A Balanced Choice for NT Men's Health Awards
The Balanced Choice program is run by Adam Drake and Yianni Stefandakis, and rests on a range of activities that promote physical and mental health, predominantly working with young people in the youth justice space. It was born out of a school holiday program first trialled by Adam for youth in a Darwin correctional facility in July 2014.
Balanced Choice is about getting fit from the inside and out. The program aims to educate at-risk young males about balance of the body, mind and spirit. The aim is to promote positive physical and mental activities to encourage young people to nourish the body, mind and soul and to make positive choices to live their best lives and achieve their goals.
Adam (pictured below) has 20 years’ experience working with youth and has been involved in the fitness industry for over 15 years. He is also a trained actor and director and in 2019 was nominated for Australian of the Year NT for his work with young people. Yianni joined him 18 months ago and has been a sports coach for many years.
Sessions are delivered to various groups including the Youth Detention Centre, Malak Re-Engagement Centre, the Positive Learning Centre, Darwin Correctional Centre and the NT Government Youth outreach and Engagement Team. Activities include group fitness, one-on-one personal training, theatre sports, small group discussions, personal reflection, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, outdoor and adventure-based learning, team building and mindfulness.
“Participants become aware that they have a range of choices in how to respond to situations, and learn to link behaviour to outcome,” says the organisation. “They are encouraged to set goals to direct their future and achieve healthy balance in life. They learn to locate a number of pathways through which they might achieve their goals, and are empowered with the motivation to succeed. The design of the program is informed by current best practice guidelines and evidence-based research."
Find out more about Balanced Choice.
Balanced Choice has been nominated in the NT Men's Health Awards.
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Join us to celebrate the NT Men’s Health Awards winners and publish the NT Men’s Health Report Card 2019 on 30 July 2019.
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