WELLNESS ACTIVITIES

Date: Monday 5, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 May 2025
Time: 07:00-08:00
Venue: Level 1, Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: $15 per person
Availability: Spaces are limited to 20 per class

Starting off with a morning yoga class has numerous benefits including raising your energy levels and improving concentration. It is a great way to awaken the mind and brings a vibrancy to the body to set you on a great path for your day ahead.

Date: Thursday 8 May 2025
Departure Time: Guide will meet the group at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre at 13:30 to walk to the beach. Please have your bathers on and long sleeve rash shirts will be provided.
Return Time: Return to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre by 15:45. 
Cost: $60 per person
Availability: Maximum 32 places available

Learn to surf at one of Australia’s premier beaches! Broadbeach Surf School offers you a fun, healthy, and safe surfing experience. You will learn all the basics like standing up on a surfboard, catching and riding waves, and ocean awareness and surf safety rules.

Date: Thursday 8 May 2025
Departure Time: The coach will depart from the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre at 13:30
Return Time: The coach will depart from Jellurgal Aboriginal Culture Centre at 16:00 to arrive back at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre by 16:30
Cost: $60 per person
Availability: Maximum 25 places available

Learn about the Aboriginal history and culture of the Gold Coast on this engaging walking tour of the renowned Burleigh Headland.

Start your tour with an audio/visual presentation then take a guided walk around the “Dreaming Mountain”, Jellurgal, where culturally significant sites have played an important role in the lives of Aboriginal people.

You will hear the Dreaming stories associated with the creation of Jellurgal, discover facts about traditional life, bush tucker, fishing and hunting and learn about the important ecological practices and connection to the land displayed by the Yugambeh speaking people for thousands of years.

Date: Thursday 8 May 2025
Departure Time: The coach will depart from the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre at 13:30
Return Time: The coach will depart from the Sailing in Paradise at 17:00 to arrive back at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre by 17:30
Cost: $130 per person. Price includes antipasto platter to share and non-alcoholic beverages
Availability: Space is limited to 30 participants 

Step onboard your own private catamaran and explore the beautiful Gold Coast Broadwater under the guidance of our experienced crew on a leisurely 3-hour charter. Your private charter departs conveniently at Main Beach just 10 minutes north of Surfers Paradise. A selection of chilled non-alcoholic beverages are included for your enjoyment accompanied by a delicious gourmet antipasto charcuterie board. Laze back on the front trampolines and watch the sights of the Gold Coast sail by, not forgetting to keep your eyes peeled for the friendly bottle-nose dolphins and pelicans that frequent the area. 

THINGS TO DO ON THE GOLD COAST

For more information on pre and post touring options for the Gold Coast please visit https://experiencegoldcoast.com/

Date: Thursday 8 May 2025
Location: Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
Time: 13:30-15:30
Cost: $70 per person
Availability: Space is limited to 25 participants

Plant lovers, unite!

Paint Pots takes a new creative spin to leave you with a two beautiful hand-painted pots to home your favourite plants in. We can’t wait to see the lovely patterns and colour combos you come up with!

Your masterpieces will be a true reflection of the maker and something to treasure for a lifetime.

Walk away with super cool new knick-knacks to display proudly in your home. No painting or artistic experience is necessary, just be ready for a bloomin’ good time! It's your creative paint-splattered journey.

We will provide all the necessary materials to complete two pots

Date: Monday 5, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 May 2025
Venue: Level 1, Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
Time: 07:00-08:00
Cost: $15 per person
Availability: Spaces are limited to 20 per class

Meditation

Based on the SOAR Beyond Burnout framework, these sessions offer practical tools to help you manage the demands of your profession while nurturing your wellbeing. Whether you attend one session or all three, you will leave with simple and effective micro-practices that you can easily integrate into your busy life as a psychiatrist.

The SOAR Self-Care Battery:
In psychiatry, your self-care battery can often feel drained by external pressures, internal stress, and the shared emotional burden of working with others. These meditations will guide you through the four components of SOAR — Stop, Observe, Allow, and Recharge — to help you restore focus, regulate stress, recharge with self-compassion, and reconnect with what sustains you. The SOAR Self-Care Battery framework is based on acceptance and commitment therapy and positive neuroplasticity. Each session will explore daily themes to cultivate key qualities essential for well-being in medicine.

Daily Themes:

• Day 1: Cultivating calm – Start your day with grounding techniques and sensory mindfulness practices to calm the nervous system, settle the body, and prepare for the challenges ahead.
• Day 2: Embracing compassion – Learn self-compassion practices to ease self-criticism and create space for greater kindness and balance in your professional and personal life.
• Day 3: Reconnecting to contentment and connection – Reflect on gratitude and values to rediscover meaning and purpose in your work and beyond.

Takeaways:
Participants will receive a toolkit of micro-practices specifically designed to address the unique challenges faced by psychiatrists. These practices can be easily integrated into your daily routine and include grounding exercises, "naming to tame" techniques, "feeling it to heal" strategies, compassionate self-talk methods, and reflective meditations. These tools will help you stay centred, recharge your self-care battery, and approach your work with renewed energy and clarity.

Instructor:
Dr Robyn Charlton is a psychiatrist in private practice, specialising in mindfulness-based therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness-Integrated Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (MICBT), and Compassion-Focused Therapy. In addition, Dr Charlton is a certified trauma-informed yin yoga teacher and a certified mindful self-compassion teacher. Alongside her clinical work, Dr Charlton tutors medical students in personal and professional development at Auckland Medical School.

Inspired by her personal experience with burnout, Dr Robyn Charlton founded The MindFitness Dr, a business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals manage stress and prevent burnout. At the core of her approach is the SOAR Self-Care Battery, which includes micro-mindfulness practices based on acceptance and commitment therapy and positive neuroplasticity. These practices are designed to be easily integrated into the demanding lives of psychiatrists and other healthcare providers. Their purpose is to recharge mental, emotional, and physical energy by cultivating calmness, compassion, and connection.

Through The MindFitness Dr, Dr Charlton offers courses such as Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout and SOAR Beyond Burnout, as well as Recharge Retreats and individual coaching. Her mission is to equip healthcare professionals with practical tools to sustain their well-being and thrive both personally and professionally.