THRIVING MINDS PODCAST

SEEN is a groundbreaking feature-length documentary—and now a powerful podcast companion—that explores the untold story of how healing our own childhood wounds can transform the way we parent. At the heart of this series lies a bold and hopeful message: when parents confront and rewire their own coping mechanisms, it doesn't just change their lives—it reshapes their children's developing brains.

Through raw, unfiltered conversations with real parents, experts, and neuroscientists, SEEN uncovers the science behind trauma, attachment, and emotional regulation. This isn’t just another parenting podcast. It’s a deeply personal, scientifically grounded journey into how healing ourselves can create ripple effects for generations to come.

Whether you're a parent, caregiver, educator, or simply curious about how our pasts shape our futures, SEEN offers a roadmap to emotional liberation, stronger family connections, and a new vision of what’s possible.

Join us as we illuminate the path forward—one story, one breakthrough, one brain at a time.

Hailey Bartholomew is an award-winning director, writer, and cinematographer known for her emotionally resonant storytelling and distinctive visual style. With a passion for capturing the extraordinary in the everyday, her work blends vulnerability, beauty, and authenticity in a way that leaves a lasting impact.

As Director of Seen the Film (2025), a groundbreaking documentary exploring the neuroscience of parenting and personal healing, as well as Ageless (2023), and My Happy Heart (2019). As the founder of creative studio You Can’t Be Serious, Hailey is committed to making work with heart—projects that move people, spark conversations, and create change.

Hailey’s films reflect her deep belief in the power of real stories, told with honesty and care. Whether behind the camera or leading a creative team, her work continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.

Connect with Hailey here:

https://youcantbeserious.com.au/about/

#SEENtheFilm

#DocumentaryWithHeart

#StorytellingThatMatters

#BehindTheScenes

#IndependentFilm

#FilmWithPurpose

#WomenInFilm

#DirectorSpotlight

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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

📌 Key Insight:
Modern parenting often prioritises convenience and safety over challenge and growth. But kids need opportunities to struggle, try, fail, and try again to build the emotional muscles they’ll need for life.

Let’s flip the script—and raise a generation built on connection, competence, and confidence.

In this gripping conversation, we’re joined by Nicole Runyon, LMSW—psychotherapist, parent coach, and author of Free to Fly: The Secret to Fostering Independence in the Next Generation—to unpack the Netflix series Adolescence and the uncomfortable truths it holds up to modern parenting.

Nicole brings over two decades of experience in child and adolescent mental health and a rare ability to help adults step inside the minds of today’s kids. Together, we dive into the deeper layers of Jamie’s story and what it reveals about a world where kids grow up online, alone, and often unseen.

We explore:

• Why this isn’t just a mental health crisis—it’s a crisis of adult power
• How convenience culture is sabotaging childhood
• The dark role of algorithms, and where adult responsibility still lies
• The myth of safety behind closed doors
• Why therapy alone can’t fix what community and connection must
• Practical steps for adults to reclaim authority in a digital world
• And what kids actually need—beyond screens, labels, or diagnoses

Nicole’s insight is both provocative and empowering. If you’re ready for a conversation that moves beyond blame and into bold, practical change—this episode is for you.

Top 5 Foundations for Healthy Brain and Child Development (0–18 years)

1. Attachment and Safety (0–18 months)
   • Prioritise bonding, physical affection, eye contact, and consistent caregiving.
   • Love, hugs, and a safe environment are essential to wire the brain for trust and connection.
2. Will and Authority (18 months–3 years)
   • Respect toddlers’ emerging independence while setting firm boundaries.
   • Let them try things on their own, even if frustrating, and allow space for tantrums. This builds frustration tolerance and emotional regulation.
3. Autonomy and Independence (3–5 years)
   • Encourage self-help skills like dressing, zipping coats, and managing tasks.
   • Let children take risks and experience challenge—don’t over-index on safety.
   • Social-emotional learning and confidence emerge from doing, not avoiding struggle.
4. Confidence and Competence (5–12 years)
   • Confidence grows by overcoming hard things—not from trophies or rewards.
   • Avoid constant praise and incentives; instead, promote perseverance and self-worth through effort and resilience.
5. Identity Development (12–18 years)
   • A secure sense of self is built on the foundation of earlier stages.
   • Without real-world confidence, teens look to social media influencers to tell them who they are.
   • This can lead to distorted identity formation and vulnerability to mental health trends online.

📌 Key Insight:
Modern parenting often prioritises convenience and safety over challenge and growth. But kids need opportunities to struggle, try, fail, and try again to build the emotional muscles they’ll need for life.

Support the show

Subscribe and support the podcast at
https://www.buzzsprout.com/367319/supporters/new
Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Who shaped your understanding of financial independence? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments. When my sister and I were about 10 years old, my mum, June Hocart, often said, "My job is to make you financially independent." At the time, we didn’t fully grasp what she meant. But as we grew older, we saw how she lived those words—studying by torchlight under the sheets in her dormitory to become a nurse, later running a pharmacy with my father, and always making sure we understood the value of hard work, smart decisions, and standing on our own two feet.

Mum believed financial independence wasn’t just about money but about having freedom, security, and choices. It was about never feeling trapped in a situation because of financial constraints.
Despite the stereotype that women are less engaged in investing, research suggests they often outperform men. Why? Mindset.

Investing is as much about mindset as it is about numbers. Women tend to approach investing with patience, discipline, and risk-awareness—key traits of successful investors.

It's time to challenge outdated perceptions and empower more women to take control of their financial future.

In honour of her wisdom, this episode of Thriving Minds Podcast #185 is dedicated to helping people take control of their financial future. I sat down with David Hobart, a performance coach with decades of experience in investment management, to talk about how we can develop the mindset and strategies needed to make sound financial decisions in an uncertain world.

💡 What we covered:
🔹 How David’s career as a hedge fund manager shaped his approach to coaching
🔹 Why a culture of blame and denial holds people back from financial freedom
🔹 Tools to overcome performance anxiety and make confident financial decisions
🔹 The paradox of uncertainty—how embracing it can lead to better outcomes
🔹 Why women are underrepresented in investing and how to change the game

Mum’s words have stayed with me my entire life, and I hope this conversation helps others gain the confidence and knowledge to step into their financial independence.

🔗 Learn more about David: [https://davidhobart.com/]

. 💬⬇️ #ThrivingMinds #FinancialIndependence #RiskManagement #Investing #DavidHobart

💬 What’s been your experience with investing? Let’s discuss. ⬇️ #Investing #FinancialIndependence #WomenInFinance

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Subscribe and support the podcast at
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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Why Are People Good Inside? A Valentine’s Week Reflection

Have you ever sat back and wondered why everything functions despite the avalanche of news suggesting it is falling apart?

I’ve watched everyday people helping others—lifting grocery bags for a stranger, steadying an elderly person’s walker on a staircase, retrieving a lost toy that slipped from a parent's grasp. I've seen nurses and assistants speaking gently to a young man who suffered a stroke, crying in agony from his muscle loss. I’ve stood beside palliative care workers and pastors, their voices hushed and full of grace, comforting families over the beds of their dying loved ones.

And I’ve seen more.

The everyday people I meet are kind and generous. Yes, they may be fearful of a daunting future, but still, they show up. They are the volunteers sitting with dialysis patients, offering comfort in quiet moments. They are the students pushing forward in an increasingly performative society, balancing hope and exhaustion. They are the Uber drivers, the cyclists, the late-night workers. They are the musicians crafting songs that make you feel understood, the writers shaping words that help you heal, the chefs designing flavors that bring you home.

They are you.

And after all is said and done, the only thing that truly matters is love and connection. The rest? It’s fluff.

If you don’t have someone to love you, know this: love surrounds you. It is in every living species, in every act of kindness, in the unseen and the unnoticed.

During this week—especially this week—know that you are not alone.

I challenge you to see the good inside others and write down the large number of tiny acts of kindness that are the glue holding us together.

We are thinking of you. No matter your circumstance.

💛 Now let’s start shouting this from the rooftops. 💛

#KindnessMatters
#HumanityFirst
#CompassionInAction
#EverydayHeroes
#PeopleHelpingPeople

#ProtectOurChildren
#ChildSafety
#AdvocacyForChange
#JusticeForChildren

#CommunityMatters
#SupportingEachOther
#TogetherWeThrive
#HelpingHands

#DigitalWellbeing
#EducationMatters
#FutureOfEducation
#SafeOnlineSpaces

#LeadWithLove
#ChangeMakers
#InspiringAction
#CreatingImpact

#MentalHealthAwareness
#HealingTogether
#TraumaInformed

#InnovationForGood
#NeuroscienceMatters
#WomenInSTEM
#TechForGood

#ValentinesWeek
#LoveAndConnection
#LoveInAction

To suggest guests and bring love to the podcast visit

www.profselenabartlett.com

and

www.womenrise.com.au.

Support the show

Subscribe and support the podcast at
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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

I can hear you now. I don’t run, or I am too old to run or the classic, I want to protect my knees, and the list goes on. This is exactly what I use to think. Exercise is the one thing shown across several studies to help the brain produce new cells or neurons, also called neuroplasticity. Dr Tara Walker, a neuroscientist, at the Queensland Brain Institute has spent the last 20 years trying to work out how running helps the brain’s memory centres function more effectively. In a recent high-profile journal, she and her colleagues published a remarkable discovery, that a trace element, selenium, they found in the blood leads to the production of more brain cells in the part of the brain, called the hippocampus, that helps us learn new things and remember old ones. Selenium can be found in nuts, grains and fresh fruit and vegetables and particularly in brazil nuts. For example, one brazil nut a day is enough. Having brazil nuts does not help and can lead to problems.

As much as we might like to take a supplement rather than run or exercise. There will never be enough benefits conferred from supplements that are equivalent to exercise. The main reason is that exercise gets the heart pumping blood and oxygen to nearly every place in the body and keeps the heart and body fit. It activates skeletal muscle that helps with insulin sensitivity and diabetes. The benefit list goes on and on. There is a lot of debate about how much exercise is the right amount. Can you do too much exercise? The right prescription of exercise has not been worked out. But there is no doubt that some form of movement everyday matter to stay healthy. For those of us not able to walk or run, then we can move our arms. If this is not the case, then we can learn something new, like a language, or meet new people. The brain needs a lot of novelty, and learning to stay healthy.

Dr Walker has gone one step further than many of us and that is to work out through experiments how exercise improves factors in the blood that leads to changes in the brain. This was ground-breaking research. The most surprising discovery was just how much memory is improved with aging from adding exercise and the supplement, selenium. This leads to the idea that what you eat matters to getting the brain benefits from exercise.

Dr Walker also didn’t think she could run. She was a swimmer when she was young. But by taking small steps, she slowly built up to running. She thought a 10km fun run was her limit, but then came the half and full marathon and now she is training for a 60 km trail run in the mountains in Brisbane. While she runs, her best ideas come, and this is how she decided to examine the blood of animals exercising to discover that proteins related to selenium are changed. This was the beginning of an 8-year project to demonstrate how exercise changes the brain. It takes a village running together to make breakthroughs in neuroscience. What amazing work, and how lucky are we to interview her on the Thriving Minds podcast. Learn more about Dr Walker here.
https://qbi.uq.edu.au/dr-tara-walker

Support the show

Subscribe and support the podcast at
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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com