to suit their needs.
Ingrid brings humour and love to her work.