Yesterday our school hosted Dr Ben Robbins, Clinical Psychologist, Head of Mental Health and Well-Being at Essendon Football Club (formally St Kilda) & ex AFL player, to discuss mental health and performance. We had an amazing turnout, with around 80 in attendance from the Maffra and districts community. Ben is also a former student of St Mary’s.

Ben spoke about ‘Mental Fitness’, explaining that the brain needs exercise to maintain its fitness, just like any other muscle. He gave us insights into the science of how the brain works, particularly when dealing with the many pressures that come from our environments. Ben gave some ideas and strategies to improve the way we think when faced with any scenario. He explained how our brain is wired to think in ‘Blue Brain’ and ‘Red Brain’ and how we can use Mindfulness and Meditation to navigate back to our calm and composed Blue Brain.

We had great responses from the students in the audience and Ben really enjoyed the interactions. Thank you to Charmaine Wilson, our Mental Health and Well-Being Leader for organising the event. Here are a couple of links that give a little more information about Ben and his message.

https://www.saints.com.au/news/785908/above-the-shoulders-the-connection-between-mindfulness-and-performance 

https://www.facebook.com/healthyheadsaus/videos/dr-ben-robbins-head-of-mental-health-wellbeing-at-st-kilda-football-club-recentl/589430659517888/?locale=ms_MY

Please have a great weekend with your families.

Kind regards,

Julian