News & Media Blog

JCU: Interview with Dr. Kiera Buchanan

April 21, 2021

This video was made by JCU and is an interview with Kiera Buchanan, Clinical and Health Psychologist and Director of the Centre For Integrative Health.

Weight Stigma Awareness Week, 2020

Weight Stigma Awareness Week, 2020

September 30, 2020

I met Kiera in 2018 on a trip with ‘The Hunger Project’. On a bus in rural Uganda, we spoke about her work as a psychologist empowering people of all body shapes and sizes.

Coronavirus: Our Practice Policy

Coronavirus: Our Practice Policy

March 9, 2020

Until we receive clearer directions, CFIH is adopting a “better to be safe than sorry approach”. Please support us in our efforts to reduce the spread of Coronavirus.

International Women’s Day: Our Message

International Women’s Day: Our Message

March 8, 2020

On International Women’s Day, we passionately strike the #EachforEqual pose. To us, this pose symbolises equality, compassionate boundaries, allyship, and the disruption of destructive gender-based cycles.

Exercise and eating disorders

Exercise and eating disorders

February 20, 2020

In an interview with Hack on Triple J, CFIH Psychologist, Ashleigh Olive, proposed a number of red flags that can help to identify someone with or at risk of an eating disorder.

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"I'm a loser. I'll never get anywhere." "I'm so stupid. I should have learned this by now." "I'll never be good enough. I'll never do it right." Most of us know all too well just how quick our minds are to judge and criticise us. Our minds seem to relish any opportunity to point out our flaws and failures; to label us as ‘not good enough’. We all have a tendency to identify with our thoughts and feelings, amplifying them in our minds to the stratus of ‘facts’ and ‘the truth’. An essential aspect of self-compassion is learning how to defuse from negative self-talk and self-judgement. Defusion allows us create space between ourselves and our thoughts, to see them for what they are: nothing more than strings of words and pictures. In this way defusion reduces the power our thoughts have over us. We can let our thoughts come and go in their own time, without getting caught up in them or pushed around by them. Next time you notice negative self-talk we encourage you to have a go at practicing defusion, this could involve visualising techniques such as imagining placing the thought in a spam folder or turning down the volume of the thought like you would turn down a radio. We encourage you to share this post to help others to practice self-compassion. #ACT #AcceptanceAndComittmentTherapy #SelfCompassion #Compassion #LovingKindess #SelfJudgement #InnerCritic #Defuse #Mindfulness #Visualise #Visualisation #SelfAcceptance #Kindess #Therapy #Psychology #NMHM #NationalMentalHealthMonth #MentalHealthMonth
Feelings such as shame, sadness and fear can be uncomfortable and distressing to experience. It is understandable then that many of us try to avoid, suppress or deny these feelings when they come up for us. The first step to practicing self-compassion is to acknowledge the pain. Simply because we cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time. Acknowledging uncomfortable feelings involves practicing present moment awareness, observing our distress with an attitude of curiosity and without judgement. As such, we don’t have to engage with, react to, or stop our emotions. Instead, we take the stance of just allowing, observing and making space for the emotion until it passes. Next time an uncomfortable emotion comes up to you we encourage you to have a go at noticing and acknowledging how the emotion makes you feel. Instead of ignoring the pain with a ‘stiff upper lip’, practice present moment awareness by acknowledging that “this is really difficult right now”. We encourage you to share this post to help others to practice self-compassion. The information in this post comes from Dr Russ Harris for more info visit https://www.actmindfully.com.au #ACT #AcceptanceAndComittmentTherapy #SelfCompassion #Compassion #LovingKindess #Shame #UrgeSurfing #UrgeSurf #FeelYourFeelings #SelfAcceptance #LoveYourself #Mindfulness #SelfAwareness #Kindess #Therapy #Psychology #NMHM #NationalMentalHealthMonth #MentalHealthMonth
The Queensland Children’s Hospital is partnering with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland to deliver the 2021 Paediatric Masterclass for General Practice. We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Kiera Buchanan has been invited to be one of a panel of experts for this year's Paediatric Masterclass discussion on eating disorders. This 90-minute online webinar will be taking place on the 23rd November, 6:30pm for a 7pm start. Along with 3 other webinars to choose from, this 90-minute online event is free of charge for RANZCP members. Register here: https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/conference-paediatric-masterclass-for-general-practice/ For more information, please contact CHQ.GPLO@health.qld.gov.au
"It was a pleasure to present to my peers about my placement at CFIH I completed for the University of Queensland's Work and Research in Applied Psychology course. My time spent helping the team in the progression of the assessment clinic was such a rewarding experience and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing CFIH's work and mission with the world's future psychologists. It was inspiring to see how many people were eager for a more weight-neutral approach to healthcare, and I truly believe the message CFIH has to share is worth sharing. I am so grateful for my placement experience and thank the amazing team for being so welcoming." - Tiana Moore
With self-compassion, we give ourselves the same kindness and care we’d give to a good friend. Dr Kristin Neff, one of the world’s leading experts on self-compassion suggests that reflecting on the experience of having compassion for others can help us to show the same compassion to ourselves. So, let’s think about what happens when we show compassion to a good friend. We start by noticing that our friend is having a hard time, we feel moved by our friends suffering and are driven to help them in some way, finally we offer understanding and kindness to our friend when they fail or make mistakes rather than judging them harshly. Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, acknowledging your own suffering and responding kindly. Next time you are experiencing something difficult, try walking through these steps: 1. Acknowledge the emotion; “I’m feeling…” 2. Validate the emotion; ”It’s ok to feel this way…” 3. Normalise the emotion; “Anyone in your situation would be feeling this way…” 4. Recognise the common humanity; “I’m sure other people also feel like this at times..” 5. Make some effort to alleviate the distress; “What do I need in order to feel better right now?” We encourage you to share this post to help others to practice self-compassion. The info in this post comes from @neffselfcompassion #ACT #AcceptanceAndComittmentTherapy #SelfCompassion #Compassion #LovingKindess #Shame #UrgeSurfing #UrgeSurf #FeelYourFeelings #SelfAcceptance #LoveYourself #Mindfulness #SelfAwareness #Kindess #Therapy #Psychology #NMHM #NationalMentalHealthMonth #MentalHealthMonth
If you provide support for a loved one... there is help available for you too. Carer Gateway gives carers like you access to a range of free services and supports to help you in your caring role. Join us for: a Carer Gateway information session & a provided morning tea. Date: Tuesday November 2nd 2021 Time: 9:30am – 11:00am Location: ended Espresso Bar: 5/5 Bermagui Crescent, Buddina 4575 RSVP: Please RSVP by Thursday October 28th - text or call Georgie Birch on 0421 970 101 or email: gbirch@wellways.org To find out more about Carer Gateway call 1800 422 737 or visit carergateway.gov.au
Let’s celebrate the small stuff (because really, it’s pretty big stuff)! It is the small victories that, when put together, make up recovery from an eating disorder. It's important to recognise them and continue moving forward. So today we invite you to acknowledge and celebrate something you did this week that moved you toward recovery. To inspire and be inspired by others let us know about a recovery win you had recently in the comments of this post. #Recovery #RecoveryIsPossible #RecoveryQuotes #RecoveryWin #RecoveryWarrior #EatingDisorderSupport #EatingDisorderTreatement #EatingDisorderHelp #EatingDisorderTherapist #EatingDisorderDietitian #EatingDisorderRecovery #Win #SmallWin #Celebrate #LifeWithoutED
We know that it can be hard to hold onto hope in eating disorder recovery. It can be a long journey, made up of cumulative small steps forward, and some days are tougher than others. While eating disorder recovery is no simple feat, the outcome is so worth it. Writing a list to remind you why recovery is worth it can be a great motivator during eating disorder recovery. We recommend writing down a list of reasons recovery is worth it on paper, post it notes or on your phone to refer to when you need some encouragement. Put these reminders in places you will see them often, for example, around house or on your self-monitoring sheets. We have provided a list of reasons why recovery is worth it to get you started. Think about which reasons resonate with you and if you have any additional points that aren’t on this list make sure to add them to your list. We’d love to hear from you, finish this sentence in the comments below, “recovery is worth I because…” #EatingDisorderAwareness #EatingDisorderSupport #EatingDisorderTreatement #EatingDisorderRecovery #Recovery #RecoveryIsPossible #RecoveryQuotes #EDRecoveryWarrior #EDFighter