About
Our Mission
To run exercise programs that empower people to better manage their mental health, and to get more General Practitioner’s & Psychologists prescribing exercise as treatment for depression/anxiety.
Our Background
In 2012, then psychology researcher Isabelle Granville-Smith and tennis coach Cameron Wilson met at Sydney’s Black Dog Institute. Both had long been advocates for the role exercise plays in boosting mental health, and both were convinced that more could be done to facilitate it for people who were struggling with depression or anxiety. After wading through the published research on exercise and mood disorders, and with input from clinicians at Sydney’s Black Dog Institute, they started a group exercise program intended to:
- address the barriers to exercise for people battling depression/anxiety
- utilise research-proven optimal exercise “dosage.”
- administer an assessment process & track measurable results
- help each participant build exercise into their mental health well-being strategy
In July 2013, Cam ran the program’s very first cardio tennis class at Eastcourts Tennis in Kingsford, and Isabelle its first group fitness circuit in Centennial Park. Mood Active was born.
Committee founders Tania Curley, Andrew Purll and Cameron Wilson, brought experience and skills in coaching psychology, finance and IT, communications, as well as combined decades of lived experience using exercise to boost mental health. In June 2017 Tania Curley was appointed Mood Active’s General Manager.