Stav and I co-facilitate LiveLighter’s “Talking to patients about weight loss” training sessions. Stav designed much of the content and was enthusiastic and knowledgeable from the beginning. Since we commenced delivering the training sessions, Stav’s enthusiasm hasn’t wavered.

She presents exciting, energetic sessions consistently at all times of the day and participant feedback is always very positive. I look forward to continue working with Stav in the future to build the training program and increase health professionals’ confidence to talk about weight loss with their clients.

We were very privileged to have Stavroula Zandes, training consultant and Director from Health & Wellbeing Training Consultants as a guest speaker on the topic of Motivational Interviewing at our annual planning day.

The Health Independence Program is staffed by a mix of Allied Health and Nursing staff who work with clients looking to improve their health through various means of rehabilitation in an effort to maintain their independence.  When working with this client group the clinicians are often faced with people who have been doing the same thing for a long time and often find themselves stuck in a situation that is not conducive to good health outcomes.

Stavroula with her great enthusiasm and humour was able to lead the team through the process of motivational interviewing through great knowledge of the issue and a wide range of information.  Stavroula worked through the psychological aspects of where a client is, in relation to their health journey and how to move them forward.

After the presentation the team felt equipped to tackle the issue and help the clients achieve the results that they wanted.  The next day a team member utilised motivational interviewing with a client who she had not been able to move forward with her health goals and was very pleased to report that she had great success for the client and felt rewarded in what she had achieved.

We would highly recommend Stavroula and her organisation to any group looking for great health information and knowledge, delivered in a great enthusiastic manner.

After hearing a lot of positive recommendations about Stav and her training and education sessions, I arranged for Stav to present at our two Life! program professional development days in March 2017.  The audience were all health professionals who deliver Life!, a type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke prevention program.

Stav’s presentation on relapse management provided new and insightful ways to help participants make change to their healthy eating, physical activity and other healthy lifestyle behaviours.

Overall, the Life! team and I were extremely happy with Stav’s enthusiasm, knowledge and professionalism. Her presentation was engaging, relevant and the feedback we received from our workforce was overwhelmingly positive.

I would strongly encourage anyone who is looking for speakers in the health and wellbeing sector to consider Stav.

“Stav’s presentation was the highlight of the day.  She was fantastic.  I took a large amount of information from her, both for my personal life and for using in my private practice.  Please have her again.” – Life! Facilitator

“Stav was great, she has inspired me to do some further learning/self-education in this area as it would help me with clients of my own who are struggling with weight loss, exercise routine etc.” – Life! Facilitator

As an Education Improvement Leader for South Eastern Region of Victoria, part of my role is to coordinate and support schools who implement the School Wide Positive Behaviour (SWPBS) framework in their schools through targeted professional learning.

Educators particularly value establishing and maintaining positive relationships with the whole school community, and this is often through conversations both difficult and celebratory. I saw real value in training the SWPBS school leaders in Motivational Interviewing. Being able to recognise the change process and understanding what motivates individuals towards change will enable SWPBS school leaders to confidently support colleagues, students and families.

The quality of the presentation by Stavroula and Gen was excellent. The pace was appropriate, interaction was encouraged and supported, and the participants were able to practise the skills in a safe and non-threatening environment. The room was energised and positive. The workshop was so successful, participants advised me that they had gone back to their schools and put into practice the skills they learnt the next day. Moreover, the strategies worked!

I highly recommend anyone to explore motivational interviewing, particularly when delivered by Stav and Gen.