Previously Better Yew Foundation

For schools

Wellbeing talks for Sydney high schools

I’m Gabby Tonazzi-Field. Since 2021 I’ve delivered wellbeing sessions to students across Sydney on resilience through responsibility, empathy and gratitude — built on lived experience, and delivered in a way teenagers actually engage with.

5 years presenting

5 Sydney high schools

Working With Children Check

Publicly insured

The need

Why schools book this

These are the most recent national figures for 16–24 year olds, the closest official age band to senior secondary students.

38.8%

experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months — up from 25.8% in 2007.

45.5%

of young women experienced a mental disorder, compared with 32.4% of young men.

31.8%

had an anxiety disorder, the most common condition in this age group.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020–22.

“Everything Gabby said was like how I felt. All the things she felt, I felt.”

Student, reported by Colleen Sweeney, Student Support Officer, Epping Boys High School

The workshop

Practical wellbeing tools for Years 7–12

Adolescence brings emotional pressure and change, yet many students have no practical tools for handling what they are feeling. This is a preventative session. It builds emotional responsibility, empathy and gratitude through everyday strategies, and it sits alongside the wellbeing support your school already has rather than replacing it.

I incorporate my own experience and challenges during adolescence, which gives them someone real to connect with. This relatability is what keeps them engaged and makes the stress management, resilience and perspective work land.

Audience

Years 7–12

Duration

60 minutes

Delivery

In person, Sydney and surrounds

What students take away

Better emotional awareness, and an understanding of how stress shows up.
Confidence using simple strategies to regulate emotion.
Stronger empathy, self-respect and healthy communication.
More capacity to handle everyday challenges, and to ask for support when they need it.

How it runs

Interactive and light-hearted — discussion and reflection, not a lecture.
Real-life scenarios and age-appropriate tools students recognise.
Plain language throughout, with no clinical framing.
A short planning call with your wellbeing team beforehand, so the content fits the year group and the context.
A reflective worksheet afterwards to carry the learning on.

Our resilience framework

Responsibility, empathy and gratitude

Three ideas run through every session. Tap a card to see what students take from each.

Responsibility

Students learn to recognise their emotional responses and develop greater awareness of their choices and reactions.

Click Here

Empathy

Students explore empathy towards others and themselves through non-judgemental listening, healthy boundaries, and self-acceptance.

Click Here

Gratitude

Students learn to identify positives alongside challenges to support emotional balance and utilise perspective in times of hardship.

Click Here

Availability

Now booking Term 4 2026 and Term 1 2027

Term 4 2026 runs 13 October – 17 December. Mental Health Month sessions in October book out early.

Testimonials

I think this could help a lot of kids with similar issues. It's nice to be talked to about mental health by someone who actually knows how teens work.

Year 9 StudentBarranjoey High School

The Better Yew Foundation provides an excellent and real insight for students. Gabby is a wonderful, relatable and introspective presenter who bravely shares her own personal journey in order to connect with her audience. The way that her ideas are formulated are presented in an easily digestible way, and the interactive nature of the presentation helps students to stay connected throughout. It was very clear to me that the students gained a lot from this presentation and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking at helping students with resilience building and a better understanding on empathy!

Husscel RodriguezStudent Support Officer – Barrenjoey High School

The presenter was able to breathe life, passion and heart into the presentation along with a strategic combination of audience participation making engagement effortless and interesting. Her use of humour, research and evidence based practice was also clearly evident and intriguing as she remained a supportive guide and humble expert throughout the topic of resilience. I left with a strong understanding and appreciation for resilience as well as a toolkit to walk away and implement within my everyday practice. This presentation left me inspired, motivated and in awe of the presenter's honesty, rawness and knowledge regarding resilience. What a wonderful presentation I would not be able to more highly recommend it!

Hannah TaufanStudent Support Officer – Lindfield Learning Village

We were very fortunate to have Gabby from Better Yew come and present to our Yr 8 cohort. Gabby spoke about mental health, self regulation and gratitude like only someone with a true lived experience can. She graciously shared her story and it really resonated with some of our boys. Gabby's presentation was insightful and engaging. She had the boys demonstrating their push ups and practicing self regulation techniques. A few days later, during a wellbeing check with a student, the student commented, "Everything Gabby said was like how I felt. All the things she felt, I felt." He said he felt really validated during her presentation as he now knows he is not alone in feeling the way he did. We have also had Gabby present to our Yr 10 boys during Life Ready sessions. I have no hesitation in recommending Gabby and her Better Yew Foundation. We will certainly be booking her again. Thanks Gabby!

Colleen SweeneyStudent Support Officer - Epping Boys High School

Gabby's vulnerability in sharing her own story was remarkable. It showed that there is a real person with genuine experience offering this advice. Hearing about her personal journey demonstrates to others that overcoming hardship is achievable and effectively illustrates the topics discussed in the presentation.

Anonymous Teacher - Lindfield Learning Village

Thank you so much Gabby for the absolutely gorgeous presentation, I don't think you fully realise the spark you bring speaking of resilience, your own journey and just how profoundly this can (and will) impact your audience. I truly feel the world is your oyster on this journey of motivational speaking that you are beginning and I cannot wait to see you amplified on platforms such as Ted Talks and/or Foster care conventions and training seminars, self esteem courses there's so much opportunity and I know I will be seeing your face pop up in future! Wishing you all the best joy, success, happiness and resilience 🙂

Anonymous Teacher - Lindfield Learning Village

Enquiry

Check availability

Tell me the year group and the term you have in mind and I’ll come back with dates and a quote.

One-pager

Download the one-pager

A single page you can forward to your head of wellbeing or put in front of a budget meeting.