Emily Toner is a leading expert in the fields of mindfulness and positive psychology.
As a nationally registered Clinical Psychologist with a research background in positive psychology and behavioural neuroscience, Emily uses her knowledge of behaviour to help people move through stress, fear and overwhelm into motivated states of compassion and action for themselves and the planet.
Emily has spent the past ten years delivering tailored wellbeing and mindfulness programs for organisations such as Deloitte, ANZ, Seek and Medibank and has given talks to a wide range of audiences - from exec boards, athletes, accountants, lawyers and health professionals, to teachers, activists and musicians.
Current Work
Emily is the ‘Live Better’ Mindfulness Ambassador for Medibank. She was previously the co-author and content creator for the meditation app Smiling Mind, a Lecturer at the Australian College of Applied Psychology and a consultant for the AFL Players Association.
Emily is a Climate Reality Leader, having attended Al Gore’s leadership training in 2019. Her work in ecological psychology aims to help people process climate grief and eco-anxiety, moving through states of overwhelm into compassion and care for themselves and the planet.
Emily is also a musician and founder of Wye in the Sky Records an independent, for-purpose music label that promotes a healthy lifestyle for a healthy planet and is the co-founder of
The Tambah Project, a green music platform that re-wilds the planet through music.
Emily gives regular expert opinion for a range of media, including The Age, Body & Soul and News Limited publications, has been featured on popular podcasts such as Seize the Yay and Stokely and is a regular writer for Peppermint Magazine.
Talking Points
Mental Health: Practical Tools from Positive Psychology
Much of the time the 'self-help' world is focused on what is wrong with us. In contrast, the field of Positive Psychology explores what is right with us. Understand how the experience of positive emotions can not only enhance happiness, but perspective and creativity as well, learn why successful people engage with self-compassion as a daily, non-negotiable practice, and explore the field of mental health through the lens of the nervous system, including three practical tools for becoming more expansive.
Mental Health: Practical Tools from Positive Psychology
Mindfulness for Life: Why presence is your superpower
A wandering mind is an unhappy mind according to the research. Explore the neuroscience and psychology of stress and anxiety, including how and why the regular practice of mindfulness can significantly boost wellbeing and resilience. Explore how presence is the pillar of connection and understand why there is nothing more powerful than a daily dose of connection for living a long and meaningful life. This science-based exploration into mindfulness and meditation is suitable for anyone wishing to better handle stress and anxiety, or who is looking for more calm, clarity and connection in their day.
Mindfulness for Life: Why presence is your superpower
Growth Mindset: Why You Can Do Anything (Almost)
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks… or can you? Unsurprisingly, belief about how much you are capable of changing and growing over your lifetime - or ‘mindset’ - is one of the biggest predictors of how much you actually grow and develop. Explore the research and practice of the fixed vs. growth vs. benefit mindset and understand how you have the power to change your beliefs about your abilities. This session will cover everything you need to know about mindset, sharing with you a simple tool for growing a growth mindset in your life.
Growth Mindset: Why You Can Do Anything (Almost)
Best Possible Self: Connecting to the science of hope
Is hope all it’s cracked up to be? Can you train in optimism? Researchers in the field of Positive Psychology would argue yes. This session invites you on a deep dive into the science and practice of hope, sharing cognitive tools for counteracting your negativity bias and exploring a powerful practice for connecting into your best possible self. You will leave with more clarity on what is important to you and know the next step you need to take towards creating your ideal life.
Best Possible Self: Connecting to the science of hope
Workshop: Climate Grief: Find Your Voice and Power
It is easy to feel overwhelmed, fearful and despondent when it comes to the environmental challenges facing us in 2023. This session has been carefully designed to help provide a space for you to process the myriad of emotions that arise in response to the closing gap of time affording us to take action on climate. Combining research from neuroscience, positive psychology and the psychology of emotions and behaviour, this workshop will help provide a safe space for you to explore your own grief and remind you that prioritising your own wellbeing is at the core of being an effective leader and changemaker on climate.
Workshop: Climate Grief: Find Your Voice and Power
Workshop: Values for Happiness: Finding Your Inner Compass
Do you regularly sit down to explore and identify your values and what you stand for, or do you unwittingly live your life according to the values pressed on you by family, community and culture? Many people who do not take time out to actively identify and act from their values can find themselves languishing with no clear direction, or living a life according to other people’s rules. Unsurprisingly, research suggests that people who know and act from their values regularly are happier than people who don’t.Workshop: Values for Happiness: Finding Your Inner Compass
In this interactive and hands-on workshop you will be invited through a simple and fun card-sort process for identifying your top values, leaving with a clear action plan for living in closer alignment with the things that actually matter to you.
Video
Emily Toner - Medibank School of Better - Lesson One, Your brain
This lesson is designed to give you an overview of your brain, with a particular focus on biases and feelings.Emily Toner - Medibank School of Better - Lesson Two, Mindfulness
Emily Toner - Medibank School of Better - Lesson Three, Happiness
Being mindful and having a growth mindset can have a huge impact on people’s lives and business performance. If you want someone to cut through, create change, build engagement, facilitate g ... keep reading Medibank
Not only has Emily made a big difference to my team with her engaging and tailored programs, she has had a profound impact on me and my leadership capability. Her ability to ensure my team are better connected and all striving for a growth mindset has been a key reason for our substantial growth.
Emily has played a pivotal role in introducing the concept of mindfulness to our workplace. With her deep knowledge, passion and genuine care to create a more mindful culture, our people have adopted and continue to practice mindful techniques in their professional and personal lives. We have utilised and drawn on Emily’s skills and expertise across a number of our teams and seen re-sults in the increase of awareness and general wellbeing. Emily has a genuine interest in under-standing every group she engages and approaches every opportunity with a real motivation to make a difference in people’s lives.
It was a pleasure working with Emily on our wellbeing strategy and focus on Mindfulness. Emily partnered with us by taking the time to understand the needs of our business and delivered an engaging and impactful outcome. The feedback from the business has been very positive and this has resulted in many other parts of Deloitte engaging Emily’s services as a result.
