Testimonials
Ciara Millar, Manager Suicide, Mental Health and General Investigations. Coroners Court of Victoria. “At the beginning of the eight week WISE program I was not getting enough deep sleep (approximately 20 min per night according to my FitBit), so despite sleeping for 8 hours I did not feel refreshed each morning. Since practicing a mindfulness meditation each night as suggested by Sally, I am now getting approx. 1.5 hours deep sleep per night! Sally is extremely kind, gentle and engaging. She makes everyone feel welcomed and valued, and does not show any judgement – this made me feel safe in her sessions. Sally has the ability to teach mindfulness tools in a practical way, ensuring learnings are transferrable to real life events. I thoroughly enjoyed the program and highly recommend Sally and Engage Health!”.
Emergency Services Member. “The eight week WISE program has deepened my understanding of the physiological responses associated with stress and anxiety and shown me that it is possible to not only rewire the brain, but also bring about physiological changes to it. The guided practices have allowed me to gain an appreciation of mindfulness and its benefits, enabling me to become more aware of thoughts, emotions and senses and giving me the opportunity to observe their impact, both positive and negative, on me. I am now more conscious of what I am experiencing and know that I have the capacity and tools to influence how I react or respond. My sincere thanks to you for the opportunity to participate in this program and also for the gentle, compassionate and insightful way you delivered it”.
Jonathan van Rooyen. CEO, The Infrastructure Fund. “I work in a leadership capacity on a $1.7 billion Global Infrastructure Investment Fund. I recently completed the eight week WISE program run by Engage Health. The program focused on developing 3 areas critical to effective leadership: 1. Self-Awareness; 2. Authenticity; and 3 Compassion. I can say in all honesty, this program was the most effective Leadership Development Program I have been associated with during my 20-year career. Sally has an extraordinarily effective manner and understands the challenges of dealing with time-poor, highly-distracted financial services executives. I commend the WISE program to others who are seeking to extend and differentiate themselves in a leadership capacity.”
Fortunata Maria Callipari, City of Whittlesea. “Sally has been a great advocate of mindfulness in every way. The eight week WISE program that Sally delivered at the City of Whittlesea blew my mind! i.e. my brain grew neurons and pathways that are on their way to a positive way of thinking, feeling and being. In this eight week course Sally unravels brain chemistry and demystifies the way the brain works to enable us to understand why meditation is one of the best thing we can do for our mental health. I learnt about mindfulness based cognitive therapy and strategies for taming the reactive brain. Looking at the various parts of the brain helped me to understand how the brain works and how it changes when applying meditation on a regular basis. I learnt practical breathing strategies and alerting the senses to mitigate the stress response. I also learnt the importance of compassion, self-care and speaking with kind words. Wise definitely contributed to my personal and professional development as I work towards the best version of myself”.
Laima Panders, The Coroners Court of Victoria. “Sally communicates very well by explaining how the mind and body works, using a scientific foundation to back up all teachings. Sally also spends extra time with staff if they require extra information or assistance. The teachings that Sally provided were all based on strong foundations and complimented by all the wonderful information on the engage website that backs up and encourages further growth in this area. Sally has a warm and calming way that is perfect for conducting this program, she is able to connect with all people in the program”.
The Coroners Court of Victoria. “Sally is a wonderful facilitator – kind, courteous, encouraging, insightful and supportive. Despite the stress of COVID-19, Sally continued to go above and beyond, making herself available for all of her participants to discuss issues or concerns, continuing the program through zoom sessions, and providing the complete 8 weeks of materials for use again. There was so much scientific basis behind each of the practices and techniques taught, and this was explained in a clear manner. Each step of the program was reinforced and built upon the previous weeks learnings in a logical way. I have found the benefits in my own life after only a short few months of beginning mindfulness practice. I’m excited to begin the 8 weeks again in my own time to consolidate those learnings and continue to benefit from the mindfulness techniques.
Gill Banez, Project Manager. APD Projects Construction.“I was inherently skeptical about the effectiveness of mindfulness programs such as the Wise program. Having tried various approaches in an attempt to improve workplace management and relationships, I observed Sally’s achievements in business and as a successful athlete and was eager to learn the strategies that lead to her success. The eight week program presents strategies in an orderly and relatable way which allow immediate real world implementation right at the outset. I’ve enjoyed a renewed outlook which extends well beyond the workplace and I would recommend its implementation to any business of any kind.”
Mark Deverall. Assistant Principal, Northern Bay P-12 College, Corio. “Working in a public secondary school faces numerous challenges and difficulties. We recently had Sally facilitate mindfulness teacher training at our campus for all staff. This was timely towards the end of year. Overwhelmingly the staff feedback was positive in regard to feeling an immediate improved sense of wellbeing and appreciative for gaining an understanding of mindfulness in a school setting, both from a professional perspective but also an introductory aspect for educating students. Sally was comprehensive in her explanation of the physiological reasoning behind mind and body stress and stress reduction. This was complimented with practical strategies and meditations that left all staff feeling better and enabled a positive organizational morale that carried across the remainder of the year. We would highly recommend this program for schools with it showing a clear ability to improve teacher and support staff wellbeing.
Coby Rollins. Learning and Organisational Development. Department of Health and Human Services.“I am now less anxious in certain situations. I am more aware and appreciative of the small and beautiful things in life that often get overlooked. I feel calmer, more focused and more in tune with myself and what is going on around me. For me the most useful part of the course was learning the tools to be able to recognise and be more comfortable with change and the unpleasant in our lives. I would absolutely recommend this course to others (I already have!). The benefits you experience and the changes in your everyday behaviour and awareness is outstanding. Truly life changing.”
Anonymous, The Coroners Court of Victoria. “The WISE program was really well put together, with in person group sessions to explore and discuss techniques and experiences, formal and informal practices to try out and work out which ones were most helpful and further reading or videos to learn more about the scientific basis for mindfulness”.
Amanda O’Donnell. Disability Support Services, Department of Health and Human Services. “I would certainly recommend the course and have found it to be a positive experience learning to recognise what I am feeling and taking steps to deal with stress. I have felt that I am better able to recognise when I am stressed at the time and take steps towards addressing it at that point in time”.
Sarah Sims. Child Protection Practitioner. Department of Health and Human Services.“Thank you very much! This course has helped a lot with my personal life. It has changed me for the better and I am extremely grateful. Thank you.”
Maree Millard. Disability Housing Advice and Assistance. Department of Health and Human Services.“I have loved this course. The kindness practice has been great. I am now kinder to myself. I exercise every morning and meditate every night. I have found I am sleeping so much better. When I used to try and problem solve at 3am I now mindfully breathe and return to sleep really fast. Thank you”.
Dominique Swift. Child Protection Practitioner. Department of Health and Human Services. “This was an invaluable experience provided by excellent practitioners. I would highly recommend to everyone to adapt as a basic wellbeing measure”.
Jamie Camamile. Disability Support Services. Department of Health and Human Services. This course is fantastic for many different reasons and can be relatable to anyone. This course achieved amazing results for me in my ability to be aware of myself and those around me. There is no-one that wouldn’t benefit from taking the time to complete this course”.
