Join the Food & Mood Academy for a conversation with Distinguished Professor Michael Berk.
Lifestyle factors — including diet, physical activity, sleep, and social connection — play a critical and increasingly recognised role in mental health.
A growing body of high-quality evidence shows that these modifiable behaviours influence the risk of developing common mental disorders, treatment response, and long-term outcomes. And yet, despite clinical guidelines now endorsing lifestyle interventions as part of comprehensive care, these factors remain largely overlooked in everyday practice. Furthermore, many clinicians reporting limited training and low confidence in addressing these factors, despite their relevance across all settings, from primary care to specialist services.
This webinar offers a clear, evidence-informed overview of the role of lifestyle in mental health, drawing on key trials and meta-analyses at the forefront of the field.
It will explore how lifestyle factors impact clinical outcomes, why they should be considered a core component of care, and importantly how to begin integrating them into routine practice in a way that is person-centred and scalable.
This webinar is designed for clinicians across disciplines who are ready to translate evidence into everyday mental health care, along with anyone interested in understanding more about the evidence and application of lifestyle medicine in mental health care.
There will also be time at the end to have your questions answered by our experts.
What will you learn?
- Understand the evidence base: Recognise lifestyle factors as key drivers of mental health across common disorders, including key trials and meta-analyses shaping current clinical guideline
- Appreciate clinical impact: Explore how lifestyle behaviours influence outcomes across mental health conditions
- Identify the evidence-to-practice gap: Discuss why lifestyle remains underutilised in clinical settings despite strong supporting evidence
- Apply practical integration strategies: Explore ways of embedding lifestyle conversations into routine clinical practice in a way that is scalable and person-centred, and how the evidence integrates with other elements of standard care
- Support sustainable behaviour change: Use evidence-informed approaches to help patients make meaningful, lasting lifestyle changes focusing on diet
Who will you learn with?
Distinguished Professor Michael Berk is Alfred Deakin Chair of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, where he heads the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT). He also is an Honorary Professorial Research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health and Orygen Youth Health at Melbourne University, as well as in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. He has published over 1600 papers and is listed by Thompson Reuters ISI as highly cited (2015-2025). His major interests are in the discovery and implementation of novel therapies.
Dr Tetyana Rocks is Director of Deakin University’s Food & Mood Academy, and a senior research fellow who leads the translational activities within the Food & Mood Centre. Dr Rocks is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with extensive experience in professional education.
Moderated by Phelia Harrison, Associate Nutritionist, Chef and Communications Manager at the Food & Mood Academy.
Contact us at foodmoodacademy@deakin.edu.au if you have any questions.
This is a free event to attend, however we gratefully accept donations of any value to support our ability to host free events. Donate here.
Want to dive deeper into Lifestyle Medicine or Nutritional Psychiatry?
The Food & Mood Academy, free online course: Food & Mood has been updated for 2026 with new resources, evidence and content. Sign up for free now.
Explore accredited CPD courses developed by your presenters and hosted online by FutureLearn:
- Lifestyle Medicine for Mental Health Services: Life and Mind accredited by RACGP
- Introduction to Nutritional Psychiatry: Nutri-Psyche accredited by RANZCP and BSLM