We’d like to say a very warm welcome to the newest member of our Consulting Services Team – Dr Justine Tuffley!
Justine is a familiar face to many as she has been our key Mental Health Facilitator in Victoria for the past two years and has also been a contractor for Healthworks delivering a variety of health and wellbeing seminars.
We asked Justine a few questions to help you get to know her better.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I grew up on a sheep and cattle farm and moved to Melbourne to study Law and Science at Melbourne Uni. After 4 years I decided that Law was too boring so I switched to Medicine and loved it. I am a mum to 5 boys including 2 sets of twins. My household is busy, noisy and not always as clean as I would like, and there is a steady stream children from the neighbourhood camped in our living room.
What made you get into the mental health/wellness space?
After the birth of my 5th baby I struggled. He was unwell and spent almost 5 months in Neonate intensive care. I found juggling 4 small children, daily trips to the hospital and sleep deprivation really took a toll. I realised at this time that looking after your mental health is never as simple as just one thing, but is a combination of prioritising, delegating, planning and having a supportive network. I decided to make Mental Health my focus.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love the diversity of people that I work with and I love to see that Mental Health conversations are finally occurring in the workplace.
You’ve been working with Bodycare for about 2 years now – what are you most excited about for this next chapter?
I am really looking forward to helping organisations develop strategies to support the health and wellbeing of their people. There is a greater awareness of mental health problems but I think we have a long way to go with encouraging and promoting people to live their lives in a way that is good for our wellbeing.
If there was one piece of advice that you would give to someone who was struggling what would it be?
Prioritise. Decide what you need to focus on and actually map out on paper how you will achieve this. Too many of us sacrifice sleep and exercise yet it may be these two things that actually help you to cope. And my second piece of advice is to seek out professional help – don’t wait until you are really struggling to ask for help.
MEET JUSTINE Justine Tuffley
Dr Justine Tuffley graduated in Medicine from the University of Melbourne. She has a vast depth of knowledge gained from working in a diverse range of hospital settings including Emergency and Psychiatry and later in General Practice.
Justine brings energy and motivation into the workplace, encouraging individuals to adopt healthy lifestyle changes. Her interventions equip individuals with strategies to cope with stress, increase their resilience and improve their performance at work.