About

BCom (UNSW), MEd(Ed Psych) (USyd), BSocSci (Hons)(CSU), GradDipPsych (UNE), MOrgPsych (MQ).
 

Melinda is a teacher and psychologist with over twenty years’ experience supporting schools. Melinda has established her consultancy, Compassionate Schools to support teacher and school leader wellness and whole school wellbeing.

​

Based on her psychology honours (Class 1) research into Australian school staff's experience of compassion fatigue following critical incidents; and subsequent organisational psychology Masters research into experiences of workplace burnout and engagement, Melinda brings deep knowledge of how schools operate and combines this with an Australian evidence-based approach to supporting school staff and schools.

​

Melinda's experience includes working with whole school staff, leadership teams, and individual system leaders, school leaders and teachers in areas including individual and whole staff wellness (program facilitation, coaching and therapeutic support); strategic approaches to social and emotional learning and whole school wellbeing; and trauma, grief and loss in schools.

Melinda has a thoughtful, compassionate approach with a focus understanding the needs and context of each school and providing coaching and facilitation support to empower individuals and school teams to identify their goals, plan their strategic approach (and program logic if required) and implement their action plans.

Melinda has taught K-12 and has held roles including school counsellor with the Catholic Schools Office Diocese of Broken Bay; Consultant: School Innovation with the Association of Independent Schools of NSW; Teaching Educator with Catholic Education, Diocese of Parramatta and General Manager with Good Grief Ltd.

 

Melinda is an accredited coach with the International Coach Federation as an Associate Certified Coach and values the discipline and structure effective coaching can provide in times of planned and unplanned change.