We offer a range of free mindfulness programs to help get you started on managing stress, improving your academic performance, strengthening your relationship with others, and boosting self-esteem.
Mindfulness involves a series of attention-training practices and cognitive strategies that can help you unhook from unproductive thought patterns and behaviours. It involves learning to pay attention to the present moment rather than worrying or dwelling in the past. It also involves developing an attitude of friendliness toward yourself, as opposed to criticism or judgement.
For more information, see What is mindfulness? (pdf, 0.95 mb)
Benefits of mindfulness
Research shows that mindfulness can:
- Reduce stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms
- Increase resilience and peace of mind
- Enhance cognitive performance e.g. concentration, memory and processing speed
- Improve study and work performance
- Improve relationships and overall wellbeing
Mindfulness at Monash
Monash facilitators
Dr Craig Hassed from the Department of General Practice is helping us expand our resilience-building programs. He is an internationally recognised speaker on holistic, integrative and mind-body medicine in medical practice and connecting knowledge systems.
Dr Richard Chambers is a clinical psychologist specialising in mindfulness-based therapies. He is involved in mindfulness research, has published peer-reviewed journal articles and is co-author of Mindful Learning along with Dr Craig Hassed.
Richard was involved in the development of Smiling Mind, a free mindfulness app and not-for-profit aiming to get mindfulness into the Australian school curriculum by 2020. He works with a number of educational institutions and businesses interested in using mindfulness to improve wellbeing and performance.
External bookings
We get quite a lot of interest from the community at large for our mindfulness programs. We welcome this involvement at a cost associated with each program, and pending availability of space in the sessions (staff and students at the University are our core priority). For more information, email craig.hassed@monash.edu.