Lindsay Oades | University of Melbourne (original) (raw)

Lindsay Oades

Associate Professor Lindsay G Oades (MBA with Distinction, PhD) is Director of the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. Lindsay’s formal training is in psychology and business. Lindsay’s PhD was in Clinical Psychology and he was previously a Member of the Australian Psychological Society and College of Clinical Psychologists and College of Health Psychologists.
In March 2015 Lindsay was invited to move from his position (School of Psychology and Sydney Business School) of over 15 years at the University of Wollongong to work at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne.

In 2013 he received an Australian Government citation for outstanding contribution to student learning. Lindsay has taught applied psychology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for 20 years in psychology, nursing, business and education in Australia, Hong Kong and Japan. He speaks at conferences around the world, and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly book chapters cited over 2300 times (h-index =24). Lindsay has been part of teams that have gained over 2.8mincompetitiveresearchfunding,andcontractresearchorconsultancies(domesticandinternational)ofover2.8m in competitive research funding, and contract research or consultancies (domestic and international) of over 2.8mincompetitiveresearchfunding,andcontractresearchorconsultancies(domesticandinternational)ofover594,000 in applied health and education contexts. He has supervised 13 doctoral students successfully to completion.

His research interests concern the applications of wellbeing in workplaces, health and education systems. In particular, he has developed intervention and organisational development programs to assist mental health services to become more recovery oriented, drawing on the empirical bases of positive psychology and wellbeing science. This work is referred to as the Collaborative Recovery Model and Stages of Psychological Recovery. His current developing research program focusses on (1) positive systems science (2) wellbeing literacy and (3) wellbeing investing.

Lindsay’s recent consultancies include the Australian Mental Health Commission (working on the Contributing Life Project), NSW Mental Health Commission (involved in the development on the Wellbeing Collaborative), Department of Education and Community (consulting on the development of the NSW Wellbeing Framework for Schools) and Maudsley International (international global mental health consultancy).

In 2015 he received a Vice-Chancellors Award for excellence research commercialisation. He is a co-editor for the multidisciplinary International Journal of Wellbeing; managing Director of Life Sculpture Pty Ltd, non-executive Director of the Reach Foundation, Action for Happiness Australia and sits on the scientific advisory panel for the Institute of Coaching, at Harvard University’s McLean Hospital. Lindsay is on the leadership team of the Wellbeing Collaborative for the Mental Health Commission of NSW. In 2016 Lindsay was invited to join the Australian Psychological Society Presidential Initiative to advise on community wellbeing.

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Papers by Lindsay Oades

$Research paper thumbnail of The Australian corporate closet, why it\u27s still so full: a review of incidence rates for sexual orientation discrimination gender identity discrimination in the workplace$

The paper reviews the extant Australian literature on sexual orientation (SO) discrimination with... more The paper reviews the extant Australian literature on sexual orientation (SO) discrimination within the Australian workplace. In the research, there is variation in organisational workplace and a bias towards health and educational sectors as a research setting, which raises some methodological considerations such as poor generalisability to other organisational contexts. The small body of Australian research into SO discrimination encompasses; (i) varied methodological and theoretical approaches, (ii) disparate authors selecting a varied range of aspects of discrimination thus absenting a unifying framework to guide research and lacking as yet seminal authorship providing focus, iii) limited sampling of participants making comparisons difficult and further indicating the absence of a unifying framework with which to focus the research and iv) limited studies exclusively investigating workplace discrimination. In this paper, the Australian literature is presented chronologically, an...

$Research paper thumbnail of Australian mental health consumers\u27 contributions to the evaluation and improvement of recoveryoriented service provision$

Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 2013

$Research paper thumbnail of A preliminary exploration of the working allliance and \u27real relationship\u27 in two coaching approaches with mental health workers$

Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study e... more Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study explores the coaching relationship by comparing the working alliance and the \u27real relationship\u27- the undistorted and authentic experience of the other- in participants in skills coaching and transformational coaching. Design: A 2 (coaching condition) x 2 (time) factorial design was used. Method: Staff from community psychiatric recovery services were trained in a new service delivery approach (Collaborative Recovery Model), followed by coaching from intemal coaches once per month to enhance implimentation of the training. All trained staff were invited to participate in the research. Forty coachees met the requirements for inclusion in the study (\u3e=3 coaching sessions in six months). Coaches completed a coaching alliance measure after each session. Coachees completed measures of working alliance and real relationship after six months of coaching. Results: Analyses indicated that...

The purpose of this study was to use the results of an exploratory case study to discuss the desi... more The purpose of this study was to use the results of an exploratory case study to discuss the design and delivery of formal coach education pathways. Nine coaches completed qualitative and quantitative feedback on a formal transformational leadership training program. The theme that was consistently being presented by coaches was the need for learning to be situated within practical demonstrations and discussions where the coach learner and coach educator work collaboratively to facilitate understanding of the applications of program content to coaching practice. These results have been discussed in the light of the parallel processes that are evident in coach education. The relationship dynamics between athlete and coach are paralleled in the relationship between coach learner and coach educator. Formalising the parallel process in coach education is put forward as a conceptually sound approach to facilitate reflection in coaching practitioners through the use of practical demonstra...

The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education, 2021

Wellbeing literacy is a capability involving the vocabulary and knowledge about wellbeing, and sk... more Wellbeing literacy is a capability involving the vocabulary and knowledge about wellbeing, and skills of communicating, via multimodal pathways, for the wellbeing of oneself and others, in a way that is context sensitive and intentional. Wellbeing literacy offers three key benefits. Firstly, it may orient our focus towards wellbeing capabilities and processes, allowing for measurement and consideration of factors enabling or blocking wellbeing development. Secondly, wellbeing literacy provides an avenue to integrate positive education into education systems, drawing on existing multimodal learning and teaching capacities and strengths, while addressing existing curriculum requirements. Thirdly, wellbeing literacy is contextually sensitive and applicable to individuals and the systems in which they exist. Importantly, wellbeing literacy may provide the essential conduit between wellbeing interventions and wellbeing outcomes, and thereby be a necessary component for creating and susta...

Personality and Individual Differences, 2015

This paper examined the relationships between workplace bullying, sleep quality, and psychologica... more This paper examined the relationships between workplace bullying, sleep quality, and psychological distress using a person-centred approach. Participants included 1454 Australian employees who completed an online questionnaire. Experiences of workplace bullying were assessed via the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised, with Latent Class Analysis conducted to identify distinct workplace bullying experiences. Sleep quality was assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The results indicated six distinct classes: No Bullying; Limited Indirect Bullying; Occasional Task-Related Bullying; Task-Related Bullying; Occasional Bullying; and Frequent Bullying. Compared with No Bullying, all classes were associated with poorer sleep quality. A multi-categorical mediation model indicated that higher psychological distress mediated the relationship between workplace bullying classes (except for the Limited Indirect Bullying class) and sleep quality. Individual differences in the nature of workplace bullying could thus have important implications for sleep quality.

Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 2001

Berzonsky (1994) has investigated the role that personal epistemological assumptions play in the ... more Berzonsky (1994) has investigated the role that personal epistemological assumptions play in the construction and revision of self-identity.He developed the Constructivist Assumption Scale (CAS) to measure the constructivist assumptions of persons, relating this to identity style as measured by the Identity Style Inventory, 3rd edition. Botella and Gallifa (1995) have outlined a constructivist model of epistemic development moving from positivism to constructivism (measured by the CAS), and preferred worldviews moving from mechanism to organicism (measured by the Organicism-Mechanism Paradigm Inventory). This study investigated the relationship between identity style, preferred worldview, and level of constructivist assumptions. Results indicate a significant positive relationship between the constructivist assumptions and people having an information-oriented, self-identity style, and significant negative relationships between the constructivist assumptions and preferred worldview for individuals with a normative oriented identity style. Age was significantly related to worldview, but not to the constructivist assumptions of the individuals. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, including whether people have different epistemic assumptions when describing self versus those used when describing the world. An additional measure is suggested which may relate findings to Kelly's (1991) notions of aggressiveness and hostility.

Living according to one׳s personal values has implications for wellbeing, and incongruence betwee... more Living according to one׳s personal values has implications for wellbeing, and incongruence between personal and workplace values has been associated with burnout. Using the SGP Card Sorting Task (Ciarrochi & Bailey, 2008), this study explored mental health practitioners׳ personal life values and personal work-related values, and their relationships with wellbeing and burnout. Congruence between life and work-related values was related to wellbeing and perceived accomplishment at work. Those whose personal values were consistent with the commonly-shared values of a caring profession experienced lower burnout and higher personal wellbeing. Successfully pursuing one׳s work values predicted lower burnout and greater wellbeing. Honesty, clearly defined work, competence and meeting obligations were associated with lower burnout and higher wellbeing. Acceptance of others and helping others were associated with lower burnout. The implications for recovery-oriented practice are noted. Values...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Students at the tertiary education level in Australia are at increased risk of experiencing high ... more Students at the tertiary education level in Australia are at increased risk of experiencing high levels of psychological distress, with international students at particularly high risk for poor adjustment. As mental health and wellbeing strongly correlate with students’ academic performance and general overseas experience, a growing number of studies focus on what universities can do to effectively support students’ wellbeing. However, assumptions are made about what wellbeing is, strategies primarily focus on treating mental ill-health, and treatment approaches fail to account for cultural differences. This study aimed to explore how Chinese international students understand wellbeing, the language used about and for wellbeing, and activities that students believe strengthen their own and others’ wellbeing. Eighty-four Chinese international students completed the online survey, and a subset of 30 students participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using thematic...

Presents key papers from from the first Evidence-Based Coaching Conference, held at the Universit... more Presents key papers from from the first Evidence-Based Coaching Conference, held at the University of Sydney, July 2003.

Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study e... more Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study explores the coaching relationship by comparing the working alliance and the 'real relationship'the undistorted and authentic experience of the otherin participants in skills coaching and transformational coaching. Design: A 2 (coaching condition) x 2 (time) factorial design was used. Method: Staff from community psychiatric recovery services were trained in a new service delivery approach (Collaborative Recovery Model), followed by coaching from intemal coaches once per month to enhance implimentation of the training. All trained staff were invited to participate in the research. Forty coachees met the requirements for inclusion in the study (>=3 coaching sessions in six months). Coaches completed a coaching alliance measure after each session. Coachees completed measures of working alliance and real relationship after six months of coaching. Results: Analyses indicated that t...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Although the concept of homophobia has been used extensively in the literature since the early 19... more Although the concept of homophobia has been used extensively in the literature since the early 1960s,researchers have shown growing concern for its relevance in present day research. Additionally, there has beenvariance in its definition leading to an array of ambiguities resulting in methodological limitations in empiricalstudies with a disregard for ensuring that definitions used match the focus of study. There have been numerousattempts to locate the construct within a theoretical framework and this has also resulted in weak empiricaldesign. These weaknesses in research on homophobia have resulted in the coining of the constructheterosexism as a more contemporary and more appropriate definition than that of homophobia to indicateanti-gay discrimination. This review considers both terms with regard to their appropriateness and distinctionand the utility of the construct heterosexism as it is applied to contemporary research on non-heterosexualcommunities. It is concluded that homo...

BACKGROUND One key component of recovery-oriented mental health services, typically overlooked, i... more BACKGROUND One key component of recovery-oriented mental health services, typically overlooked, involves genuine collaboration between researchers and consumers to evaluate and improve services delivered within a recovery framework. METHOD Eighteen mental health consumers working with staff who had received training in the Collaborative Recovery Model (CRM) took part in in-depth focus group meetings, of approximately 2.5 hours each, to generate feedback to guide improvement of the CRM and its use in mental health services. RESULTS Consumers identified clear avenues for improvement for the CRM both specific to the model and broadly applicable to recovery-oriented service provision. Findings suggest consumers want to be more engaged and empowered in the use of the CRM from the outset. LIMITATIONS Improved sampling procedures may have led to the identification of additional dissatisfied consumers. CONCLUSIONS Collaboration with mental health consumers in the evaluation and improvement ...

International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2011

The scholarly coaching literature has advanced considerably in the past decade. However, a review... more The scholarly coaching literature has advanced considerably in the past decade. However, a review of the existing knowledge base suggests that coaching practice and research remains relatively uninformed by relevant psychological theory. In this paper it will be argued that Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) presents as a useful theoretical framework for coaching as it can help understand coaching practice at both macro and micro levels. The utility of SDT as a theoretical framework for coaching is explored, with particular attention given to the role that coaching would appear to play in the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. It is also argued that SDT provides a useful set of propositions that can guide empirical work and ground it in the firm foundations of a theoretically coherent, empirically valid account of human functioning and wellbeing. Suggestions are made for future directions in research informed by SDT.

The Journal of Positive Psychology

$Research paper thumbnail of Australian mental health consumers\u27 contributions to the evaluation and improvement of recoveryoriented service provision$

Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 2013

$Research paper thumbnail of A preliminary exploration of the working allliance and \u27real relationship\u27 in two coaching approaches with mental health workers$

The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education, 2021

Personality and Individual Differences, 2015

Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 2001

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study e... more Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study explores the coaching relationship by comparing the working alliance and the 'real relationship'the undistorted and authentic experience of the otherin participants in skills coaching and transformational coaching. Design: A 2 (coaching condition) x 2 (time) factorial design was used. Method: Staff from community psychiatric recovery services were trained in a new service delivery approach (Collaborative Recovery Model), followed by coaching from intemal coaches once per month to enhance implimentation of the training. All trained staff were invited to participate in the research. Forty coachees met the requirements for inclusion in the study (>=3 coaching sessions in six months). Coaches completed a coaching alliance measure after each session. Coachees completed measures of working alliance and real relationship after six months of coaching. Results: Analyses indicated that t...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2011

The Journal of Positive Psychology