Dr. Brenda HEYWORTH Educator, Psychiatrist and Author
“…we found Brenda’s manner and mode to be a ‘breath of fresh air’.”
Dr Brenda Heyworth is an Educator, Psychiatrist and Author who translates complex information to make sense and make a difference in people’s lives.
She designs and delivers health education initiatives for people of all ages, to help them understand themselves and feel empowered to change. With warmth and genuine respect, she combines Learning Design skills from Harvard University with 30 years’ experience as a Medical Doctor.
An entertaining speaker, her presentations and workshops are popular amongst parents, foster carers, teachers and guidance officers. Her enthusiasm is infectious as she brings gentle humour and practical strategies to the serious issue of mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Heyworth graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Medicine in 1994 and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (further sub-specialised in Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry). Fascinated by the complexity of the human mind and body, she is excited to live in an era when scientific understanding of the brain can support understanding of that most personal of experiences: our emotions.
Between 2004 – 2021, Dr Heyworth provided assessment and advice for thousands of families at her clinic on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. In 2011, she also founded ‘It’s a Jungle’ Pty Ltd as a social enterprise with a big dream;
“To cultivate a culture of understanding about emotions and behaviour, that productively changes attitudes for now and generations to come”
Her first book, ‘It’s a Jungle-A Parent’s Guide to Emotions and Behaviour’, was published in 2012 and has sold thousands of copies through word-of-mouth. Parents have been spreading the word!
In 2021, Dr Heyworth left clinical practice to focus more fully on mental health education across society. As the scale of ‘It’s a Jungle’ had grown organically, she’d been honing her skills in learning design. It was time to think big…
Dr Heyworth now works as a freelance educator and facilitator, on mental health and wellbeing topics as they relate to home, school and the workplace.