Queen Margaret College is delighted to offer our community and in particular, our parents and caregivers, a suite of comprehensive wellbeing sessions across the year.

Presented in the Auditorium, our 2024 upcoming Wellbeing Speaker Series, consists of three impactful sessions;

(Past event Term 1 - ‘Social Media and Mental Health: What do we know and what can we do?’)

Term 2 - ‘Overcoming Anxiety’

Term 3 - ‘Shifting the Frantic: Psychological skills to Cope with a Busy and Changing World’

Full Session Information

Term 2 - Wednesday 19 June (7pm - 8:30pm) QMC Auditorium

‘Overcoming Anxiety’

Hosted by special guest Dr Karen Young, Specialist in Child and Adolescent Anxiety, a Neurodevelopment Educator, Founder of Hey Sigmund, Speaker, Author & Former Psychologist from Australia.

Anxiety is a very normal part of being human, but for as many as one in five children, it can reach intrusive levels, interfering with family life, friendships, and school performance. This transformational session will provide parents and caregivers with the essential information and powerful, practical strategies to help their children and teens thrive through anxiety, whether it’s everyday levels of anxiety or something more specific.

This transformational session will provide the essential information and strategies to help all parents and carers support children and adolescents to build courage and resilience, uncover their strengths, and take anxiety back to small enough.

Participants will learn:

• a new, empowering way for children, teens, and adults to think about anxiety, and how to use this to manage anxiety;
• the connection between anxiety and learning, and how to switch on the learning brain;
• the connection between anxiety and performance (exams, on stage, sports) and how to get anxiety out of the way;
• the power of parents to move children towards brave behaviour, and how to do this when anxiety is in the way;
• how to respond to anxiety in the moment to make way for calm and courage;
• building their toolkit - the proven strategies for young people to calm anxiety;
• how to build the mindset that will strengthen against anxiety and make way for brave behaviour;
• how to build the solid neural foundations of resilience in all children.

Term 3 - Wednesday 7 August (6:30pm - 8pm) QMC Auditorium

‘Shifting the Frantic: Psychological skills to Cope with a Busy and Changing World’

Hosted by special guest Dr Dougal Sutherland CEO Umbrella Wellbeing, Registered Clinical Psychologist, PhD, PGDipClinPsyc, BA(Hons),

Hear from Dr Dougal Sutherland on Shifting The Frantic: Mental Skills to Cope with a Busy and Changing World.

In our modern, hyper-connected, ‘always on’ world, many young people describe feeling constantly frantic, overwhelmed and as if they are constantly playing catch-up.

This mental overdrive often means it can be hard for young people to utilise well known time management strategies, manage stress, and/or complete school work productively.

In this session, we’ll look at the common factors behind the frantic and review practical strategies proved to increase your and your child’s experience of calm and control.

Session objectives:

1. Shed light on the biological impact of being busy and addiction effect that can subsequently occur.
2. Identify the benefits for you and your child of reducing the frantic.
3. Highlight ideas, innovations and strategies known to help manage the frantic.
4. Start your planning with your child or children on how to turn ‘good ideas’ into habits.