Testimonials from Dr Paula Barrett’s Seminars and Talks
API Little Cribb St Child Care Centre, Milton
Lecture to parents & teachers, Tuesday 1st November
“I went to your talk on Tues at Milton kindy and found it a revelation. You are very good at what you do and I am certainly keen to do more with your organisation. Just this morning I had coffee with a colleague who’s 13 year girl suffers from anxiety and they can’t seem to get results on it. I passed your website on to him. I think it’s intriguing how the world makes these connections. Thanks again Paula. You are doing great work!” – Parent
Dutton Park State School
Public Lecture to parents & teachers- “Building Resilience in Children”, Wednesday 22nd June
“As a personal testimonial, I would like to say that the “Friends for Life” program operating through the school during Term One, 2011, has been a rewarding experience for my family. I appreciated hearing Paula’s seminar and thought that her knowledge of her field is excellent. Paula’s passion for building resilience in both children and adults is clear to see. Having a child complete the program through the school, I found Paula’s seminar clearly supported the material that we were provided with by the program facilitators”- Parent
“I found the talk by Paula Barrett to be extremely informative and interesting, having a boy myself and with Paula’s expert knowledge into their mental development, was something I would like to explore further.” – Parent
Ascot State School
Public Lecture- “Building Resilience throughout the Lifespan”, 31st May, 2011
“I found the information on risk and protective factors particularly relevant and helpful…”- Principal
What the parents thought…
“I enjoyed Paula’s sense of humour and her little anecdotes. The talk was so entertaining”
“Thankyou for inviting Professor Barrett to our school. I found the evening very helpful. My child can be quite anxious”
“The presentation was reassuring. I will continue to be the best parent that I can be. No parent is perfect”
“The books that Paula passed around looked interesting. I must read the one about how the brain changes.”
“Attention biases- we need to know more about this research”
“Thankyou Pathways staff for the wonderful work that you do… Thankyou Paula for sharing your expertise with members of our school community.”
Barrett Adolescent Centre School
Professional Development- Lecture to staff
“Paula gave an information packed talk to our staff and the staff of another school as part of our Professional Development. All staff commented on the excellent quality of the information that was backed up with evidence and further resources to be consulted. It gave a sense of hope and optimism in an area of education that needs to be informed by ideas of best practice and supported by ongoing research. The impact of her talk was enourmous and resources she mentioned have been bought for teacher reference. Our students will benefit from the new knowledge the staff have gained.”
Children Communities Connections 2010 Conference
“Very informative session on preventing anxiety disorders in children”
“Brilliant, engaging, inspiring, practical and valuable”
“Interesting and entertaining”
“Gave educative and pragmatic presentation”
“Wonderful presenter and highly relevant”
Grand Avenue State School, Forest Lake
Public Lecture – Building Resilience in Families, 1 March 2011
“…Her breadth of knowledge was astounding and her presentation style was easy to understand and quite heartfelt.”
What the parents thought…
“Dear Dr Barrett,
My husband and I attended last nights talk at Grand Avenue State School. We would like to thank you for the time you took to share with us. It was fantastic! We are adoptive parents of children born overseas. I am the post adoptions coordinator for an adoption agency in Qld. It is a volounteer run, non-profit family support group for families with children adopted from overseas. My husband and I really enjoyed your talk last night and we wondered if perhaps you might consider doing a presentation for our families on anxious children and building resilience. As you can appreciate these are key issues for our children. As a parent body we are always keen to educate ourselves in order to best support our children’s needs.”
“I found the presentation of Paula very informative and insightful about the possible causes of anxiety and depression in children, and what you as a parent can do to help avoid or address these problems. The presentation was down to earth, very sensible and with great passion and humour… I would love to hear her speak again…”
“I thought the seminar with Prof Paula Barrett was FANTASTIC…and I have discussed it with so many others. I learnt so much in that short time.”
St Jospeh’s Primary School, Ipswich
Public Lecture, 18 November 2010.
Dr Paula Barrett spoke at our joint St Joseph’s North Ipswich and St Mary’s Ipswich Catholic Primary Schools parent information event last week. 60 parents came along for a 7pm start and were treated to Paula’s animated, energetic and evidence based presentation. Paula’s enthusiasm for the field and Pathways Health and Research Centre is palpable and her presentation style is entertaining. Paula spoke for almost 3 hours without a break. This was probably a bit too long for the time of day, however, it was clear that Paula could have gone on for many hours more!
Paula’s focus was on the research evidence around risk and protective factors in anxiety and depression. She interspersed this with personal anecdotes and a lot of humour. A strong practical message around the importance, not only of inter and intra-personal factors, but also on broader health factors in prevention was given (e.g. sleep, diet and exercise). Paula also used the opportunity of speaking to parents to market the Pathways programs quite strongly.
The schools are considering having her come along to present more on focused parenting strategies to promote resilience to accompany the implementation of social and emotional prevention approaches with students at the classroom level.
Inge Hay, Guidance Counsellor and Psychologist
I attended an evening at St Joseph’s primary school, North Ipswich, last week about building resilience in children, and I just wanted to let you know how much I thoroughly enjoyed the talk. I was captivated the entire time, as I found the content of the talk fascinating and extremely important. I have also heard from others who attended that they felt the same. Thank you so much!!
Erin, attendee
The Rotary Club of Rockhampton public forum ‘No Bandaids Please’ Building Resilience: Empowering people to be resilient for life.
Keynote address, 5 October 2010.
Speaker Professor Paula Barrett, founder of the Pathways Health Research Centre based in Brisbane and internationally recognised for her work and research in the field of early intervention and prevention of anxiety and depression provided insightful, informative, powerful and very real examples of building resilience that is very effective in addressing mental illness and the stigma which further impacts on people who experience the diverse symptoms associated with anxiety and depression. Comments collected from attendees of the event included; Excellent night, well presented and very informative; Impressive presentation – practical solutions for a difficult problem; In depth conversations followed – everyone was very appreciative; Inspirational and motivational for anyone of any age; Very informative and inspirational. Gave me more appreciation for the mental health sector and hope that a difference can be made; Such a broad range of topics covered. Eye opening in so many ways. This should be put in front of everybody.
It has been a real pleasure meeting with Professor Barrett again. She is so very generous with her knowledge and experience. The Rotary Club of Rockhampton is very proud to have been able to invite Paula to present the second in the series of the ‘No Bandaids Please’ forums in Rockhampton and it is our commitment to continue to bring valuable information of this type to our local community. We would recommend that as many people as possible make themselves aware of the work that Professor Barrett and the Pathways Health Research Centre does. If you have an opportunity to go to one of her presentations, please make the time – you won’t regret it.
Jenni Keerie, Coordinator, Capricorn Citizen Advocacy Inc and the Rotary Club of Rockhampton Inc.
International Conference on Leadership in Pedagogies and Learning
Keynote Address, 23 September 2010, Brisbane.
“On Thursday 23rd of September, Professor Paula Barrett presented a keynote address to over 100 educators attending the First International Conference on Leadership in Pedagogies and Learning being held at Stuartholme School, Brisbane. Hosted by the Society of the same name, Dr Barrett’s passionate and thought provoking address on building children’s and families’ resilience and emotional competency focussed on the proactive measures that can be taken to protect mental health and well being of children in an increasingly unpredictable world. Besides raising awareness of current facts and figures in society and the negative impact that depression and anxiety may have on children today, she emphasised the strength of the Pathways approach’s evidence-based practice in achieving success. Attention was drawn to the program being the only such program recognised by the World Health Organisation and the need to treat children as early as possible. She also provided insights in the program’s motivating and fun activities and emphasised the importance of following a healthy diet and exercise program as part of treatment.
While educators are well aware of the challenging social circumstances that may undermine the mental health of children and threaten their sense of self, Paula was able to highlight the availability of positive strategies that young people can easily learn and apply to effectively reduce the detrimental influences of stress and trauma. She focussed on how children armed with such strategies were able to increase their resilience and feeling of empowerment to exercise greater control over their lives. These strategies were transformative in enabling young people to respond confidently to life’s challenges.
Professor Barrett’s wisdom in placing the emphasis upon prevention as opposed to “treatment” must be applauded. Rather than waiting to address the mental health issues and vulnerabilities of children which may have taken years to manifest, the proactive approach advocated by Professor Barrett deals with mental health issues by building strong, self-reliant and resilient young people who have learnt the “tools” to maintain a healthy, positive outlook on life. This approach has long term benefits to the individual and to society as a whole in keeping with the conference’s focus on pedagogies and sustainable futures.”
Dr Shirley O’Neill & Dr Jennifer Fisher (Co-Presidents – islPAL)
Suicide Prevention: A talk by Professor Paula Barrett at the QGCA Twilight
Professional Development evening on Friday 10 September 2010
“There are few people more qualified to speak on how to develop resiliency in people of all ages than Professor Paula Barrett. Members of the Queensland Guidance and Counselling Association had the pleasure of listening to Paula speak at one of our regular professional development sessions and we were not disappointed. Paula spoke passionately about the need for early identification of children who are experiencing anxiety and the need for primary prevention. This is so that the children who may be more prone to anxiety already have the skills to help
themselves before hitting the sometimes tumultuous teenage years. She spoke about the comorbidity of anxiety and depression and the link with suicide rates. This was particularly relevant as she spoke on World Suicide Awareness Day.
Paula also mentioned the Trust that has been set up in order to make evidence based programmes, such as the FRIENDS programs, available to the wider community, particularly in lower socioeconomic areas, rural, and indigenous communities. It was difficult not to walk away from the evening with a sense that Paula is a person with a mission and that she intends to fulfil this mission.”
Dr Mark Taylor, Member of QGCA Executive Committee, Head of Careers and Counselling, Ipswich Grammar School
I just wanted to say a very big thank you for Paula’s talk at Hillbrook on Wednesday night! It was great to hear her talk candidly about her professional knowledge, her ‘Pathways’ program and her personal experiences of parenting. I loved her balanced approach – including her knowledge on the effects of diet, sleep, mobile phones, computers etc. I feel much better informed about the right decisions to make for our entire family and its good to know there is world class help available for all age groups if we find ourselves off-track.
Karra Seawright, Hillbrook Anglican School, QLD
Allergy NZ National Conference
Keynote Address, August 2010
Dear Paula, Thank you very much for presenting at our National Conference this August as our keynote speaker. In retrospect, we should have allocated several hours for your presentation as the information was so useful. We had a mixture of educators, health professionals and parents, and the feedback from all groups was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, your presentation was the highlight of the entire conference.
We appreciate the research you put into the field of food allergy and its link to anxiety. As a result, we are now looking to raise funds to have you come back to New Zealand and carry out more in-depth seminars.
Penny Jorgensen, Chief Executive, Allergy NZ
Anxiety Disorders Association NSW (ADAN)
Keynote speech To promote resilience and life skills in families and schools
Dear Paula
On behalf of the Anxiety Disorders Association NSW (ADAN) I would like to thank you most sincerely for Chairing with Professor Ron Rapee the Symposium on “Early Intervention and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Children” and for your excellent Keynote address: To promote resilience and life skills in families and schools. The feed back from your symposium and your address were excellent. Your enthusiasm, your fresh approach and your exciting ideas were infectious.
The evaluations we received on the conference were very positive. Some included ideas and themes for a future conference which we will pass on to the convener of the next Australasian conference on anxiety disorders to be held in New Zealand in 2010.
Our “BlueAlert” website attracted much attention and we are looking forward to working with your Pathways Health and Research Centre and with beyondblue to make it a new and really exciting resource for young children and adolescents.
ADAN is most appreciative of your support and encouragement and looks forward to establishing formal links with Pathways. Look forward to seeing you again soon. Let’s keep in touch.’
With warmest regards
Jenny Learmont – President AM Hon MD
‘…I would like to thank you for the 3 parenting seminars that you presented at Corinda State High School recently, the feed back from parents was very positive and they found the infomation and skills that they received was helpful in their parenting journey.’
Andrea Erichses – Chaplain, Corinda State High
‘…I have had lots of very positive feedback from the evening since we last spoke. If through our combined efforts the parents feel that they have gained further information and insights into the most valuable role of parenting then our platform of Parent Education has been worthwhile. Thak you once again for your generosity and the wonderful work that you contributed to the Parents and Friends Association.’
Maureen Tynan, Parents ans Friends Association, St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace.
‘..the knowledge of Dr Barrett in this field in unquestionable. In all aspects, the workshop was conducted professionally. Dr Barrett’s skill in dealing with different sizes and types of audiences was most obvious’
Julie K. Greenhalgh, Head of Middle School, Pymble Ladies College, NSW
‘Her (Dr Barrett) use of humor, questioning technique, good variation in tone, depth of knowledge and experience and her lively and warm personality helped to make a very interesting and stimulating lecture and workshop. Staff were very impressed with the depth and breath of knowledge of Dr Barrett. The FRIENDS program that was presented seemed to be a well-researched and innovative program, developed on a firm empirical basis. Dr Barrett was very professional in her preparation, presentation and in all her dealings with the school’
Milton Cujes, Head Master, Trinity Grammar School, NSW
‘Feedback from staff was unanimously positive. Dr Barrett obviously has extensive knowledge and a passion for her work. I would gladly recommend such a workshop day to other schools interested in implementing this program’
Dianne Cottrell-Dormer, Acting Head of Middle School, MLC School, NSW
‘…the relevance and integration of the FRIENDS program at Shelford received unanimous praise. Staff mixed in junior and senior groups realised that issues being tackled were across all levels. This had the additional benefit of uniting the staff. As an organizer of Professional Development at School and as the organiser of many conferences for parents and students, I found working with you (Dr Barrett) most pleasurable. Your combination of academic knowledge and highly tuned personal skills made the preparation and organisation of this one day session a very easy process’
Lli Pelletier, Vice Principal and Head of Senior School, Shelford Girls School
‘All parents surveyed were very happy with the workshop evening. The staff as a whole were inspired by the workshop and some say they could have listened for days. 100% of staff were stimulated by the content which was up to date and meaningful. Many staff commented to me that in all their years of teaching that this was the best in-service training they have received and thanked me for bringing Dr Paula Barrett. The Australian and Overseas research presented was unchallengeable and trailblazing! Many commented that she was an amazing lady and enjoyed the workshop because of the professional and knowledgeable manner of the presenter. As a Principal, teacher of 29 years and parent I have never learnt as much in such a short period’
John Greene, Principal, St Patrick’s College, NSW
‘You (Dr Barrett) were the undoubted ‘hit’ of our AHIS and ISNZ Conferences and the delegates took both you and your messages to their hearts’
Joy Qurgley, Executive Director, Independent Schools of New Zealand
‘Your presentation was dynamic, engaging and insightful in terms of current research and psychological practice. Feedback I have received from staff was extremely positive and they are keen to implement the program. Testimony of their level of commitment to your presentation was evidenced by the motivation to stay involved in the workshop beyond the designated finishing time. The staff appreciated your delightful sense of humor and the wonderful way in which you wove anecdotal stories in to the subject matter. You left the staff thinking they could make an active contribution to the prevention of anxiety and depression for the children in their care.’
Staff comments include:
‘One of the best PD sessions we have had at the school’
‘It combines Psychological principals and practice in framework accessible to teachers’
‘It is great to be presented with a program that is well researched so we know that it works!’
Jenny Vincent Green, Educational Psychologist, Firbank Grammar
Honestly Paula did a fantastic job i was really pleased and thankful for the commonsense approach she brought to the talk. I really appreciated her talk and her freeing up her time to come along and talk. I would gladly have Paula along again and the feed back we’ve received from her talk has all been positive. Please to pass on our thanks sand appreciation.
Dan Bigg, Acacia Ridge Presbyterian Church
