| Michael is one of Australia's highest profile psychologists. He works in private practice as a nationally registered child and adolescent psychologist and is passionate about delivering national and international evidence based psychology workshops and seminars that make a difference to the health and wellbeing of young people. His training and approach incorporates cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness skills and interventions drawn from positive psychology research. He is a founding member of the National Centre Against Bullying and Chairs their Cybersafety Committee. In October 2010 - he was appointed the official advisor to the Queensland government on cybersafety.
He is a Director of The Cooperative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing (YAW-CRC), led by the Inspire Foundation, which unites young people with researchers, practitioners and innovators from 70 partner organisations across the not-for-profit, academic, government and corporate sectors. He is member of the Australian Psychological Society Committee (Melbourne Branch), a Director of the an ambassador for the federal Government's National Drugs Campaign, a columnist for a number of publications including New Idea, Girlfriend Magazine and the Australian Boarding Staff publication Lightsout. he is the resident parenting expert on Ch 7's Sunrise as well as Psychologist for the top rating Morning Show with Neil Mitchell on Radio 3AW.
He is an author of 8 books including the best selling "Princess Bitchface Syndrome" and is currently working on his 9th. His books have been published in Italy, Indonesia, China, Brazil, the UK and Japan. He specialises in the area of parenting adolescents and adolescent mental health. He also served on the advisory committee for the Federal Government's Boys' Education Lighthouse School Programme, the Youth psychology advisory group for Victorian Roads Minister Tim Pallas, and as an Advisor to the Queensland Schools Alliance Against Violence
Michael was educated in Kenya, England, New Zealand and Australia. In 1985, he named and co-founded the world's first national teenage cancer patients support group, CanTeen - The Australian Teenage Cancer Patient's Society. He has held a variety of appointments including Executive Director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation and Director of the Centre for Social Health at the University of Melbourne and Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. Michael has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Australian Jaycees Outstanding Young Australian of the Year (1987) and in 1997, he was made a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in recognition of his work in the prevention of youth suicide.
Most importantly, Michael is married and has two sons, supports Hawthorn in the AFL and South Sydney in the NRL. In 2000, he was the subject of a This Is Your Life program on Channel 9. He is in constant demand across Australia as a facilitator of hypotheticals, speaker, entertainer and educator.
Michael has prepared workshops and talks for students, parents and teachers but, with much flexibility, can also cover a variety of other issues.
Teachers
● A crash course in Positive Psychology
● Dealing with a Psychological crsisi in schools
● Building resilient Students
●Mental Health Issues for Staff
● Boys Issues
● Bullying
● Screening for Adolescents at Risk
● Advanced course on screening the
Adolescent at Risk
● Dealing with Loss and Grief in
Adolescents
● Cybersafety |
Parents
● General Parenting
● Adolescent Drug Use
● Cybersafety
● Fathering
● Mental Health Issues for Adolescents |
Students
● Coping with the Final Years of School
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