Dr Zoe

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Clinical Consultant | Researcher | Speaker
Science-backed tools for messy modern life 🧠

I’m Dr Zoe, a Clinical Social Worker and consultant passionate about wellbeing, trauma-informed care, and resilience. With over a decade of global experience, I support individuals, teams, and organisations in creating healthier, more sustainable ways of living and working.

26/10/2026

Looking forward to joining the Lockton People Forum in Dubai.

I’m particularly interested in challenging how we think about resilience in organisations, and the extent to which our expectations of individuals can distract from the conditions that shape their wellbeing and performance.

It should make for some interesting conversations with leaders from across the region.

23/10/2026

If not now, when?

Most of us have something we've been meaning to change.

It might be leaving a job, ending a relationship, looking after our health, starting therapy, learning something new or finally tackling the project that's been sitting on the back burner for years.

The interesting question isn't whether you're motivated.

It's whether you're ready.

The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) is a validated questionnaire based on the Stages of Change model developed by James Prochaska and colleagues. Rather than measuring willpower, it explores your current readiness for change across four stages: precontemplation, contemplation, action and maintenance. Knowing where you are can help explain why some changes feel possible while others still feel out of reach.

Complete the free questionnaire here:
https://ade.solutions/urica.html

Photo credit: Pablo Merchán Montes.

20/10/2026

What does it really mean to be human? ❤️

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining cultural anthropologist Sandra Rato on humanityreframed_au, her radio show on Cairns FM 89.1, for a conversation that was a little different from my usual interviews.

We explored some of the experiences that have shaped my life and work, including my time in Cambodia, the unexpected journey that led to my PhD, and what I’ve learnt about trauma, resilience and the extraordinary complexity of human behaviour.

We also wandered into some of my favourite territory: neuroscience, men’s mental health, the influence of culture, and why the environments we live and work in can have such a profound effect on how we think, feel and relate to one another.

What I particularly enjoyed was the opportunity to bring my personal experiences and professional interests together. After so many years of working across different countries and cultures, I remain fascinated by how differently we experience the world, and how much we can discover about one another when we’re genuinely curious.

A huge thank you to Sandra for such a warm, thoughtful conversation. It was an absolute pleasure meeting someone who shares my curiosity about people and the stories that shape us.

🎙️ You can listen to our conversation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-JimOKpaDxcE0gN70HkgYOCK0NVfAByQ/view?usp=sharing

13/10/2026

Have you ever noticed that you seem to breathe differently when you walk into a forest?

The Japanese have a name for deliberately spending time among trees: shinrin-yoku, usually
translated as “forest bathing”.

Shinrin-yoku involves spending time among trees while paying attention to the forest through
sight, sound and smell. Research has found measurable changes in stress physiology after
time spent in forest environments.

I suspect I’ve been forest bathing for years without knowing there was a name for it.

Do you feel different around trees?

Read more about the science of forest bathing:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/forest-bathing-nature-walk-health

08/10/2026

This Sunday, I’ll be speaking at TherapHeal’s 5th Annual International Summit on AI and Mental Health.

My session, “AI, Attachment and the Therapeutic Relationship,” explores what happens when clients use AI for reassurance, reflection and emotional support, and how this may shape attachment, disclosure and the therapeutic relationship.

The event is completely online and free to attend. If you are curious about how technology is shifting human behaviour and relationships, I would love for you to join us.

Sunday, 11 October 2026
Session time: 9:15 to 10:15 AM IST
Registration: https://forms.gle/Fn79CLZhVfkAQ98V6

05/10/2026

Pilates has a way of making everything else go quiet for a while.

Breath, balance, posture, coordination and body awareness all require attention, which can leave less room for repetitive thinking. That kind of physical focus can be surprisingly restorative.

My cat watches the entire process from the floor and remains confident that lying down is the superior mind-body practice.

30/09/2026

We spend much of the day directing our attention towards something: screens, conversations, decisions, notifications, deadlines.

That attention is finite. After prolonged periods of concentration and stimulation, mental fatigue can start to show up as irritability, distractibility or that familiar feeling that your brain is simply full.

Attention Restoration Theory explores why natural environments can be particularly helpful here. Nature can hold our attention gently, without requiring the same effort we use to concentrate on work or filter competing demands.

Sometimes a reset really can be as simple as stepping outside, walking somewhere green and giving your attention somewhere less demanding to go.

You may not be able to reset the world, but you can give your brain a break from processing all of it.

For further reading:
https://positivepsychology.com/attention-restoration-theory/

23/09/2026

Time saved by AI rarely stays empty.

That thought followed me home from a few energising days at Leap in Riyadh. Much of the conversation centred on how AI can automate and accelerate the way we work. I kept returning to what that speed means for the people doing the work.

When AI makes a task faster, does workload shrink, or does the saved time fill up with more tasks? And as roles shift around AI, what happens to autonomy and to the way people develop judgement?

Those questions shaped my latest article for e27: Your startup has an AI strategy. Does it have a human strategy?

AI already changes how people work, often faster than roles and organisational structures can adapt. That gap puts the human side of AI adoption high on the list of conversations leaders need to have now.

Full article here: https://e27.co/your-startup-has-an-ai-strategy-does-it-have-a-human-strategy-20260921/

15/09/2026

Why does your brain process a natural beach scene differently to a phone screen?

Digital environments and average offices bombard you with competing signals. Your brain becomes highly vigilant just to manage unpredictable inputs like constant notifications and multiple open tabs.

Natural settings offer a completely different sensory process. The movement of leaves or the sound of the ocean still holds your awareness, but the attentional demand is drastically lower.

Researchers refer to this as attention restoration theory. Certain environments allow the brain to recover easily by removing the pressure of intense urgency and constant decision-making.

Stepping into nature leaves you feeling clearer and more grounded because you are returning to an environment your biology is actually built for.

04/09/2026

Just finished presenting at the APBAM Conference 2026 in Singapore.

My session, The AI Companion in the Therapy Room: Attachment, Avoidance, and the Emerging Role of Generative AI in Addiction Recovery, looked at how conversational AI is already showing up in clinical work, including reassurance, cultural assumptions, AI-generated labels and narratives, emotional dependence, and the idea of “pseudo-safety” in recovery.

What made the session especially interesting was hearing how other clinicians are already encountering this in practice. The discussion moved well beyond theory and into the messy, very real questions that are starting to emerge as AI becomes part of how people seek support, make sense of themselves, and prepare for therapy.

I loved the conversation in the room and the range of perspectives people brought to it.

Address

Cairns, QLD

Website

https://www.drzoewyatt.com/, https://substack.com/@drzoewyatt, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zoe-Wyatt, https://w

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