Young at Heart

About Young at Heart

This program aims to meet the needs of mature-aged participants. Sessions involve discussing issues that are most important to participants and to participating in activities that provide a sense of enjoyment and mastery.

Allowing participants to review their lives, both past and present, in a positive and supportive environment. 

The overarching aim of the group is to improve quality of life and engage participants with groups and services in the community. 

This program may be suitable for you if:

  • You are going through a change in your life and are having difficulty adjusting to those changes.
  • You are having difficulty accepting the ageing process.
  • You have been feeling an increasing sense of fear, tension or stress lately.
  • The way you feel makes it hard for you to feel any enjoyment during your usual activities.
  • You are ready and willing to learn new skills to change the way you feel.

Make an Enquiry

Program content

  • Aging Gracefully 
  • Self-Compassion
  •  Memory and Neurobics 
  • Managing Thoughts 
  • Managing Emotions and Actions 
  • Improving Physical Wellbeing 
  • Mindfulness 
  • Strengths, Gratitude and Forgiveness

What you will experience

Throughout this program you will participate in group sessions lead by a qualified Allied Health Professional. Each session will support you to use new skills to guide, inspire and motivate yourself to set goals, take action and enrich your life. You will practice applying skills in your own day-to-day before the next session. Bring what you have learnt and experienced to each group for feedback and input.

Treatment objectives

Objective 1

Understand and accept the aging process by learning what you can and cannot control or change. Learn and developing new strategies to change your attitude to aging.

Objective 2

Learn to be more compassionate towards yourself by increasing self-compassion within daily routine, improving overall wellbeing.

Objective 3

Learn to recognise the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Start to challenge different thought processes and use behaviour experiments to test beliefs.

Objective 4

Gain an understanding of emotions and recognise their functions in order to learn coping strategies to manage fluctuations.

Objective 5

Learn to develop techniques that foster your strengths and focus on gratitude and forgiveness.

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What's included

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Education

To develop or refine new skills and strategies.
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Workbooks

To guide you though education, reflection and exercises designed to tackle your symptoms.
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Action Plans

Step-by-step activities to help you put new skills into practice.
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Progress Tracking

Questionnaires to help you monitor your symptoms and/or progress.
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Extra Resources

Tools to help you overcome common challenges.
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Check-ins

Support between treatments to help keep things on track.

How to get started

For you to access this program, you will need a valid referral from a medical practitioner to a psychiatrist with admission rights to Deakin Private Hospital. General enquiries about this program can be made by calling 02 5114 8100.

Submit a referral

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost?

Patients are admitted as a day patient and as such, can claim their attendance via their health fund. We ask that patients confirm any applicable out-of-pocket excess or gap costs directly with Deakin Private Hospital by calling 02 5114 8100.

Who will find this program helpful?

People over 50 years of age who are experiencing adjustment difficulties, anxiety and/or depression related to the aging process and stressors in their life.

How long does this program run for?

This group is held every week for eight weeks on Thursdays.

When is the next intake?

This program is run on Thursdays, from 9am. The next programs commence; Thursday 14th August and Thursday 8th January 2026.

Make an Enquiry

To enquire about this program please fill out our form.