Upcoming Events

 

Talks | Retreats | Workshops | Groups

Regular event: Monthly NVC and Yoga Practice Group

Our nonviolent communication (or NVC) practice group includes individuals of varying experience with NVC who meet together monthly on a Sunday from 9:30am to 11:30am to learn and practice NVC, share empathy and enjoy some gentle mindfulness practice / yoga. Learn to connect compassionately with yourself, receive empathically when others communicate, and express yourself honestly in a way that is more connecting.

We meet in Graceville. Please text Alexis on 0438 953 091 to obtain the address and the next scheduled date. Recommended donation is $5 or $10.

To be eligible to join the group (for your own comfort and sense of inclusion) you need to have 1) attended a previous NVC workshop with us or another trainer, or 2) read Rosenberg’s book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life or 3) had some sessions with a psychologist or therapist who uses NVC. Email rachel@northbrisbanepsychologists.com.au to find out more about joining us and what happens in the group.

Our Practice Group is facilitated by Dr Rachel Hannam, yoga teacher Alexis Dennehy, and other long-standing group members. 

 

Psychology & Yoga Professional Burnout Retreat

November 18th-22nd, 2022

Amity Point, Minjerribah, North Stradbroke Island

A 4-day transformative experience of relaxation, community, safety and self-connection!

*Please note: Our workshops count as Professional Development hours for registered health professionals. Invoices issued on request.

This Retreat is being offered by Dr Rachel Hannam (Director of North Brisbane Psychologists) and Alexis Dennehy, Director at One Natural Therapies. It is a chance to immerse yourself in self-care strategies for physical and psychological wellness. This beautiful retreat includes:

  • Peaceful absolute waterfront location (includes koala & dolphin sightings)
  • Clean-eating and regular movement 
  • Onsite team of trauma-informed practitioners
  • Small group for confidentiality and privacy.

Learn evidence-based strategies for:

  • Managing stress, burnout, frustration and overwhelm

  • Courageous thinking and values-based living

  • Self-empathy for better mental health

  • Self-leadership and compassionate communication

  • Establishing healthy routines.

Please note that to ensure you gain the most from our practitioners we run small groups, so places are strictly limited. Click the link below for bookings or to learn more.

Book your place today for this restorative experience!

Past Events

 

(Please Note: We hope to run these events again in future. If you would like us to organise one of these sessions for your group or professional organisation, please email rachel@northbrisbanepsychologists.com.au)

GP Burnout Talks @ NBP’s Lutwyche clinic: Oct 7 & 9 and Nov 4, 2022

GPs are meant to be across every sub-specialty in medicine and up-to-date with advances. They also deal with grief, trauma and injustice, which can eat away at any professional over time. Combined with the increasing burden of administrative tasks and isolation, this creates a ripe breeding ground for burnout.

This 1.5-hour session with Principal Psychologist Dr Rachel Hannam of North Brisbane Psychologists will go beyond generic self-help strategies such as mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and positive psychology. While these practices are valuable, and Rachel practices them herself, she finds that these measures alone sometimes don’t work so well for her GP clients.

Dr Rachel received her PhD in professional burnout in 2006. In this session she will offer a range of suggestions to prevent or manage burnout. Rachel believes that extreme stress sometimes requires extreme self-care.

Join us for a 45 minute presentation and 45 minutes of Q&A and networking about the challenges of being a GP. Wine & cheese included. Seats are limited.

Investment: $35 per person. Wine and nibbles (or tea/coffee) included. Limited places available.

Where: North Brisbane Psychologists (group room) @ 12 Norman Ave, Lutwyche

Click here for RSVPs & bookings  or copy & paste this URL https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/gp-burnout-expert-seminar-tickets-399873982847

Contact: rachel@northbrisbanepsychologists.com.au

Emotional Intelligence: Get Unstuck, embrace change, and thrive in relationships and at work  (June to August, 2022) 

with Dr Rachel Hannam & Alexis Dennehy

Emotional Intelligence (E.I.) is your ability to acknowledge your own emotions, recognise emotions in others, and use that information to guide your behaviour. This course will increase your emotional and communication skills to have more success at home and at work!
A 3-part Workshop Series, this course covers the five components of Emotional Intelligence over seven weeks in 2022. It includes: 

  •  Workshop lectures and processes for gaining psychological skills and knowledge;
  • Take-home practices for learning and sharing within family and work contexts;
  • Weekly online discussions for group engagement between sessions.

The Course will be run as a series of 3 x Sunday sessions, all 9am – 12:30pm:

  •  Sunday 19 June 2022
  • Sunday 24 July 2022
  • Sunday 7 August 2022

  Click here to book  🙂

All workshops 9am-12:30pm | 19 June, 24 July, 7 August | @ Graceville Bowls Club

January 23, 2022: Interactive Online Workshop – Mental Health & Improv with Dr Rachel Hannam and Anne Pensalfini

(No performance or Improv experience necessary)

23/1/21 from 9am to 12pm – now online due to COVID

What is Improv and what’s the link to mental health?

Improvisation, or improv, is a form of playful, live theatre where the plot, characters or dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment. It has been shown to increase confidence, self-trust, mindfulness, self-acceptance, creativity and more! Anyone can learn and participate in Improv with brief guidance and instructions.

Workshop Goals & Description: 

Humans are meaning-making machines! We go quickly from observations to making stories (assumptions) about what’s happening. In Psychology, we call these cognitive distortions and they can get us into trouble. BUT we can have agency over our minds. One mental skill we need to develop is our ability to tolerate ambiguity. This is essential to our mental health because we cannot know everything – life is full of ambiguity.  We want to have agency over our own mental and emotional experiences because much of it is out of our direct control.

In this workshop, we will explore four premises of mental health:

  • Being in the moment
  • Seeing our cognitive distortions
  • Managing social anxiety
  • Finding safety in the chaos

By learning the fundamentals of improvisation we can discover how these skills can enrich your life and make it more flexible, effective, and empathic, both personally and professionally.

PLEASE NOTE: As the peak of Omnicrom is predicted to peak during the workshop date we have decided to move it online, in order to keep participants physically safe, and less stressed during the uncertainty in Brisbane. Please join us. There will be lots of laughter and stress-relieving playfulness.  We’ll also be reducing the workshop’s duration to 3 hours, and cost to $100. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, teaching artist and NVC trainer Anne Pensalfini has been leading workshops, including applied improvisation, online. Anne currently works remotely as an instructional designer for Culture Hero, a company specialising in integrating Play into work environments. This will be an engaging and dynamic experience with lots of practical exercises custom-built for online delivery. 

Dr Rachel Hannam has been Clinical Director of North Brisbane Psychologists since 2012. She will be facilitating along with Anne to make psychological links and extrapolate our learnings from the workshop processes to managing our daily mental health and relationships.

Through dynamic exercises and personal feedback, Anne and Rachel will help workshop participants to understand how an improv mindset can deepen mindfulness and communication skills, reframe negative self-talk, reawaken a sense of play, and strengthen awareness of the mind-body connection.  The workshop is primarily experiential, however we will touch on various psychological topics – cognitive schemas, positive psychology, and unconscious forces, as well as mindfulness and its benefits. These principles can work together to guide psychological growth.

Tech Requirements:

You will need a computer or tablet with a camera and the latest version of Zoom to participate, and a private space where you can make noise.  Notes will be available to take away as part of the session; however the session itself will not be recorded. 

This workshop is based on curriculum developed by Psychologist Jim Robinson.

Prerequisites: No performance or Improv experience is necessary. Beginners welcome.

Where: Online details will be emailed shortly beforehand

When: Sunday Jan 23, 9am to 12pm

Investment: Early Bird until 9am Monday January 17 is $80. Price is $100 after that.

Bookings:

Booking online here.

If you have any questions, email rachel@northbrisbanepsychologists.com.au or text Rachel or Anne for more information on 0478 789 321 (Rachel) or 0433 648 100 (Anne).

2021 Workshop Series – Living Compassion

In late 2021 we hosted three workshops which built upon one another. Details below.

*Please note: Our workshops count as Professional Development hours for registered health professionals. Invoices issued on request

Workshop 3. The Science & Art of Transcendence: The Spirituality of NVC

Sunday December 12th, 2021 – 9am to 1:15pm

Non-Violent Communication (or NVC) is the work of Dr Marshall Rosenberg originating in the 1970’s.  His 4-step process for communicating compassionately has been demonstrated across a range of contexts to increase mutual understanding and satisfaction.  Rosenberg’s Needs-based approach to harmony and connection is now widely accepted and forms the foundation of our commitment to empower and equip the community with mental wellness strategies during the present mental health crisis. 

The Spirituality of NVC is the synthesis of our work together this year, drawing on Compassionate Embracing and gentle but deep interpersonal processes for transcending old patterns of thinking and connecting with something larger than your self. 

From a grounded, secure connection with self and others, we extend beyond the ego to experience an open consciousness of communion.

Location: Location: Graceville Bowls Club

Book your place here

Workshop 2. The Science & Art of Attachment Relationships

Sunday November 14th, 2021 – 9am to 1:15pm

Relationship struggles are frequently the result of unconscious drivers which originate in our style of attachment. For our friendships, family relations and romantic partnerships to survive and thrive, we need to build secure attachments.  Identify your attachment style and how to become more securely attached to meet your needs for stability, connection, intimacy and belonging.

Please note, this workshop is aimed at individuals and open to couples/family members attending together. 

Location: Graceville Bowls Club

Workshop 1. The Science & Art of Self-Regulation – 17/10/21

October 17, 2021

Learn to apply the science of self-regulation and to stay cool, calm and collected under pressure.

Where: Amber Tree Yoga, Simpson’s Playground, 284 Graceville Ave

Times: 9am – 1:15pm

Learn to reduce anxiety, stress and loneliness at the level of your own physiology.

Join us for a half day of deep, slow thinking, relaxation and learning.  Apply and integrate psychological skills for living well. Learn the skills of self-connection and self-compassion to apply and integrate into your daily life.

Dr Rachel Hannam is the Clinic Director of North Brisbane Psychologists. Alexis Dennehy has a Masters of Public Health and draws from over 15 years teaching contemplative practices and yoga therapy. They draw from over 20 years of collective experience each in clinical practice working with relationship conflict, anxiety and depression, grief and loss, shame and trauma, chronic pain, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder using practices shown to reduce emotional hyper-reactivity and increase prosocial behaviour.

Yoga and Psychology Retreat – August 15-17, 2021

Minjerribah | North Stradbroke Island

*Please note that due to Psychology Board Guidelines, current clients of Dr Rachel Hannam are not able to attend this retreat. Contact Rachel directly to discuss other opportunities for group experiences.

This August at Amity Point on beautiful Stradbroke Island, we will be running a 2-day Retreat focussing on Restorative Yoga & Mindful Self-Compassion. Join us for a relaxing sea-side experience delving into relaxation and self-awareness processes. Rachel will be facilitating inner self-compassion practices to help you learn to use the power of your attention to look after your mental health and relationships in the long term. Using powerful practices focussed on needs-based thinking and communication, she will show participants how it is possible to bypass old patterns of blame and self-judgement to boost your self-worth, mental health and interactions with others.

For more information about the Retreat, please click here. To discuss booking in, contact Alexis on 0438 953 091.

Looking After Your Own Mental Health for the Long-haul

Public Talk with Dr Rachel Hannam & Alexis Dennehy

July 30th, 5:30pm to 7pm in Graceville

We invite you to a talk by experienced health practitioners on reducing anxiety and stress…for the long haul 

Sit back and enjoy an engaging conversation as two experienced clinicians from related disciplines share tidbits and techniques from the latest in psycho-social science and some current best practices in mental health care. Rachel will be speaking about how to use the power of our attention to look after our mental health and relationships using powerful practices focussed on needs-based thinking and communication.

Time: 5:30pm (for 5:45pm) – 7pm, Friday 30 July 

Tickets: $25 at the door (includes a glass of red or white wine on arrival)

Venue: Graceville Bowls Club, 16 Wylie Street, Graceville (off Honour Ave just after The Regal) 

Let us know you are interested via our Facebook page and invite your friends.

We look forward to sharing a relaxing end to the week with you.

Dr Rachel Hannam PhD & Alexis Dennehy ND MPH 

Compassion & Connection Workshop July 18

Graceville Bowls Club, 16 Wylie St, Graceville

Our next Mindful Self-compassion and Yoga Workshop is from 10am to 12pm on Sunday July 18 at the Graceville Bowls Club. See the Facebook event for more details or call Alexis on 0438 953 091 for more details and to book in.

Compassion & Connection Workshop – June 27

Sunday 27/06/21 from 9am – 12 noon

Graceville Bowls Club, 16 Wylie St, Graceville

Compassion-focused communication or nonviolent communication (NVC) allows us to reflect on aspects of our lives where we may feel we struggle to communicate. From professional teams to personal relationships, our ability to communicate and connect with ourselves and those around us can affect our physical and mental wellness. Our wellbeing in turn affects our relationships.

In this workshop we will use the body and breath to see how we may reduce anxiety, stress and loneliness. We will learn and apply the 4-step process of NVC to strengthen our relationships with self and others.

Our presenters are Dr Rachel Hannam and Alexis Dennehy. Dr Rachel is the Director of North Brisbane Psychologists. She draws from almost 20 years of experience in organisational and clinical psychology as well as conflict resolution work. Alexis Dennehy draws from post-graduate research in Public Health and over 15 years consulting in contemplative practices and yoga therapy.

This workshop is ideal for beginners or with some experience looking for fresh insight. To book in or be notified about future workshops, email rachel@northbrisbanepsychologists.com.au or text 0438 953 091 for more inf-

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