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Born and raised in Germany, lived in the South of France, travelled the globe as a digital nomad, all before finally settling in Australia, Dr Maike Neuhaus brings dedication and experience to King's wellbeing culture. 

Neuhaus's dream day off is “predictably unpredictable”. Her criteria is “good company, being outdoors in nature, some good food” and activities ranging from snowboarding, to dancing Cuban salsa or kicking around a hacky sack. 

Neuhaus's history with wellbeing began with a Schopenhauer quote “health is not everything, but without health everything is nothing”. She specialises in a proactive sub-discipline called positive psychology, with a purpose to “not fix what's broken, but to amplify what's possible”. This entails realising our potential and focusing on all things that “could possibly go well in life”. 

As the Associate Director for Student Wellbeing, Neuhaus provides one-to-one positive psychology coaching for students, which involves helping students to navigate their university life, including self-doubt, academic pressure and heartbreak. Neuhaus is also dedicated to bringing in external speakers and facilitating workshops to “infiltrate the college with positive psychology culture”. 

Neuhaus's top tip for improving mental wellbeing is to “be kinder to yourself”. She explains “being hard on ourselves does not raise our bar, it does the exact opposite”. Research shows when we are kind to ourselves not only do we feel better, we also peform better. 

Neuhaus explains the importance of “connecting deeply” both with ourselves and others. Understanding our own interests, values and passions becomes the “basis for creating a life well-lived”. 

If ever you're feeling like a chat, drop in to Neuhaus's office because, as she explained, “asking for help when you feel lost is a sign of courage”.