Improves the mental health and wellbeing of your students with practical mental health strategies, techniques and resources, delivered in an engaging format designed for youth

Teaches 7 Daily Choices
To Improve Mental Health

CHOICES

Our School Mental Health Program

Reduces The Stigma Around
Mental Illness / Seeking Help

Outlines Places Students Can
Access For Support

Provides Resources For Ongoing Education

The CHOICES mental health program educates and empowers students to make mentally healthy choices, in order to reduce their chances of experiencing a mental illness and to improve their overall mental health. It is a very practical and holistic program, which teaches actionable strategies with regards to themes like stress management, exercise, sleep, sunlight, social interaction, diet and dealing with negative thoughts. The stigma attached to mental illness is consistently reduced throughout the program and students are encouraged to seek help early. Organisations and places students can access for mental health support are outlined and post program everyone receives a number of physical and electronic resources to supplement the workshop teachings and for ongoing mental health education.

Our program has been designed for youth, and is delivered in a fun, interactive and engaging way. It has been consistently refined and improved over the last 10 years, and is regularly updated with the latest scientific studies and research in psychology. The program is delivered by our incredibly experienced program facilitator, James, who brings a youthful, energetic and authentic approach to each one of the presentations. He has been delivering our programs full time for the last 10 years, has spoken to more than 108,000 young people in high schools across 3 continents, and is considered one of the preeminent youth mental health speakers in the world.

The program consists of 2 x 1 hour presentations, delivered on separate days, and is designed for Grade 11 and Grade 12 students.

570+

Programs Delivered

Impact in Numbers

96%

Of Students Report Finding The Program Informative, Entertaining and Useful

103,000+

Students Impacted

10+

Years Presenting

Surveys On 5000 Past Attendees Revealed..

85%

Of Students Report Making At Least One Positive Change To Their Life Post Program

96%

Rebooking Rate

87%

Of Students Report Being More Likely To Seek Help For Mental Health Issues Post Program

Testimonials

"James delivers a well thought out presentation which allows students to question whether their current lifestyle habits are conducive for positive mental health. He then provides easy and effective steps to make lifestyle changes, backed up with evidence and justification. James is different to other presenters due to his authentic and enthusiastic approach and the feedback from my students proved it was very effective at creating positive change. I highly recommend James speak to your students and I will certainly follow up on his strategies with my cohort into the future."

Nick Dutton - Head of Year 11 at Sunshine Coast Grammar School
"I am a registered psychologist who has worked with adolescents in an independent school for over ten years. I have now observed James speak to our Year 11 cohort two years in a row. He conveys a clear message to the students with regards to the importance of mental health and does this in a passionate and convincing manner. I especially like his focus on stress and how it can affect the body if experienced chronically and I think his explanation of the hunter gatherer way of living compared with our modern fast paced existence is impactful. He then provides his young audience with eight practical ways in which they can make lifestyle choices that support mental health. James is an engaging speaker because he is obviously very well-informed, has a charming personality and speaks with authenticity. Both times he has spoken I have watched the captivated looks on the faces of our students. The spontaneous laughter they exude when James makes a light-hearted comment from time to time I think is testament to how enthralled they are with his presentation. I have no hesitation in recommending James as a worthwhile presenter to students in any school."

Dr Lee-Ann Prideaux - Psychologist at Coomera Anglican College
"I just wanna say you came to Rivermount last year and gave the same talk to my grade and it really impacted me and got me out of a hard place in my life, I felt super motivated after the talk and started doing yoga as my daily exercise and that simple routine completely changed my life. So thanks for the talk last year, because it made an impact and helped me feel a lot better mentally."

Emma - Student at Rivermount College
"Thank you for visiting St Hilda’s earlier this year. Being young and enthusiastic and speaking from personal experience meant that you struck a chord with the girls you spoke to. The speech was informative and engaging and many girls stuck around wanted to speak to you about personal experiences and how you had made things clearer around depression and mental illness. Even now the girls talk about feeling depressed more openly and say that I am going to get some sun, go for a walk, exercise to put my mind in a happy place. Educating young people to openly to talk about depression and teaching them strategies to help deal with it is not a need it is a necessity. Thank you for help with the students of St Hilda’s, we would definitely love to have you back next year."

Tim Crowe - Head of Senior School at St Hilda’s School for Girls
"My son came home yesterday and told me all about the speaker that was in on Wednesday, he was so interested in what was said, and pretty much told me word for word about it. He had the biggest smile on his face telling me about it, it was almost like a little weight had been lifted on his mind. I asked him if he could relate to any of it, and I said I could certainly relate to it and he said he could relate to all of it. I liked the part about the Mediterranean food, so I said perfect we are moving to Greece!! Hahaha (wishful thinking) This really couldn’t of come at a better time for him. Thank you it was perfect, he really enjoys motivational speakers, and the one yesterday was extra special. I think this will make our decision on taking him to a specialist a little easier when we tell him."

Parent of Student
"James delivered an energetic and engaging presentation that offered some real and actionable strategies for boosting well-being immediately. His talk was informative, while still being entertaining, and he held the full attention of the Year 11 students who all took something meaningful and tangible away from the presentation. We look forward to hosting him again."

Patrick George - Head of Year 11 at Somerset College
"I think this was really helpful because it was engaging (we had time to communicate our ideas), it was relatable (it focussed on ideas that affect our everyday lives). Someone was talking to us rather than at us and instead of being told what we were doing wrong, we were told what we could do better. Good job :)"

Marie Ogolo - Student at Coomera Anglican College
"James’ presentation was brilliant. He was engaging, funny and had genuine advice to give. You can tell it came from the heart. He has given us tools that can be easily implemented in not only our lives but to help others who may be stuck as well. Thank you! Definitely a practical program. Highly recommend."

Alexandra - Student at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School
"Hi there, I just wanted to let you know how life changing your talk was. James spoke to my school and since then I’ve helped my girlfriend recover from being re-diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder after suffering from depression for 2 years. It has helped me help her so much, the little changes have made the quality of her life so much higher. Thank you so so much for everything that you do."

Students Who Wishes To Remain Anonymous
"Absolutely amazing! Simple to understand, easy reference to everyday life. Helped understand small changes we can make day to day to help our mental health in everyday life. So thankful for this presentation!"

Jasmin Wallace - Services Coordinator at Surf Life Saving Queensland
"James is an incredible presenter. He is engaging and provides practical easy strategies to help students improve their mental health. We received multiple multiple emails from parents and students after the first presentation saying how much they enjoyed and benefited from it. Highly recommended."

Brittany Nicholson - Head of Year 10 at Southport SHS
"Hi James, I am a student at Ipswich Girls' Grammar School (I spoke with you briefly after the seminar) and I just wanted to say how incredibly grateful I am for you coming and speaking to us today (and last week). You are the best guest speaker we have ever had and I think your structured, realistic approach is flawless and so helpful. I know that many people in my peer group, myself included, have been impacted by mental health issues in some way, and I think that the other girls found your session just as powerful and useful as I did. James was such an engaging speaker and I loved his approach to the session. Thank you so much."

Ashleigh - Student at Ipswich Girls Grammar School
"Hey James, you visited my school on Tuesday. I just wanted to say thank you for doing these amazing things for the world. Also, this is actually the second time I've heard you present, as I was at another high school that you presented at last year and since then I have been implementing the 8 lifestyle changes. It's just amazing :) I had a really bad year last year, due to depression, ending up in hospital, but all the support that I've had, including yourself, has helped me to come back up and find a reason to live for. I just wanted to say that you have saved me, my friend's life and a lot of other teenagers lives. Thank you."

Sophie - Student